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The last time I rode Hummingbird, I said "I never, ever want to ride Hummingbird again."  But after more than two years, and a great many small milestones, it felt like time to give it another shot.

I had a blast.  Last time, I walked a lot of the trail. This time, there were just two short sections I decided to walk, both tricky lines with some risk to them.  I've learned: if I'm feeling confident, roll through.  But once I pull up short, I only wait long enough to catch my breath before I either ride on or dismount and walk it.  Staring longer than that doesn't change anything, and just builds up the challenge in my head.

I wasn't able to ride the whole thing. But I made huge gains over the last time I tried. I no longer feel like Hummingbird is full-suspension-only territory. In fact, I'm confident I'll ride it clean... eventually.

And on Friday, I took a short spin around Wildwood park. I steered clear of most of the technical stuff, and just took it easy, enjoying the breeze and the scenery.  What a great way to finish out a big week of riding.

I also discovered that there's a new (to me) trail in Wildwood park: a connector trail between the Santa Rosa and Lower Santa Rosa trails. Evidently, this was proposed a while back, and it's great to see that it's been built. I've never ridden the Lower Santa Rosa or Box Canyon trails, so I can't wait to get back out there.

Chumash to Hummingbird Loop

Wildwood Loop