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Survived the first time trial of the season - improved my time by over 4 minutes from last year - only about a minute off my goal time for this summer. Not bad for a "slug" rider not seriously training. I guess I really don't like racing that much, but it was a good challenge. I've got to get more base miles in, my HR was too high for the entire loop.

The good news is that I am finally feeling comfortable on the 29er. Steering is acceptable, getting over logs and rocks is great. I'm learning to not use the brakes as much and just let the bike do the work. The wheels are pretty heavy and I can really feel it when climbing up the rollers, but I'm not going to complain. Overall the bike isn't that much heavier than my old Stumpjumper.

Some photos coming soon of bad house ideas the previous owners had. Like using fiber board to seal up the dryer vent. I really don't like fixing their past mistakes, everything takes 3 times longer than it should - not that I know what I'm doing anyway.