Blackhawk Double Date

Jolene and I met up with Jesse and Patty for a Monday evening ride of the Blackhawk loop up Payson Canyon. Autumn colors in the trees, mild temperatures, a fantastic trail and good company = a very enjoyable ride.



We parked near the Jones Ranch trail head and biked up the road to the Loafer Mountain trail head (good warm-up). The Blackhawk trail starts with a fair amount of climbing, but then rolls up and down out to the Blackhawk campground then descends into the top of a big drainage and out the other side. We finished the loop via the Frank Young, Rock Springs, Jones Ranch trails.

Several of the muddy spots had dried up, the trail was in good condition - mostly packed with a few dusty spots. Just lots of always-interesting single-track.

















Wheel turning time was about 2 hours, but start-to-finish time was closer to 2.5 hours. So far we're having a nice Fall - I hope it stays with us for a while.

Corner Canyon Plus

Jolene and I met Mark at the equestrian center for some mountain biking in Corner Canyon.

Somehow we arrived a few minutes early and Jolene took off heading for Clark's while I waited for Mark. When Mark arrived we gave chase, kind of. This was my first ride since the crit crash and I didn't know how I'd feel so I took it easy. In general I was happy to discover that I could ride pretty strong without much pain.

We met Jolene at the top of Clark's and continued up the old dirt roads to the top of Jacob's Ladder. I wasn't feeling my best on the climb, but did OK. We enjoyed the ride down Jacob's Ladder and had no trouble seeing the new single-track since there's a big pile of dead wood across the old trail and a sign. The new trail is not as steep or fun as the previous single-track that was cut in earlier this year. And there are a LOT of switchbacks - and with the soft dirt I took them slow. The trail will be better when the dirt packs down.





Next we went down Ghost Falls and took the right fork (North Ghost Falls) to stay on single-track the whole way down to the BST.



We took the BST west out to Oak Hollow then went south through the culvert under Traverse Ridge road and climbed all the way up to the end of the still-unfinished Maple Hollow trail. It was a nice ride, but the trail is deteriorating from unuse. It was fun to descend. At the water tank Mark headed down to the road because he needed to get home. We stay on the trail and back tracked on the BST, but took Mike Weir Blvd back to the Coyote Hollow Ct trail head to descend lower Corner Canyon (we took the trail on west side).

Overall a nice 20 mile ride. Jolene was stung by a wasp or something on the BST. I was happy to clean most of the technical spots. Both Jolene and I ran out of water near the end so the drinks we got at the Chevron were extra refreshing.

I took the rear tire off my road bike - the one that blew out at the crit. Looks like the bead blew - seems like an odd failure to me. Is this rare?

Crashing At DMV

Today was the last DMV crit of the season. I've wanted to try DMV so I drove over after work.

I got in a few practice laps before the A Flight started. Man, that hill makes it tough. They were going fast at first, but half way through the race the "West Valley Wall" was taking it's toll and the speed had dropped noticeably, but they were still going hard. A young guy (Conner?) broke off the front about mid-way through the race and stayed out front to take the win.

Coming up the hill


... around top parking lot


... and down the hill.


A few more warm up laps and then we lined up and went. The first lap is neutral but I was already dismayed at the speed. It didn't help that the B's and C's were together. I took my place at the back and stayed with a gal, but a gap opened in front of her and I waited too long to bridge. But that just hastened the inevitable as I just was not fast or comfortable with all the turns. And I wasn't punching up the hill as fast as the others either.

Then on lap 2 I was rounding the final upper lot turn before heading down the hill when I caught my left pedal and was catapulted over the right side. There was an alarming moment when I was airborn, then I landed hard on my right side and slid a ways. Some of the A flight guys were sitting nearby on the curb and came to my rescue. They told me to just lay still for a while, and I obeyed. After a minute or so all the systems checks came in and I was pretty sure I wasn't seriously injured. I stood up and felt OK. I was glad I didn't break a bone or dislocate my shoulder or have some other painful injury. A couple of guys had looked over my bike and said it seemed fine. I had some nice patches of road rash on my right side and a gouge in my left shin, but it didn't hurt too bad so I got on the bike and waited for the pack to come around.



