Taking the slow way home

There's a Chet Baker song called "Let's Get Lost" that I have always thought of as a theme song. It's a love song, but its central message has always resonated with me as a good approach to life in general. Yesterday after work I was thinking of doing the Tuesday evening club ride. But then I thought, "No, time to do something I haven't done in a while." So I got out the mountain bike instead of the road bike and headed for some dirt. At first I thought I'd take a slow climb up the closest fireroad my normal default on the dirt. But again I thought, "No, do something you haven't done before." So, I headed to Shooters a steep rocky and this time of year very loose singletrack. I decided to climb it, which I have never done before. It should be pointed out that I am at best awkward on single track and that steep loose climbing is one of the weakest of my weak links. No surprise that the climb was slow, and that I was forced off more times than I care to remember. One particularly embarassing instance was a slow speed tipover where I managed to tweek my left knee as well. I eventually topped out and then flew down the fireroad descent at a good pace. Arrived home in one piece and rewarded myself with a big meal at the local Thai restaurant.