Bruises & Broken Frames!

Hello all,

We had a great MTB ride this morning! 8 riders total, including Ben Stefanski who we haven't seen in a while, and Brian Bermudes as well. We did a little Power-lines-Jesusita-Tuckers Grove loop that was really fun. Jesusita is as good as I've ever seen it right now. We can thank the Santa Barbara Mountain bike Trail Volunteers for that. We saw a few hikers, but they were very friendly and we all had bells on, so no problems there. We did have a couple little mishaps worth noting though.

First off, we were doing a little section of Tunnel Trail on our way over to Jesusita when Blingerman did a perfectly executed endo and landed on his head. Luckily, he landed right on the "sweet- spot". That would be the area between your eyebrows and your helmet. So he didn't damage his new helmet, or his eyes..........his forehead was not as fortunate. To his credit, he shook it off and kept ridin'. I actually think he looks better with a Neanderthal like forehead.....very distinguished.



The second incident happened on Jesusita. Now nobody's ever accused me of being a good descender. That's why I like riding with guys like Mike Abbott and Dale Kramer and.......(you're not gonna believe this one)...Dave Lettieri. That's right, Dave's become somewhat of a kamikaze on our Sunday Mountain rides. But he actually has the "skillz" to back it up. He flew down the stair section of Jesusita today like a man possessed. It was awesome! He used every inch of suspension on his carbon fiber Trek as he bounced down the trail...and he pulled it off. After watching Dave, Mike, and Dale ride all these sections that I was walking I learned two things.

1. I'm not a very good descender

and

2. Sometimes it's better just to close your eyes and let go of the brakes.

Now while Dave is very good......he's not perfect. Later in the ride he crashed amongst some rocks and broke the top tube of his beloved Trek Fuel. For the rest of us this would be a terrible turn of events. Fortunately for Dave, carbon frames are cheap, and easily replaceable.

Besides a couple dings and scratches the rest of the ride went according to plan, and we all got home with big smiles on our faces and in one piece...........except Dave's frame.....that was in two pieces. Hope you'll join us next weekend!

Matt