I rolled out and slid in at the back. I hung on a guy for a while but got dropped. Adrenaline not withstanding, I'd lost some of my nerve, especially for the corners. I motored along for four laps, each time mashing up that hill until I was panting at the top. Then down on bottom part of the course I heard a weird ticking sound. I assumed that the bike had some minor problem from the crash and I'd just ride it out. But it got louder and then a BANG, pssssssss - the rear tire blew. For me today it was 2 strikes and yer out. I walked the bike back to the car, packed up.

I did notice that my helmet was cracked. I remember my head getting whiplashed when I hit the ground and hearing the helmet grinding. And as I lay there regaining my senses I thought how cool it was that my head felt perfectly fine, thanks to the helmet. Looks like it's time to buy a new one.



Not surprisingly, as I drove I stiffening up and starting to ache and hurt. My right ribcage is sore and my right arm hurts some to move. I got home and showered, scrubbing all the road rashed spots and discovered that the rash on my hip and shoulder were deeper and larger that the others even through my shorts and jersey. Smeared on some neosporin and put bandages over the abrasions. I'll bet I'm going to stiff and sore tomorrow.

Well, good to have my first road crash over with, I guess.

Parley's Canyon Trail Needs You

Salt Lake County is considering a paved multi-use (bicycles included) path up Parley's Canyon. The BBC (formerly BBTC) has pushed for this, as have several other groups. Biking I-80 through Parley's is not a good route so a path would allow a safer connection between SLC and Park City, and this section of trail is a needed step to that end.

The consultant group had a booth at the Bike Bonanza before the Salt Lake Century and I filled out a questionnaire. A few days ago JE forwarded me an e-mail he received - evidently they are still seeking input:

My name is Tamara Keefe and I am a consultant working with Salt Lake County on a project for the Parleys Canyon Trail. We are currently conducting a feasibility study for a trail to go up Parleys Canyon at Emigration Canyon and run adjacent to I-80, cross over I-80, and end at Summit Park. We would like to get some feedback from several different user groups about the trail and its potential users. I'm attaching a survey for this project. If you could pass these surveys to anyone who could potentially use the trail (anytime of the year), we would greatly appreciate it. You can email me at this email address tkeefe@mbakercorp.com or my phone number is 801-352-5983 if you have any questions or would like further information.


Map of the proposed section for trail (PDF)

Questionnaire: Microsoft Word document, PDF

Here is the text of the questionnaire (you could copy this and paste it into an e-mail to Tamara):


Parley's Canyon Trail
Salt Lake City to Summit Park
Questionnaire

The following questionnaire is for the Parley’s Canyon Trail Feasibility Study located in Parley’s Canyon along I-80 that would connect Salt Lake City to Summit Park.

Date: / / 2008 City: ____________________ State: ______________
Name: _____________________ Email: ______________________
* Your answers to this questionnaire will be helpful to the project team evaluating the project. The team will respect your right to privacy and names and contact information will not be disclosed.

1. What trail activities do you most often participate in? List all that apply in order of priority (1, 2, 3, etc).
[ ] Hiking [ ] Running [ ] Road biking [ ] Mt. Biking
[ ] X-Country Skiing [ ] Snow shoeing [ ]In-line skating [ ] Walking

2. Have you ever ridden a bicycle on I-80?
[ ] Yes [ ] No

3. Do you currently bicycle in Emigration Canyon?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes, how many times a month? ______

4. If there was a dedicated multi-use trail in upper Parley’s Canyon (along I-80) between Mountain Dell and Park City (Summit Park) would you use it?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes, for what activities: (list 3 in order, pick from the list above)
1. ___________________
2. __________________
3. ____________________
What would be your motive? [ ] Training [ ] Recreation [ ] Commuting
How many times a month? ________

