Fun Girls Luv Dirt!

Last Friday Amy, Patti and I drove to Reno to meet Chris and Barbara for a girls ride. We packed up team Turners with my Stumpy, and we headed to the dirt. I hadn't ridden with Patti or Chris yet, but I knew they were experienced skilled riders. So when Amy asked me if I wanted to ride Peavine with Patti and Chris, I said sure! She said, "Oh we'll get our asses kicked, but it'll be fun!" How could I pass up an offer like that! I am always up for a good ass kicking, it puts hair on your chest...err something like that.

So we were following Barbara's truck who was following Chris on the Freeway, but we lost them. Amy was driving her new truck, AKA "the Land Yacht", pedal to the metal at 75, but we were still unable to keep up with the speedsters. Unsure of the turn off, Patti finally reached Chris on her cell phone. I remember her side of the conversation went something like, "Ya Bitch! You lost us! What are you thinking speeding off like that?!?". I like these girls already!

Right from the start I had recognized the trail. I had done it before. My first mountain bike was a Specialized Rockhopper that I got back in 1989. J-Mo had taken me on this trail shortly after we met at UNR. In fact, we probably ditched class to ride. Anyways, I only remembered the first 5 minutes of the trail, then we made a left and started to climb up.


Chris took us on her favorite trails, looping up and around the rolling hills. I remember one of my favorite sections was coming down a canyon riding high berms and quick turns on the way down. It was great! I remember stopping to take a picture and Barbara saying, don't even bother, it won't do it justice.

Barbara had to head back early, so we split off and headed over to a rocky area that had a great downhill section. I remember saying to Patti earlier in the day that I feel okay on the climbs, but my downhills need work. She said, "Downhills needing work? That just does not go in the same sentence!". I thought about it for a bit. True...downhills are the payback. They are supposed to be the fun part, not hard work! So with that in mind I tried to relax, loosen up a bit, and enjoy myself.

We had a quick stop and were getting ready to ride when Chris said, 'Watch yourselves on this section, girlies." I thought this meant it must be rocky or there may be a sharp turn coming up. I came around the corner and there was a drop off to the left, a huge boulder straight ahead, and sage brush to the right. Quickly I decide to dive into the sagebrush. No way was I going down the drop off. Amy comes up behind me and says, "You could have done it if you were going fast." True...if I had just been going a little faster, then I would not have had the option of stopping. I would have probably pulled it off, but may have peed my pants in the process. That was always the line I remembered when dirt biking ... when in doubt, gas it.

We hurried a bit to get back to the truck. I had to pick up my boy from school about an hour away.

What a blast! I was glad to finally meet and ride with Chris and Patti. It was a great trail and an awesome day! Thanks for the ass kick'n, girlies! Can't wait to do it again!

From left to right... Chris, Amy, Barbara and Patti.

Note: Amy, thanks for the title.

The complete photoset is HERE.