I try and mix it up but am usually spinning tempo. With the wet, I had to ride my hardtail on the street for several rides and would make a concerted effort to remember and shift up until I could really feel it in my quads. I may be off the bike for a few days to many weeks. Ran into a buddy on the trail at the start of my ride today who had just gotten a new Santa Cruz Bronson. It’s a beefy bike with a mullet 27.5 on the rear and a 29 up front. He was gassed and headed home so he let me take it for a short spin. I thought it was ok but not what I am looking for in a full squish bike. It has gigantic bars. So big that on a rocky but usually easy downhill rock garden, I clipped a tree that wasn’t ever a thought on my rides on this trail I’ve been on 100+ times. As I am heading OTB I have the distinct thought “here comes another broken bone.” I was able to press myself in a weird reverse push-up and keep my head from hitting the rocks. Hands are scraped and my left forearm is currently oozing through the bandaids my wife put on, but the real kick in the ass is my right though. As I tumbled over, the bike came with me and I was caught between some jagged rocks and the frame. I’ve got a deep thigh bruise that I’ve wrapped and am icing about every hour. I can walk but am stove up real good. My buddy was surprisingly unbothered by my wrecking his bike before he could. Thankfully the carbon didn’t get scratched up and I since the WTB seat failed under warranty, he will get that replaced for free. Hopefully this bruise won’t linger and I’ll be moving ok in a week or so. Being 51 has kinda sucked. I gained 7 pounds on vacation and haven’t dropped them from just returning to my usual diet and now I’m injured with something that could take months to fully heal.