5. If this trail existed, would you use it to ride over Big Mountain (the Wasatch Range) returning through Jeremy Ranch or East Canyon/Henefer/Wanship?
[ ] Yes [ ] No

6. Would you use it to ride to / from Park City?
[ ] Yes [ ] No

7. Would you use this trail to access other areas or trails such as Lamb’s Canyon, the Great Western Trail, or Jeremy Ranch?
[ ] Yes [ ] No

8. If a hiking and/or mountain biking trail existed in lower Parley’s Canyon connecting the Bonneville Shoreline Trail to Mountain Dell would you use it?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes, how many times a month? ________

9. List 3 multi-use trails which you enjoy?
1. _____________________
2. ____________________
3. _____________________
What about these trails do you enjoy? (List 3)
1. _____________________
2. ____________________
3. _____________________

10. Name 3 conflicts/issues you encounter when using multi-use trails:
1. _____________________
2. ____________________
3. _____________________

11. Name 3 trail design qualities that you believe would mitigate these conflicts:
1. _____________________
2. ____________________
3. _____________________

12. Are there any thoughts you would like to add? (explain) __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________

Cycling Projects

While the Wasatch Crest ride was the highlight of the weekend, I did a few other cycling related projects.

The bike rack I built for the garage worked OK straight, but the bikes stuck out too far so I zig zagged it to put the bikes at an angle. Seems to work.







Rick's talk about night rides got me motivated to fix my poor-man's helmet light. I added a spacer to the reflector to increase the beam angle (it was too tight) and I soldered a spring to the positive contact so it won't lose contact (flicker) when the going gets bumpy.



Jolene noticed her bike had a flat rear tire after the Crest ride so I installed two Flat Attack (a local company) tubes - 'tis goathead thorn season.

Waaaahsatch Crest

Jolene and I hooked up with the Hutchings clan and a few others to ride the Wasatch Crest trail this morning. It didn't look good at the start with bouts of rain sprinkles, but it turned out good. The rain made the trail damp and very nice to ride.

We headed up Puke Hill and I led the charge. I've failed on this climb a few too many times for my liking and Jolene suggested it's because I go too fast and expend too much energy on the first half and flame out on the final climb. So I reined myself in and rolled easy from the start. It worked, I made the climb without nearly dying on the final pitch. Jolene made it too - she's tough on the climbs. At the top the wind was blowing and hail (BB sized) pelted us for a few minutes - it wasn't bad unless it hit bare flesh.

We didn't get any more precipitation or have any incidents - just a good ride on one of the best trails in the State - I'll let the pictures do the talking:

















At the GWT at the top of Millcreek we met Mark - he'd come up from the winter gate on his single speed to meet us and ride down. We rolled down the GWT then Mark and I went up to Dog Lake while everyone else continued down. We met Ed (works with Mark) and his boys going up. We circled the lake and flew down. Mark was in front and shredded the downhill on his fully rigid SS bike - impressive.



We met up with the group at Elbow Fork and then took the Pipeline trail down. Mark Bailed out at Birch Hollow to get to his car while the rest of us continued on. The wind was blowing up Millcreek and coming around some of the points it gave you a real blast.



We took Rattlesnake Gulch down (first time for me). It was spicy, but I kind of liked it. I bailed on a few of the features, but made all of the switchbacks except one.

We went down the road and back to the van parked at Dan's then home. A fantastic ride - the early Fall scenery was beautiful, the weather was OK, the trails were in good shape and lots of downhill miles.

Weekend Kick-Off Ride

Mark A. called me and said the foothills ride was on, so I drove home, changed and boogied up to the BST trailhead. There was Rick and Mark on single speeds, uh oh that means higher cadence, especially on the climbs. We headed up the water tank road then went up Betty to the Altar. The trails were pretty dry and getting dusty and loose - not bad, but not as good as they were last week. Mark and Rick cranked ahead while I brought up the rear.

