Hooky

Due to circumstances beyond my control (a customer put a sink on hold that I was sort of bending my schedule for today and tomorrow around) I ended up with some free time this afternoon. I could rake the lawn, get a hair cut, or go for a ride.
I tried to get one of those fancy store bought haircuts, but my regular guy was out, and well it was just too darn nice to waste precious daylight moving leaves around so...
Went to the res, as per usual, for my out and back route.
This is a 15.5 mile route w/just under 1800' of climbing that starts at the main lot going counter clockwise and follows the regular loop backwards with a couple of extra hills, and lesser rode trails thrown in for good measure. Once I get to the private property after little Moab, I turn around and follow the regular loop back to the lot. I have "time checks" along the way to gauge how I'm doing.
Things started out pretty routinely; I wasn't trying to set the world on fire, just enjoy an unexpected midday ride. My first 3 check points, things were looking decent, nothing exceptional, but right around where I like to be. It was good to be back on "Mary Jane" after riding my Ol' Pal Stumpy over the weekend.
The zip-ties on my computer were a little loose, so it rotated out of my field of vision. When I got to my turn around spot I straightened it out and was surprised to see I was still in the sub-hour range. I was about a minute off my record to this point, but anything quicker than an hour, and I'm pretty psyched!
I really didn't feel I was busting a nut or anything, just keeping loose, and try to stay smooth. But hitting the turn around sub-hour put ideas in my head though.
Now I was trying to go fast. Try too hard and things will get sloppy. Take it too easy, and it's just another ride. Nothing wrong with that, but I was all amped up now.
If I got to the top of the fence line around 1:30, it takes me 13 minutes to descend from there, and I'd be back at the lot right around my record.
Computer rotates out of view again.
I get to the fence-line and take a quick peek at the time: exactly 1:30. With the leaves and the darkness on my rides lately, my 13 minute descent has been creeping up to 14 or 15 minutes. But the sweet elixir of riding while I should be working must have had a positive effect. Back at my truck at 1:41:21. Two minute faster than my previous record. Yeah! I'm faster than me!
The first time I ever recorded "the record" was after a strange ice storm in December of 2006. The trail was a frozen solid gritty surface. Everything was smoothed out; it was like a skate park. Riding my Ol' Pal Stumpy rigid, with big old 2.4" Mutanoraptors, I posted a 1:44. I never thought that would fall. This summer after a ton of road riding commuting to work, I broke that with a 1:43 and change on Mary Jane set up rigid.
Now what? Whacking 2 minutes off it is setting the bar pretty high, and I ain't getting any younger...
Here's the song that was in my head whilst riding this afternoon.
Hope I have some free time tomorrow...