The day started with crossed signals. Russ waited for the team in the parking lot across from South Hills for a little while before deciding to take off, but luckily, he caught up to the guys on the bike path alongside Camden. Scott had noted he thought Russ was not coming, so they started at a different spot and headed out. Scott, Dan, and Josh were in full effect, though Scott was riding either a rickshaw or a Raleigh, not sure which. I think he said it was his grandfather's bike at one point; it might even have come over on the Mayflower. (Click the above picture to see the mud-nure up close and personal)We had some newcomers today, Patrick, Dustin, and Kevin. Dustin ended up with a bloody shin - making a good case for good gear. (Click on the image to enlarge)
After trudging through the thick mud-nure mixture pre-Stiles and pre-ST Park, we discovered that the trails were closed. Not to be denied, we toyed with the idea of utilizing some private property to sneak through to the fire roads, but good judgment prevailed, and we decided to take a short road ride instead. Ever notice how funny road bikers dress? Could their clothes be any tighter or shinier?The ride was only about 9 miles with an average speed of only 7 mph. We never even hit an elevation of 400 feet. Max speed was in the vicinity of a mere 23 mph. Yaaaaaaaaaaawnville on the one hand, but on the other hand, it was good just to be out on the bike.
We did make the most of the single track across from South Hills Church along Camden, but it just wasn't what we'd set out to do. Nonetheless, it was pretty fun. Also, it was nice to have some extra energy to hit some of the small jumps with a little speed.The next big ride is at Wilder Ranch in Santa Cruz next Sunday. We're aiming for wheels-up by 7:30 AM and getting back by 12PM or so. Mark your calendars.
I apologize for featuring photos of only one bike and one rider, but once again, we forgot to bust out the cameras on the trail. Special thanks to the nice lady who snapped this after my attempts to use the timer only yielded pics of my left leg and rear wheel, which I guess is better than my left pedal and rear end.
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I'm not sure the ride was worth the hour of work that went into cleaning up my bike afterwards, but it was actually pretty fun and ended up being a good ride for the new guys to get their feet wet (literally). Overall, I think everyone had a good time and we'll see Dustin, Patrick and Kevin out on a ride with us again soon.
For those of you who can't get enough mud and gore, here's another pic I took of Dustin's Shin. I love it.
Can't wait for Sunday!
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