MTB session today

A building i went. Been looking at a nice new climb in the local wood so decided to take a wee peak today. It rides up alongside the back of a school up through some bluebells and a bit of a rock garden. Hence i call it Bluebells Rock! Swings down and then it starts to drop. Looks nice from the top but it has a few hidden treats in store!

Stuck a few rocks on the backside for the people who are going to mess it up. Frankly its a spongey landing anyway but better to be safe than stupid. Especially if people are going to be riding behind the school come day time!

Rest of the ride took in some of the normal trails. Decided the rest of the day would be a mixture of exploring and some serious intervals on the hills. Spun up the Ouroborus climb (it just keeps on going), legged it across the golf course and up onto the Ben of Howth. I remembered an old DH trail that used to be there so decided to check it out. Turns out the young'uns are still keeping it clean and it is much better than i remember. Couple of nice big drops and some very fast lines. All of which done on the Race bike....with 63mm of travel at the moment...ehh my ass was on my tire for much of the drops.

Spun down into the Deer Park Golf Course then back up THE climb. Still haven't cleared this fully. Its technical, muddy, rocky and steep. Still dabbed on 3 sections of it. I will clear this by the end of the summer. Its now a target. Loop on the 'Quarry trail' and up the old DH run. Decided to head up and over the head, down the 'Horse Shoe' and into Balscadden Bay. Up the 'Your a...' climb and down the excellent single track out onto the cliff trail. Hammered where i could but there were loads of walkers. Once i got past the summit it was clear and gunned it on the hard packed mud.

Back up and over the new section up by Bluebells and down this random little section i found. Legs were toast, serious potential for bonking (oh er missus) so hit the road and gunned it home. Oh it started lashing about half way through the ride. Didn't even notice it until i saw some people hiding from the wind :)

Great ride, but my legs are shot now. Just over 32km, average speed 13.2 kph and HR 145. Maxed out at 177bpm for about 20secs, 46% of the ride at tempo (140-158) and 20% @ threshold (159-176)