magic hour...

easy week on the bikes, quiet week on all other fronts... easy spin on the road on tuesday and then easy rides at schaeffer and wakefield/accotink, just trying to keep my fitness up without tiring myself out. after skyline 2 weeks ago and sswc05 this past weekend i'm riding well and feeling good on the bike.

8 days to go untill the main event of the summer, my second time around at the shenandoah mountain 100. i've been trying to keep my expectations in check for how i'll do this year - the doubt about whether i can finish has been removed after last year's result, but how much of a difference will this year's training make. i'm definately a different rider than i was last year and i think i can finish under (or at least around) twelve hours if i'm smart about keeping a good pace and not wasting time in the aid stations.

wednesday night i was riding at schaeffer riding back on the doubletrack through the fields i stopped on top of the one of hills, struck by the beauty of the scene before me... the grassy rolling hills bathed in the magic-hour sunset light, the cornfields glowing yellow, the trees surrounding the fields rimmed with a beautiful orange glow, the red-clay dirt of the trail ahead of me, another riding off in the distance cresting the next hill. love these evening rides... sometimes it's great to have company on a ride, but this was definately a great night to be out on your own, alone with your thoughts...