Bar ends and really great dirt

Since I'm now in the land of elevation change, and I ride a hard tail, I decided to try out some bar ends again. It didn't take too long to figure out that I don't like them. They're great for climbing, but I've grown too accustomed to wide bars to make it work. My hands were too close together and started to go numb. And, more importantly, they look funny. So that's $30 down the drain. Maybe the corporate sponsor will like them.

But it wasn't a wasted day. Apparently it rained last night, leaving the trails slightly damp but not muddy. I'm not sure what kind of soil is up on the mountain, but today it was the stickiest I've ever ridden. I kept pushing harder and harder, and I couldn't get my front wheel to wash at all. In fact, my only 'mistakes' were when I hit it a bit too hard and overturned a couple of corners. It was a bit surprising to roll into a turn thinking I was going it bit faster than I probably should have, and then jump on it and turn too much. It was pretty cool. Even the King of Denzer would have ridden like a rock star.

And I figured out why I'm such a moron riding on logs. But I need to go back and see if I can repeat today's successes before I share that "secret."