What to do when your weekend doesn't work out as planned?

Ride, of course. I should be somewhere in New Mexico right about now having finished up the second race in the NMORS, the Cerrillos del Coyote, instead, I'm at home. Yesterday didn't go as planned and with the time difference between AZ and NM, I would have gotten into Socorro about 2 AM with a race start time of 8:20. Five hours sleep and a Pro/Expert race just don't seem to go together. So, at 6 PM last night, having just finished up the day's work (that started at 6:45 no less so I could get out earlier), I opted to stay home for the weekend. Or at least closer to home.

Last night I was pissed. Mount Ord, Sedona to Flag and back, just playing in Sedona. I had to do something big today. Then it dawned on me. Thompson Peak. I can ride from the house, get in a couple thousand feet of climbing, and use up all this extra energy.

This morning I woke up ready. I had pysched myself up this whole week for the race plus I had the whole wishing I was somewhere else thing going so I was ready. Pulled out my trusty beast and started up. I made it all the way to the Dixie Mine, where a group of what I guess were volunteers were clearing out some underbrush. A park ranger'ish guy (no badge) informed me that I was trespassing on the road I was on (in a county park, mind you) and committing at least three class 2 misdemeanors. To myself I'm thinking "along with the dozen other hikers I passed on the way up here".

Plan B - head out to the park and just get miles in. Boy did I. I was on pavement for maybe 2 or 3 miles and put in over 47 miles. I did Pemberton clockwise. Talk about mind numbing. A great low-effort climb. In about 3 miles you put in 500~ feet of climbing. I was just cruising along on that climb when a train of three riders passed me. It dawned on me that I was just putting along so I hopped on with them and followed them to the downhill portion of the trail and were going too slow for my tastes. It's amazing what having someone in front of you can do for your speed.

All said and done, I was pleased with the stats for today. Would have preferred to have been racing, but...

• Total Moving Time: 4:22:18
• Total Distance: 47.28 mi
• Total Climbing: 4,310