Ride 12-06-09

Hello,

I have to say that was one of the best rides we've ever done. We discovered new trails. Re-discovered old trails and had a blast while getting our butts kicked by some of the steepest climbs imaginable and, as Dave would say "tearing up some singletrack dude!"



West Fork was a total surprise. the trail is in fantastice shape and many sections have been re-worked to make it much less death-defying and more rideable. Riding up East Fork was a challenge but the scenery was top notch and well worth the effort. We discovered a great little trail that connects the Romero Catway with the lower part of the Romero singletrack trail....very cool. This was one of those rides where there's a lot of hooping and hollering and guys yelling "Yeah, this is awesome!" and "Wow, that was cool!" Of course that was on the descents. On the climbs there was also a lot of yelling but I'm unable to write some of the words that were used. Suffice it to say there were a lot of four letter descriptive adjectives and exclamations. But in the end everyone was happy and had that natural high going on that you can only get from working your ass off and accomplishing your goal. Speaking of accomplishing goals I hope all our marathon friends did well?......Robert, Gabe, Joe, Nikola....am I missing anyone? Waiting for race reports and results. Sorry I wasn't out there with ya.........but not that sorry.

Mike Abbott rode exceptionally well today. I think he may be part mountain goat. I've never seen his parents but I wouldn't be surprised if one of them has bucked teeth...... and horns. Dano is a new man on his brand new Ibis machine, and as he said he can "feel the money" when he rides it. Doyle was making excuses for not finishing as soon as the ride started but he ended up sticking it out and did the whole thing and still had a smile on his face at the end....nice work. Dave pretty much lives at the shop or on his bike and he's not used to walking or hiking. So the hike-a-bike sections really took their toll on him. It always fun to see Dave suffering. He almost opted out right at the end but he hung in there and discovered his new favorite section of trail. Luke also suffered his way through "almost" the whole ride. He did all the hard parts anyways. So if you need anything done to your bike, today is good day to bring it in. I have a feeling Luke is going to be very productive today. To everyone who rode today, great job! That was an epic!

Ride stats: 4 hours 20 minutes...........only 28 miles........5,025 ft. of "hard earned" climbing............10 tired but happy dudes.

See ya next weekend.....if the weather allows?

Matt