Wisdom can be painful

Especially when it comes to teeth. Today I got two of the buggers removed from my head, which now feels like a soccer ball that's had the shit kicked out of it. The bottom half of my jaw doesn't feel like it's even there.The numbness hasn't really worn off yet, and I'm hoping that I don't regain too much feeling just yet! But the ice-pack is a good look, no?
I was expecting a whole lot more pain, but now I'm thinking I might still be able to make the most of the rest of my holiday, and get some more riding done. The last week saw a bit of trail and road time, on Saturday I went out to Killi and had a cruise around with Johnny Klink and Col (The Slug). I wasn't surprised to see that The Slug still hasn't grasped the idea that knne and/or arm warmers are supposed to cover the area of leg from calf to thigh, not just the knee. They had migrated as far south as they possibly could by ride's end. Me and Klink summised that the offending items where probably trying to get as far away from Col as possible, like they'd rather be caught up and mangled in the chainrings than face another minute next to that man's skin. Or maybe they just need throwing out and replacing. (Yeah Right! says Col)Killi itself wasn't in great shape either, after the big storms over summer a lot of the trails were under water. and combined with excessive 4WD and motorbike traffic, some of the trails are pretty boggy/rutted. But some of them flow a whole lot nicer than Glenrock. Which I rode again last Friday night, my first night ride for the winter, and something I need to do when I'm back in Welly. I didn't get to ride the Nomad, as the pedals had been put on James-Watson-tight and were not coming off in a hurry. Kman got to lug the beast around the 'Rock, and I was left with the 5.5, not a bad second choice. Tuesday was a 80km road ride with Col and Vince, a lovely sunny day it was too, with Vince opting for a quicker exit while me and Col continued south to Bugewoi. Last night seemed to me as if it could be my last chance to ride while I'm here, what with all the horror stories I've been told (regarding teeth), so with a 2pm admission time today I was still able to get a ride in, eat proper food and have a decent sleep-in. This time there was no escaping the Nomad, as Kman had a proper big pedal spanner at the ready, and it was left to me to try the big bike out. I don't know if it was the bike, the lack of food throughout the day, or having in the back of my mind the thought "imagine if I broke my arm the day before getting oral surgery done", but I was off the back most of the ride. Ok, I'm blaming the bike. Yeah, it's noticeably heavier than the Intense, which is noticeably heavier than the Stumpy, but it still rides real firm (for 6" of travel it'd have to) and climbs fairly well. The slack steering angle was a little weird feeling, especially in the tight stuff, yet it handled really well. I don't think Glenrock (or at least the trails we were riding) suits its capablities very well, but I can see how fun it would be for eating up steep, rocky, nasty technical trails. But I don't think I have the size of 'nads or the skill level needed to drop it down the sort of terrain where it would shine. Or maybe I'm just too smart to risk injury....But who knows, now that I have no wisdom.....