We took a left at the Altar and took Betty's Lament over to Dry Canyon. Nice trail, good views of the valley.



The leaves are starting to turn.



Rick dropped his chain and he told us to go ahead, but still caught us at the end of the downhill - he's fast going up and down. Then down Dry Canyon.



Near the bottom Rick spotted an old sleeping bag, Mark noticed it too, I missed it. Rick wondered if someone were in it. We yelled - no reply. Curiosity got the better of me so we went up to check it out (I was really hoping there wasn't a dead body in there - I think I've seen too much CSI). Just a torn up old bag - no idea why it's there.

We ripped down BST to return back to the trailhead. A good ride. Thanks Rick and Mark for letting me tag along.

The Softer Side of Cabela's

Thumbing through the Cabela's Anniversary Sale insert in the newspaper, Jolene came across this:



Yes, that's camouflage lingerie - OK, they euphemistically call it "Loungewear", but anything that's called a camisole and made of silk is lingerie in my book. Perhaps your brain is having trouble grasping this, as mine was, so let me confirm - it's silk, camouflage lingerie sold at Cabela's, the Walmart for hunters.

Jolene especially liked the brand name, Hide-and-Seek. Oh so cheeky.

Even though it's not a general topic of conversation, it's no secret that couples like to add a little spice to their love life. And sometimes this may involve role playing. But I can't help but laugh when I try to imagine how these teases might go when camo lingerie is involved. The sexy female hunter stalking the ferocious male animal? For some reason I can't stop Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd coming to mind and the whole foreplay aspect goes out the window.



But clever women see an incredible opportunity here. The man will be excited when the woman brings home the new lingerie. If the man is a hunter, er outdoor enthusiast (more politically correct), he'll be even MORE excited. So the women slips into them and prances out into the woods ... where she disappears. Because its camouflage. And the man can't find her. But that's not her fault, she was trying to be romantic.

Oh the wonderful and endless variety of "stuff" (including cycling products) you can buy in our consumer-fueled nation! I'm proud to be an American! (Even if we exploit the poor of Bangladesh.)

On The Cycling Front

I hit Corner Canyon after work with Mark A. and headed to Clark's trail so he could time trial it. I set off first to give him a carrot to chase. I felt pretty good at first, but cracked about half way up. I was hauling more weight in my CamelBak than I needed to, but still, I'm a wuss. When the suffering ratchets up I have a hard time continuing to push hard. But Mark flew on his fully rigid single speed and got a good time (11:13). After the TT we went down Ghost Falls then north on the BST to Bear Canyon and back.

More pictures of the post-apocalyptic BST. I felt like yelling something from Omega Man, but didn't have any oil for my chest so it wouldn't have worked.





Jolene hit the dirt tonight too with the Mad Dog Ride Like A Girl group ride up Big Springs Hollow led by KC Holley. She had a good time and arrived home after dark. Good thing she took the frogs.

Childhood Treasures: Teeth

A while back my Mom gave me a box of my old stuff. On the side it said "Kris' Treasures", and that about covers it. It's filled with nik-naks from my childhood, teenage years and early 20s. I've decided that every-so-often I'll trot out some trinket and regale you with the story behind it. So what have I chosen to lead off this terrifically exciting new blog feature?



My teeth. I hope you weren't eating anything at the moment. These aren't all the teeth that have ever called my mouth home, but it's a pretty good collection. Let's explore.

The four teeth bottom right are baby molar caps. I'm disturbed that they all have fillings. Were my teeth soft like chalk? Did I eat too many sweets? Was I a neglectful brusher? Maybe all three. I don't have specific memories about each tooth, but just the general recollection of that annoying period when the baby tooth is loose but hasn't fallen out yet. And near the end it's hanging on by a tiny strand of tissue that refuses to let go. Now that I think about it, how strange is it that a part of your body just falls off with another item growing in behind it? As a kid I just accepted it as part of life, but if I were still loosing teeth now it would seem bizarre and annoying. Good thing that phase is over (in some ways).

