I made it out today for my second THT outing in as many weeks. It was a good day out -- talk about being overgrown though. I cleared several windfalls with the crosscut saw, but there are still a few down that are way too big for a dinky little handsaw. I've been getting regular saddle time on the gravel road around the lake I live on, and I could really feel the improvement -- still a long ways off from getting in three 18milers in a day though (18@Crowder-18@Indian Creek-18@THT.) If I'm going to meet my Triptych Challenge, I need to make it out once a month for a full day in the saddle starting this month clear through November. It's managable, but I wish I hadn't lost all those weeks wrestling with my bungled up bottom bracket.

In other bike related news: I had planned to get out and do some trimming yesterday. I spent about a half hour trying to get the thing to run. It looked for a while like I had triumphed, then something snapped in the engine. I'm taking it as occasion to start saving my pennies and pony up for a four stroke model. The reality check I'm using to keep from pouting is that as far as highspeed engine failure goes, at least all my anatomy is intact and I didn't have to drive myself to the emergency room or anything.

My general thinking is that a day not spent in the ER is a good day.

I've got personal experience with what happens when you play with engines attached to chainsaws and DR Brush mowers, and Stihl trimmers. Two involved blood loss and should have been ER trips. One ended up in a trip to the eye doctor. I've learned about steel toe boots, eye protection, wearing chaps for rocks, and I'm about to buy some soccer shin guards. If you are out in the woods doing what I do on a regular basis, you are going to get some dingers.

So the "triptych" never came to fruition this year. It will certainly be one of the carrots I chase in 2012.

I'm not sure how soon I'll have a base deep enough to take a crack at "the triptych" -- an out and back figure eight sort of thing at Crowder, a boat ramp-campground-17-campground at Indian Creek, and an out-around the loop-and back from Thousand Hills Park -- each roughly around 18miles apiece -- all in a single day.

If I really wanted to put the hurt to myself, I could make it a four course goal called "the four horsemen" and add Sugar Creek to the mix. Sugar Creek, if you ride all of it, is somewhere between 9 &10 miles of rattle your teeth loose horse trail. It's steep and rough and not built with any consideration for sustainability whatsoever. It's a good workout. I still haven't attempted it on the SS. I plan on using it as a guage for when I first dare trying the triptych. I figure when I can "comfortably" double up Sugar Creek and Thousand Hills, then I can start doing both Crowder and Indian Creek when I head over, then eventually start throwing in Thousand Hills on the way back.