Maddie's spring break

omg she's old

Annoyingly, Maddie's spring break and my spring break do not line up. This week was my first week back to school, while Maddie started her break. I have a block schedule this quarter, so I don't need to be on campus Tuesday and Thursday.

So today Maddie and I took a couple hours to drive out to Riverside State Park and to tool around.

My main goal was to get her out on the trails and not screw it up by doing all the stupid stuff I'm prone to do, like saying stupid shit or leading her off on overly technical trails.

She led. I only spoke when spoken to, or when she cleaned a tricky spot -- then I'd casually mention it.

Maddie was sure to pack (a label) a bag of snacks. Note the handy-wipe stapled (and taped...  soon she'll find my zip ties) to a rubber band, which holds the whole thing together. Aside from the trail mix (see below), the snacks consisted of Easter candy. Any reason to pack a sack of candy is a good reason. 

Maddie's own trail mix. Be careful throwing back a handful of this: those pistachios are killers.

Success. We both had a great time and she kind of surprised me with her comfort level on a couple spots. Because she doesn't ride that much anymore, I forget that she's got a ton of bike time under her -- relative to her age. It shows in how she stands on short climbs or uses "body english" to work through rocky or tricky sections.

We shall return. Verily.

Someone else started this fort. Maddie finished it...

Liza this morning: outbound for her first commute of the year.
Upon her return up the hill this evening: "my legs are like jello..."
So it begins.