The two-three-two teeth down the left side were all pulled when I was a kid. The diagnosis by the dentist was that my mouth was too small for a full set of teeth, so some of the teeth had to go. These are not good memories. The dental room was sterile with linoleum flooring, white walls and ceiling and lots of porcelain and chrome. Dentist offices generally appear a lot more friendly today, but back then antiseptic was the theme. I remember that little porcelain spit sink with the water always running around in a swirl. The chair was just a bent slab of Naugahyde covered in clear vinyl protectors - it moved and tilted with motors. And who can forget the high-pitched whine of the drill? But the item that scared me the most was the syringe - big, chrome tube with two finger hooks and thumb loop. Seeing that thing come at me frightened me past all self control. No topical anesthetic back then. And of course it took multiple jabs to achieve complete numbness. Unpleasant memories, to put it mildly.

Next up is the two whole teeth upper center and the four teeth halves upper right. The Wisdom Teeth. These came out when I was 19. I went to an oral surgeon for the extraction, and that was a good thing because all four teeth were impacted, which means the roots curl so they can't just be pulled straight out. So how do you extract impacted teeth? There may be other methods, but my surgeon cracked them in half and then pulled each half out independently. What was so good about the oral surgeon is that he put me out for the operation. I got an I.V. in the arm, they injected the sleepy stuff and I started to count backwards and got to like 96.

Next thing I know I'm in a small recovery room in a very foggy, groggy, blurry and incoherent state. The funny thing was, I believed I was completely lucid. For some reason I desperately wanted to communicate with my Mom, but my mouth was stuffed full of gauze. So I asked for paper and pen - using the universal sign of making your hand look like it's holding a writing instrument then pantomime like you're writing. She fished around in her purse and produced a notepad and pen. I began writing my burning question and showed it to my Mom. She studied it and then shrugged an "I don't know". I was frustrated she didn't have an answer to my query, but what could I do? So I dozed a bit more until they said we were OK to leave. The ride home in the old Toyota Land Cruiser was a trip, really. I was still basically stoned. The Cruiser rode rough and the loose steering linkage made it wander all over the road so with my mind clouded I was jostled and swayed back and forth which made me feel dizzy and nauseous (thankfully no vomiting). When we got home I went to sleep. When I woke up a few hours later and could remove some of the gauze, I asked my Mom why she hadn't answered my question (which I had now forgotten)? She retrieved the paper I wrote on and it was illegible chicken scratch - but at the time I saw perfectly letters formed as I wrote. The drug-induced altered reality kind of freaked me out.

Note the dessicated tissue and blood on the teeth, there's a reason for that. I'm passing these teeth down the generations in hopes that genetic technology will advance to the point they'll be able to clone me from the DNA there. Would my descendants call me grandpa?

Wasn't that fun? Rest assured the teeth are the only gross thing in the box so don't be afraid when the next installment rolls around.

In case you were wondering - no, this post had nothing to do with cycling. I know, it's a departure. I call it random acts of randomness.

More Foothill Exploring

I had so much fun riding the foothill trails Saturday that I went back for more today - to explore and GPS track.

From the paved Provo River trail I went up the dirt road by Timpanogos Park and took the Alta Aqueduct dirt road (steep at the end) up to the Water Tank dirt road then took it east as far as it went (a nice, mostly flat cruise). I came across the Guard Quarters ruin from 1853.





From here the road dropped down fast and very steep with lots of loose rock. The nastiest descent I've done in a while.

I ended up on the Union Aqueduct dirt road and peeked down a short GWT connector trail that comes out by the old bridge near Nun's Park.





Back up on the Union Aqueduct dirt road I took it all the way back to the Race Course and played around on some short side trails.

Then I climbed (kind of) the Cliff trail. Way easier to go down than up. I almost made the first steep climb, but spun out on some lose stuff. Up on the cliff edge trail I just didn't have the nerve and stopped a few times to walk past the exposed sections. Going down you have gravity working to help you roll through the nasty spots, but going up if you stutter pedaling it could be bad. Eh, it was fun to try.

