Mountain biking!!

Today was my first mountain bike ride since the fall.  It was awesome!!!  

Jeff and I rode the yellows and some reds at Shindagin for about an hour and a half.  I had to bail a bit early because my shoulder was sore after losing my front wheel on Nessie.  I am beginning to understand the nature of my shoulder injury (which is relatively minor), and I definitely need to strengthen the surrounding muscles to better support the joint.  Stengthening plus a couple of weeks without jarring it and I think I'll be good to go.  It was still worth riding the blue sled at Steve's place...

Man mountain biking is fun!  All the little features of dirt to push off of and bumps and stuff.  I definitely need to get my strength back though.  My legs are alright but I can't move my bitch (name of bike) around anything like I could last fall.  strength training it is i guess...or trailbuilding!

Someone has to build a pump track at Shindagin because there's a great spot for it.  People keep talking about it but with bureaucracy the way it is who knows when that could happen...I'll have to talk to some buddies first.  I think I'll also hike the trails and do some clearing.  What else do I have to do?  Might'swell give back to the community and spend some time doing mundane things in the woods.  I'm easily entertained by anything in the woods.

So far I'm having fun here in Ithaca.  Staying a bit longer is becoming more appealing.  I think I probably ought to stay at least until I have a couple of job offers, else I could end up stuck at home.  It's not that I don't like being at home, I have a great time there with family and friends, but I don't want to stay indefinitely, and I certainly don't want to do another long ass drive back up here.  We will see.

I spent several hours today practicing the fiddle.  The joy of playing + the discovery of learning tunes via youtube + the possibility of making $110/hour has me playing lots.  I'm working on a rousing medley of Cold Frosty Morning/Whiskey Before Breakfast (a fantastically fun song to play)/Kitchen Girl.  I learned an old time tune called the Possum's Tail is Bare, my first old time tune I think.  It's fun, but the bowings are tricky and important so it will probably take me a while to get it up to speed.