Is it summer yet?

Last week we had a few days that felt like summer was here. Temperatures in the mid-90's this time of year are pretty rare. The beauty of the heat here in Sacramento is that it peaks late in the day so riding early is always simple awesome. Unfortunately, the temps have dropped about thirty degrees to the seasonal norm with rain expected tomorrow (5/1) and beyond. Honestly, I know we need the rain but I can sure do without it ... it screws up the cycling!
Last night found me over a Prairie City for the Wednesday evening mountain biking extravaganza. Haven't raced yet this season but did take a practice lap yesterday and enjoyed that very much. At the conclusion of the racing, I joined a group of four other for some professional training on off-road riding.
Our instructor, Rob, is a physical trainer here in town. The class was a blast and Rob proved to be an excellent instructor. The topic last night was braking. We went through drills on both soft dirt and hard pack. The goal was to be in control of the bike and stop it within a specific distance. Rob set up cones for our drill.
First we learned and practiced the art of using just the rear brake. The goal was to apply the brakes, keep the bike straight and come to a complete stop with one foot down before reaching the next cone. My estimate is that the cones were about seven yards apart. In the soft dirt it is easy to brake too hard and have the rear wheel slide. It is all about body weight distribution over the bike and touch on the brake lever. After three tries, everybody seemed to be doing very wheel.
Next it was stopping with front brake only. Body weight distribution is even more important now because a quick stop on the front could catapult you over the bars if you're weighted to much to the front of the bike.
Finally, we were instructed in the proper way to stop using both brakes. It all takes practice and good execution. Next week we will work on cornering. Awesome.
Today, I jumped on the road bike and took off for a fairly quick trip up to Beal's Point. The ride down the hill makes the suffering climbing up worth it.