Hamburger Hill

On the way up to Hamburger Hill today I was thinking it was silly that we still called it that. It's been months (if not years) since anyone has crashed on it. But then Todd began his descent, going into the beginning much too fast. He disappeared from sight, but I was able to hear some yelling coming from down the hill. Once I got to the edge, I peeked over and saw Todd covered in dirt, and blood was trickling down his arm. I stand corrected...the name Hamburger Hill reamains true.

A Time for Bonding

Patrick and Barbara bonded today. They formed that special bond you get when you don't tell the new girl that we'll be turning right at the next street, and then proceed to make the turn in front of her. It reminded me of a slo-mo instant reply from the Tour de France, and the whole crash lasted about 4 seconds. Barbara's bike was sucked up by Patrick's rear tire, and seemed lift her bike up sideways. This actually scrubbed off quite a bit of speed before they hit the asphalt. Miraculously, both only received minor road rash.

New Rider!

We picked up a new rider this week! Barbara dusted off her titanium LeMond hard tail and hit the trails with us. She had an impressive performance today for not riding for a few years. I predict she will be hard to beat on the uphills when she gets her legs back!

Rim Trail Ride Planned

Todd says, "To celebrate and kick off the season, next Saturday (7/2) I am going to take our standard rim trail ride from the trailhead at the top of Kingsbury grade toward Spooner, and stopping and turning back at the bench near Genoa Peak. I plan to leave the trailhead at about 10:30."

Hope to see people there!

Death March

You ever notice that most death marches start with the phrase, "That looks ridable. Let's go down there…"? We tried riding the gully today thinking that a year after the fire, it may be in decent shape. The last time we rode it there was still smoke coming out of the ground, so it couldn't be worse, huh? Well after a bent brake rotor, a flat tire, and a strained wrist, it became evident that a mistake had been made. We climbed back out of the canyon to the main road and limped back to work…

The Pit

When will these guys stop digging? How much water are they expecting to collect in this pit? The bike path runs across the top of the pit...hopefully nobody falls to their doom!

Deep Snow

We won't be seeing dirt for a few weeks. The bike path doesn't even go all the way through right now...check out the deep snow!

Riding the Gauntlet

We came around the last corner on our way to the trailhead of C1, and there was the gauntlet. Two forest service trucks and a 20 man inmate fire crew. We didn't waver, but instead decided to ride right through the middle of them all. The inmates stopped their work and stared at us riding through. I felt thankful that I didn't have my tight shorts on this day. Patrick in his tights, and Ryan in his tight blue shorts, took most of the stares. From the gazes we got, you would have thought we were a bunch of high school cheerleaders prancing through in our skirts. An awkward moment for sure...

A week of snow

Ohhh what fun it is to ride, in a one horse open sleigh... hey!

Rainbows and Simooms

Today's ride started off with a pretty Rainbow, but quickly turned into a hell born simoom-like wind storm. We attempted C1 today...a climb that normally takes about 5 minutes. It took us about 20 minutes today. We had to stop occasionlly to curl up as the 50 mph wind gusts pelted us with sand and ice. Our tracks in the deep mud looked like those of a drunkard's. At one point, the wind blew Patrick into a complete U-Turn. I looked back to see him heading back down the hill...at first I thought he was deserting me. It was so hard and miserable that it was actually funny. And that's what made it enjoyable (if that makes any sense). The ride ended with a squishy mud down hill that turned out to be pretty fun. Patrick lost his water bottle at some point...maybe when he tossed his bike across the ditch. And to think I almost didn't go today.

Brrrrrr....

It was only 25 degrees out during yesterday's ride. It was cold starting out, but was actually quite pleasant once we got moving. The cold packed powder was perfect for riding on. There is nothing quite like riding down a snowy hill at 15-20 mph. You are barely in control of the bike, and a crash could come at any moment. We all crashed or spun out at least twice yesterday. No injuries though. Clipless pedals were not a good thing. They had packed up with ice by the time we hit the downhill, and were nothing more than slippery spindles.

Private Ryan

I brought the Single Speed today. I thought if I had any chance of keeping up with the new guy on the Lakeview hill climb, it'd be on this bike. I put a good lead on Todd and Patrick, but still got smoked by Ryan. I just need to lose 10 lbs, and put some semi-slicks on the single speed...then I may have a chance of keeping up.

I did beat a roadie today though. I looked back at him, and he was either smiling at me or grimacing in pain. Either way, it's good.

FNG

So the new guy shows up with his Specialized S-Works hard tail, equipped with a Spynergy wheel set and semi slick racing tires, and smokes us on the Lakeview climb. I wanted to teach him a lesson on the sandy downhill section, but was unable to, as he was on my butt all the way down. DeVito and I kept the pace as high as we could in a feeble attempt to show that we would not be bullied, but Ryan took no notice. I returned to my office dizzy and exhausted. We've all moved slightly to left in the bell curve...thanks a lot, Ryan!

New Rider!

We picked up a new rider this week. Ryan, if he chooses to continue riding with us, will probably be the guy to beat on the hill climbs. It was nice to win a few hill climbs after the Sarge left us, but I have a feeling the party is now over. We shall see next week.

