Weather's in the low 70's, clear as a bell. It's now or never to jump
through the window of opportunity. Yeehahh!! Get dressed in the office,
fill the camelbak at the office cooler, run down to the truck, and head to
the trails. Biq question, where to go?? I've been hitting something new
and different the last few rides and righteowly demand that tonight bring
something New! Exciting! Insane! Incredible! Awesome! Or just new and
different.
I decide on a newly opened piece the regulars have been buzzing about. Park
at the park, fiddle with the SS, and head around the big pond, through the
grove and up Uncle Stan's. At the top I turn right, and take the beautiful
narrow pitch down into Military Reserve, a tight spot of a few square miles
with lots of trails. But rather than enter the trail systems, I turn left
at the old military cemetary, salute the fallen, and head up the dirt road
and take the turn-off to the right for the police shooting range. "There's
a new gate there!" the compadres have said, "and it connects to Curlew's and
Shane's Trails." Well, this is new territory, so off I go.
Through the gate, and its a rutted old 4wd road that is pretty steep for the
first mile--I'm standing all the way. Keeping my breathing and heartrate
under control, wanting to save the horsepower for who knows what. Wind my
way up into the back country for a couple miles, gain a fair bit of
elevation, then come around a turn, look up right, and there's a big group
of riders way across this canyon, high above me. I want some a dat! So I
continue the way I'm going until I see a cut to the right, and its steep and
jumbled. Almost biff the descent down into the old river bed. Make it
across and start up the other side, when "Whoosh!" the first rider passes
me, and tells me it's her class coming down. Cool enough.
So after they all pass, looking nervous and dependent on Mother Hen (musta
been a beginners class or something), I head back up. It's a decent grind,
standing again the whole way, but loving the power transfer and upper body
workout on the SS. Come out on top, take a left, a really stout but
thankfully short climb, and I'm at the confluence of trails mentioned by the
instructor earlier. Take 26 and now I'm on Curlew's loop, that I'd ridden
about 5 yrs ago from another direction. Stop to take in the view of the
sunset throughout the valley, take a picture (maybe I'll post it), that
shows this narrow singletrack, smooth as a roadie's leg, disappearing off
into the distance. I'm feeling great. Get going a little too fast, and
remember that no one knows where I am, and it could be a long time to find
the remains if I get in trouble.
Whip around Curlew's Ridge, and it's swoopy, fast and fun. Eventually make
it down the sketchy descent to Rocky Canyon "road" which is a dirt road with
high rock cliffs on both sides. Pretty neat. Head right toward
civilization, and its washboard city. Just what you need on a fully rigid
bike after 16 mi or so.
Eventually work down toward town, take the turnoff back into military
reserve, into the big cement culvert, climb the ledges just for fun, through
the woods, out into the open, and I'm on yet another climb, above the road
I started on, when I headed up toward the police range. Finally go down,
getting hard to see, & stop to change to amber lenses, as it's close to
0'dark 30, now. Ride a ways longer, and realize its just too dark to take
the trails back over the hill and down and around to my rig. So with a tear
in me eye for missing some more real riding, off I go down the dirt road and
hook up to pavement. About 5 miles or so I'm spinning like a hamster on the
SS, topping out its gear, and my legs are really feeling funny by now.
Pull up to the Sports Utility Beater, and I start laughing. I'm so spent
I'm overdrawn. Try to calculate the mileage of this little jaunt, and I'm
probably at 24 or so. Quads are jumping & quivering to their own music.
Play that funky music, white boy. What a ripping hoot.
In search of the new, the insane, the outrageous, I remain,
faithfully yours,
paladin