Today it was 85!!! Lovin the heat. The weather has been real nice for the past week and really wanted to take advantage of the Blue Skies and Drier trails. I recently had the linkage and Bearings overhauled by Fluid Ride in Seattle and really was itching for a ride. I decided to Ride Tiger Mtn in the Morning and South SeaTac in the afternoon. Yesterday was Mother's day and we did quite a bit of business at the restaurant and was really ready for some off time. I got to Tiger about 1:45 pm for a pretty late start. It was really hot in the Parking lot and there were no water puddles (a sign) of Dry Trails. I headed up the Fire road and the Heat was brutal. No Wind either! Finally arrived at the preston trail head some 40 mins later. I can really feel the extra 11 or 12 lbs of the Nomad compared to the Stumpy on these long fire road climbs. Next was Preston! This is where the Nomad leaves the Stumpy in the Dust! It is a dream going down and really performed well!! Headed over to Northwest Timber and was really feeling the heat! Continued on the Cleaned the whole trail but was tired when I got back to the Car! Packed up and headed To Center Cycle in Renton.

I have been talking to Shane about getting an Urban/Dirt Jump Bike for a while and today I Finally went for it. I ordered My Santa Cruz Jackal. Santa Cruz Has stock so it should be here in the few weeks. Pretty excited about this bike as I really want to explore the Dirt Jumps and Urban Riding that Seattle has to offer. I got a really good deal on it. I also sold some extra parts that I had laying around and a few Large Format Prints To people at work (For Mothers Day Gifts) so that pretty much funded the cost of the bike. This was nice! I will be starting to Commute to work on my Road Bike Two days a week starting next week but I will also take the Bus a few Hours early 2 days a week with the Jackal to Get a few hours Urban Riding in Downtown Seattle. I have been eyeing several lines, Stair Gaps, Skinnies, and Various other urban Style features in the past 6 months that I can't wait to ride!

So after ordering the Jackal I drove to South SeaTac for a night Ride. The days are real long so lights are not needed anymore. I arrived a few minutes late but caught up to the group just before they were entering the FlowPark. I had not eaten anything but a Few Gels and Cytomax all day so I was feeling a bit run down. Nothing like a few runs through the flow park to forget about hunger. I was nailing the drops and kickers perfectly! I hit a new line that was a little bigger than my usually and nailed it to. Some of the other riders commented that I was NUTS but I assured them that it was all good! Took about five runs through the park and really had a good time. I really wished I had my Full Face Helmet on though. It just makes me feel a lot safer when I am pushing my progression on Jumps and Drops. On a side note, the Nomad was loving the bigger drop today. I was very Impressed. There is also a new series of Dirt Jumps at the end of the Flow park and really want to try it out with the Jackal. After the flow park we rode the trails for about an hour and a Half and a great time. SeaTac has really Buff trails and some sections have some REALLY nice FLOW. Headed back to Issaquah after the ride to a wonderful Sunset and a great day of Riding! Tomorrow is Tokul west with 13 other riders. Should be a great time. I am thinking of taking out the Stumpy. It's Getting Lonely!

Eric