The usual wednesday night group met at the usual wednesday
night ride meeting spot, and we did our usual wednesday
night ride.
This time, though, we rode the new Peter North Loop (so
named because it is long, hard, and some people find it
tough to take) before hitting our regular route.
Mike P and I had pieced together the new loop fully on
sunday, so we knew how it all fit together. This was our
first time to ride Peter North at night though, and there
were a few spots where we debated which way to go next. Not
that we were lost, it was a matter of which trail to choose.
We first hit Dinosaur Jr and Mike opted for the second-in-
line spot to better heckle me. To his dismay, though, I rode
the sand pits pretty well, and so he didn't get the
satisfaction he'd gotten on sunday last. At the last bit on
Dinosaur Jr I made a couple of tries at riding down the hike-a-
bike (that is, the one we had just hiked up) and came pretty
close to clearing it. I'll have it next time. From the
peanut gallery came a mixture of encouragement and derision,
but that is to be expected with this group.
After crossing the mesa, we opted for down #1 of the Triple
Crown, then up #3, then back down #2. #1 is quite steep, but
smooth. Most of us had no issues there. We hiked back up #3,
and in the side-slope ST at the 2/3 point I got a front tire
flat. It was odd, because I rarely get flats and yet I had
gotten another front flat at exactly the same spot on
sunday. In both cases it was the valve stem coming loose
from the rubber. Maybe I need to run a little more tire
pressure if I am getting tire creep from these stepp
downhills. Anyway, I fixed it, and off we went. We headed
down Triple Crown #2 with me in front, and Michael
following. Immediately after the first drop, as I was about
to roll the second drop, it occurred to me that riding a
nose wheelie down the drop was probably bad planning on my
part, so I elected to stop while I still could. Michael,
though, wasn't among those who could stop at that moment,
and so immediately upon riding the first drop he elected to
nail into a large Laurel Sumac (rather than into me, I must
point out). It's a bit tough to get up when you're wedged
into a bush, on your back, with your legs uphill and your
bike on top of you. With a little help, though, he managed.
Dan and Bill S opted to walk the drops, and Mike and I made
another run at it. Agagin, I failed miserably, but this tim
it was me in the bush, and Mike heaping verbal abuse on my
abilities, as he'd manged to stop above the drop. Back up,
this time with Mike in front leading the charge down the
drops. I'm not sure what caused it, but he clutched right
before the second (and leser) drop. I, however, rode it as
smooth as a smooth thing. On sunday we'd both negotiated
both drops with a style and ease, but tonight we were a bit
ugly. Anyhow, we finished Peter North off witha climb up
Eucalyptus, and back to our regular loop.
Down the first descent on the regular loop (Little Waimea)
Dan showed me his heels, so to speak, as he opened a big can
of Haul-Ass. About half way down I got a little bit too much
love from another big Laurel Sumac, and as I started to tell
Mike (who was right behind me) about it he was no longer
right behind me. He'd gotten sucked into the six inch wide
ten inch deep rut that runs next to the trail, and had his
own issues to deal with.
We rode the valley without any real exitement, and then hit
the Powerline Climb. Dan is relishing his current position
as fastest climber (but I'm regaining some lost fitness, so
he'd better revel in it while he can) and put the hurt on us
up the climb.
Mike jumped for the holeshot (so to speak) down The [censored],
which was OK. It gave me a chance to harass him some, but
unfortunately I came off the jump into the sandpit wrong,
and had to do some ugly maneuvering in the sandf to avoid
yet another big Laurel Sumac. As a result of this, Dan got
his digs in on me (fair is fair)and it wasn't until the
bottom of The [censored] that I caught up to Mike. We rode up
Cobbles, the hit The Intestines. I was riding the corners
well, and Dan Was on me like white on rice. We quickly
gapped Mike and Bill S, but that's OK. Bill wasn't having a
great night, and Mike is currently fat and slow.
The only real noteworthy moment after that was on our final
downhill, back down Eucalyptus. I was in front, hitting it
fast and smooth. Mike was right behind me, until he all of a
suden wasn't. As it turns out, his cable for his light had
come unplugged. Perfect timing, too. The best possible place-
a rutted, rooty twity downhill. The best possible speed-
really fast. Anyhow, he failed to bail thanks to his amazing
skills. Dan's light really didn't help him much, as it was
down to about three fireflies in output. He has one of the
LID (Low Intensity Discharge) lights, and it was going dim.
Mike quickly plugged his light back in, and we finished the
ride with no further worries.
A little over 2 1/2 hours ride time, and I couldn't tell you
any more statistics than that, since I ride Caveman style
(no computer).
Again, I have to say, it was a reaaly good ride tonight.
miles