Where's the rest of my pack?

Today's ride began with a coyote sighting. We just sat and stared at each other for a while. I think we were both wondering where the rest of each other's pack was. We were both solo today it appeared. I rode up Timberline via the dirt. I've always loved the back to nature experience of mountain biking, but most of today's ride was devoid of nature (the coyote was hanging out in a field in a residential area, so it doesn't count). I had nothing but my own disturbing thoughts of tomorrow's election to keep me company. I can't wait till the grass grows back next spring! Thankfully the dirt conditions were excellent, and bombing down the hill cleared my head for a couple minutes. Only the words, "Whoooo Hooooo!" crossed my mind. There's nothing more therapeutical!

First Snow of the Year

Here we see DeVito smiling comfortably under a few layers of clothing. If people realized how much fun we had riding in the snow storm, maybe they wouldn't have called us crazy (or even stupid) as we left the building.

Update on the Sarge

Here we see The Sarge in his new position as first mate on a crabbin' boat. Many would agree that we've seen a decline in interest in the Facility Bike Club since the Sarge left for Maryland in July. The waterfall fire is heavily to blame too, but I saw it coming before the fire struck. The Sarge was definitely the motivator of the group. I think he would be appalled to find the state we're in if he returned for a surprise inspection! When he's not crabbin', he's coding COBOL and drinking beer...at the same time!

"Beer day is every Friday....people just bring beer in at lunch and everyone has 2 or 3.....amazing to sit at ur desk, do ur work and sip on a brew...."

Rain

No riding yesterday or today. It hasn't rained for months, so now it's making up for lost time. I don't mind the cold or snow, but riding in rain is miserable.

Instead of seeking fitness today, I went out for Krispy Cheeseburgers with my buddy Scott. I told Scott that I was a little chilly, and that my heater never really kicked on during the drive to the burger place. He just rolled his eyes. I suddenly realized I had made a wussy-esque statement. Scott drives for UPS, and drives with no right door all day. He said his feet had been wet for 2 hours already, and he still had 6 hours to go with wet shoes. So maybe I wasn't that cold after all...

Huffy bicycles filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. Huffy imports its bicycles from southeast Asia, including China and Taiwan, and sells them through high-volume retailers that account for about 85 percent of all wheeled products sold in the United States. It's amazing that 85 percent of the population chooses to ride a sub-standard bike, assembled by a sub-standard "bicycle mechanic". Recently, the neighbor kid brought over his new WalMart bike for my inspection. The rear brakes were not even functional! I guess they sell enough of this crap so they can afford the law suits! I did what I could do with the barrel adjusters to tighten the brake cables, but it wasn't enough. I told him that cables stretch on a new bike, and that he needed to come back over this coming weekend for a tune-up. He was very proud of his new bike, so I sugar coated it for him. He should have a decent bike for his skill level after I fix it for him.

Die Huffy Die!

Cold Weather Riding is Back!

Today marked my first cold weather ride of the season. The neoprene gloves, Gore-Tex jersey, wool socks, and long pants came out of storage today. A rather abrupt change, since we were wearing tank tops just last week.

Trail conditions were awesome! Carson received lots of rain over the weekend, and the sand was packed. We carried incredible speed down the Lakeview to RR Grade hill.

It was interesting to see all the ash in the sand washes today. The bottom of the sand washes were black with all the ash runoff. Since this was the first real rain since the fire, there's no new vegetation to hold anything back.

More bad weather lined up for the rest of the week...

Freedom Riders

"The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches, and we must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time and eternally press forward for what is yet to get. It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good." --Thomas Jefferson

I thought of our founding fathers as I rode today. Not because we both wear tights with funny shoes, but because I felt as if they would want me to give the tree run another shot. I pursued life, liberty, and happiness as I pedaled into the "burn area". A blanket closure of the area is ridiculous as long as I don't tread on other people's rights...causing damage to the hillside, endangering the water supply, etc. We used common sense and stayed on the trail; our tracks barely visible in the dirt.

We used to be divided by fitness level, but it now appears that demarcation will be determined by those who choose to pursue happiness, and those who choose to ride the Rail Road Grade every day.

If you've read this far, you're probably saying, "But isn't it still illegal? ". Yes. But, isn't driving 56 mph in a 55 zone illegal? Yes it is. I guess we all choose where and when we want to fudge.

There...I've justified myself to myself. On to the actual riding stuff...

Me and the other Freedom Rider did the tree run again today. Not wanting to screw up the hill like we did last time, we prepared ourselves for the final ascent. We had to search back in our memories on how to use the granny gear, and scratch and claw our way up the hill. We prevailed, and it even seemed somewhat easy when we got to the top. On the way back down, we hit Hamburger Hill. Boy did it look scary not seeing it up close for so long. It was torn up and rocky too. We went for it, and it turned out to be not so bad. Sure we dabbed a couple times, but we got a feel for it. Biggest enemy was going too slow. We will clear it next time...

Let freedom ring...