Taking one up the date from Mike Tyson

Made the late call this morning to sneak out for an MTB with Paddy. Overcast but mild, the usual loop from our place > zig-zag, Glenbrook Ranger station, Euroka, Bennetts Ridge, Oaks Hut, single track and back. Unbelievably good fortune to have such a cracking 2hr ride as a "standard" on the doorstep. ........ Mountain biking only really works for me when it's overcast. The softer more even light eliminates the shadows which, for the visually challenged, largely camouflage the drops, rocks and crevices that are the very point of being on a mountain bike in first place. Which isn't to say I have the requisite bike skills to negotiate any significant obstacles in any case, just that it's nice to at least get the opportunity to brace and look for landing strip......... As opposed to the more common scenario, being when the handlebars suddenly bounce outside the line of the bike, the seat delivers a Mike Tyson punch to the jaxy, and I get a refresher course in Newton's Laws - His Third, when the bike and I head in opposite though collinear directions with equal force, followed by his First - where I remain at a constant velocity until being acted upon by an external force. Most commonly a tree root. ........ Damn nice ride today. ..... Fri am, 5x3min hill reps on roadie / pm 8k easy. Sat. 40k MTB. Hard to beat.