After beating myself up yesterday, I set out for an easier ride. Either I got more comfortable on the bone-jarring rocks or this section of trail was much easier.

I wanted to do a loop around the property to see what I was dealing with. It was a heck of a ride.  I only came off the bike twice.  After the first “crash” I realized that I had left the zipper open on my saddle bag, which was carrying my BlackJack II and some other items. About a mile after I crashed, I realized it and had to go back to find my cell phone. It was lying there among the rocks.

The second time I “crashed” I broke the saddle on my Gary Fisher 29er. There was no way to fix it on the trail, and riding back 8 miles or whatever with a broken seat was brutal. Back at my camp I took a hammer, knife, and vice grips to the saddle and got it back together. I almost gave up 5 times but I wanted to ride again tomorrow. That saddle was tough! It was so tough I wonder how it broke in the first place!