A truly perfect day, temps in the 60s, sunny, no wind.  Did about 15 miles but wasn’t keeping careful track - more importantly despite not riding since Tuesday I felt great.  I could have ridden 15 more easy if time permitted.  Trails were full of hikers and families biking down the paths, few serious bikers.  Come on mid-Michigan mountain-bikers, what else could you be doing today anyway?  Burchfield is finally starting to dry out, the easy loop entrance from the main trail is still closed for water, Swamp Thing is finally open and has had some nice work done to it - better than ever.  I managed a nice crash on one of Swamp Thing’s bridges - I was approaching fast and I think my rear tire caught and slid sideways on one of the approach planks, nothing serious but got nice and dirty in the soft dirt around the creek.  I’m always amazed the way time slows down mid-fall, you’re instantly aware that you’ve lost it, but you seem to have plenty of time to think it through and adjust mid-air to try and minimize the damage.  I remember thinking “uh-oh, better get my arm out from underneath so it doesn’t get crushed but don’t land on the shoulder and oh good no big rocks or tree trunks down there…” and then thunk.

21 days to Hanson Hills.  I suppose I should register for that.  I have this cool Google Gadget on my iGoogle homepage that shows me a countdown until the race.  Ok, well the week ahead should be full of riding, cool weather with a slight chance of showers - but hopefully not much.

Poto is fast becoming one of my favorite trails. The hilly, slightly sandy terrain recovers quickly from Michigan’s annoyingly frequent rain showers. The path is hard packed, mostly smooth although there are sections of heavy roots and rocks, but never too much. Multiple loops allow for short or long rides, important for those of us who never know how much trail time we’ll have. And oh how the trail flows - more than one rider has described it as a roller coaster - carry the momentum off a long climb and you’ll likely easily fly up the next hill. For going fast I’ve yet to ride a better trail in Michigan. Which leads more riders than myself to the inevitable question: “Why isn’t there a CPS race at Poto?”