Hit Trail Of Tears this AM. I love this place even though I have only been here twice before. It is possible to get lost within the park, however I tend to get around ok. Plus, when you’re hitting a new place that has loads of single-track it doesn’t much matter which way you go. It’s all good.

Temps at 8:30 were prob in the mid 70’s and not a cloud in the sky. Dew point was in the low 70’s which translates to just short of oppressive. What else is new in NE. Hit the trail with a full 70oz on the back and 16oz in the bottle. Parking lot off exit 5 was empty so just like yesterday I had the place all to myself.

You can separate TOT into 2 sections. The gun club side and the other side. I chose to hit the gun club first. It was more of a continuation of yesterday.

Notice the similarities from the day before. Just like Sunday’s ride the trail just keeps going in sections.

After crossing back to the other side of the power lines, I would get into what looks like more the traveled side. Still lots of flow and single-track but also lots of rocks and baby heads abound the landscape. Plenty more technical type punchy climbs as well on this side. I would find myself shifting back and forth from my 36t to my 26t quite often. I also for some reason never have a problem finding the trail they call big ring either. This is one of those 1-2% declining sections that is almost as smooth as concrete. You just push a big gear at a high rate of speed. So much fun!

All said and done, it was another 2+ hours in the saddle again today. Like yesterday, I had to peel my jersey off my body. It was 100% saturated again, but no bug bites, and just a couple of thorn slashes on the shins.