Clark's TT - Denied

I've been off the bike since the century Saturday. I was getting jittery, like a junkie going cold turkey. So even with the rain that poured down today I changed into my bike clothes at work and drove over to Corner Canyon to see if I could do a time trial (TT) on Clark's and better my time.

I started at the Coyote Hollow trail head for a change. It looked pretty wet, but I thought it worth a look. A bit soft going up to the Tee, I went west on the BST to warm up and did OK until one spot with clay soil that stuck to my tires. I went up to above the McMansions then came back down. Most of the mud flipped off. At the bridge I started my stop watch and hit it. But I didn't get 30 yards before I had 5 pounds of mud on my tires. No way would I get a fast time in these conditions, and I didn't want to mess up the trail, so I turned around.

I still had some free time so I went down and took the BST east across the dirt road. The grader has made it's way down this far and it was a dug up mess, but I made it across and continued on the BST to the first gully crossing. The stream was roaring pretty good. I turned around and headed back. I took a little detour up the Gas Line trail then back to the car. All of these trails have sandy soil that drains real well - no mud and only a few puddles.

I pushed the pace but felt sluggish. Hopefully just blowing the cobwebs out of my legs. I'm hoping for a break in the weather so I can ride tomorrow or Friday to pre-ride the Draper race course. I'd rather not ride hard on Saturday.

On another note: Commuting fun this morning was dodging a mangled ladder in my lane.

Update: Tonight I finished converting my mountain bike to tubeless. I had gone over to the UMB shop to help Mike with the front wheel for my wife's bike (the rear wheel is done, but we didn't get the front to seal). And while I was there we added rim tape to the front wheel of my bike. At home I took out the tube, installed a tubeless stem, and added 4 ounces of Stans sealant. I don't have a compressor, but thought I'd give the floor pump a try - it worked! It helps that the sidewalls of the Continental Vertical Pro tire flex out nicely so it sealed up pretty easy. Some shaking and more pumping and it was holding air. Hopefully it will hold air overnight, but I'm confident it's done.