Hartman Rocks officially opened last week and it's the earliest opening
I can remember since moving here about 18 years ago. While that's a
little concerning for the ongoing drought, upcoming fire season, and
waning ski season, I figured I might as well make the best of it.
I got my window on Sunday (after ditching some friends I was going to
ski some lousy conditions with). I had clearance for the whole afternoon.
I hopped on the SS and spun out to the trails solo. It was about 50
degrees and a little windy, but once I got out to the rocks it was warm
enough to pack away the shell and just wear shorts and short sleeves.
I decided to hit the classics and did the following route: Jack's,
Rattlesnake, Rocky Ridge, Luge, Josie's, Dirty Sock, Skyline, and then
Rocky ridge and Jack's again on the way out. I saw a few people, but not
that many and just rode without stopping almost the entire time (about 3
hours).
I got my inaugural shin/pedal bash and knee/top tube bash out of the way
and otherwise had a pretty uneventful ride. I was totally beat by the
end, and the last few climbs really had be (literally) grunting to get
to the top. I cleaned most of the hard moves, but also had a few "d'oh"
dabs on easier stuff that I'll chalk up to being rusty.
All in all it was good. My legs are tired today. I just need them to be
fresh again for the "Wednesday night sufferfest" road ride, but a couple
of days of mellow townie riding should do the trick.

Matt