Zipped down the Water Tank dirt road and back home just before it got dark.

A nice quick ride to start the week.

Fall-ing Out Of Summer

I've been in denial. I didn't want to face the fact that Summer is fading. I like Fall (when we HAVE a Fall instead of jumping straight into Winter), but I have so much fun in Summer. So I've been clinging to Summer - trying to making the most of my free time.

I had a lot of choices for today (Saturday, the big fun day of the week): The Utah Velo Club was doing a road ride up Hobble Creek Canyon and back, Mark was riding the Blackhawk trail up Payson Canyon, and my friend was taking his boat out. Making the planning more difficult was a wedding and my daughter's Homecoming date.

Each of the options presented some compromise or difficulty so I chose none of the above and went for a mountain bike ride up in the foothills near my house in Orem. There is a trail up there that Adam told me about and I've wanted to try it. I also wanted to GPS track some of the trails I'm missing and take some photos for the trails documentation project Adam and I are working on.

I set off around 8:30 am and was surprised how chilly it was (yet another inescapable sign of Fall), so I threw on some arm warmers. I went up the Water Tank dirt road and turned up the Ireland trail.



I've come down Ireland a few times, but this was the first uphill attempt. It was a brute! It has several steep ups followed by only a moderately reduced grade for recovery. I stopped a few times to rest since I knew I was in for plenty of climbing today and didn't want to flame out at the start. At the place I usually start down Ireland I kept going up - the trail continues up a shallow draw. It was a nice section of trail and a good climb. It connected into upper Crank and I continued up (shamefully more stopping).

At the top of Crank I was close to my destination - a trail Adam and his riding buddies call Area 51. It climbs to the north east as it crosses the lower flank of Little Baldy. It climbs quite a bit at first - pretty nice climbs, though I had to stop and rest once. Then the trail traverses - this part was good fun. After close to a mile it joins into the Great Western Trail (GWT) and I took it down to the Altar (the 4-way intersection of 4 trails marked by a big cairn [pile of rocks]). The GWT was fun, but littered with loose rock - I was glad I went this direction - it would be tough to climb that section of trail.



At the Altar I met 3 other bikers. We chatted for a bit then all of us went down Betty. I stopped at the start of Crank and we talked some more. I went up Crank part way then peeled off left where Adam put the cairn marking the end of the Crank TT. This took me across Ireland and down the front (west) face. I don't know what this trail is called, so I'll call it Firing Range because the trail ends near the gun shooting range and it's labeled "Firing Range" on the USGS topo map. It was a good downhill with a few get-your-attention steep sections and good views of the valley.



On the way home I ran into Kerry (Yamabiker) and chatted with him about the ride I just completed as he rode toward BYU (he had to work the football game today).

At home I got cleaned up and Jolene and I went to the wedding of her niece. It was held outdoors in a park near the American Fork temple. Dutch oven chicken and potatoes for lunch. Got to visit with the family and met a college buddy I hadn't seen in years.

Back at home I called my friend with the boat and arranged to meet him at the Lincoln Beach marina of Utah Lake. The boat is a classic 80's MasterCraft with a new carburetor that needed to be tuned up. We got out on the lake and worked the rich/lean mixture until it was running good then I went for a run on the wakeboard. The boat pulls up a good wake and I made a few wake-to-wake jumps and a few air 180s. Then we pulled his kids in the tube until the sun touched the horizon. The ramp was jammed so we had to wait a while so by the time we got the boat out it was getting dark. The mosquitoes were out in force and extremely aggressive. The swarms were unreal. We packed up quick and got out of there. Driving away at 35 mph the swarms were so thick they sounded like rain hitting the car. I had to stop at a gas station and clean the windshield because I couldn't see very well from all the bug splats. Crazy.

So, a pretty good Saturday as I desperately slurp the last swallows of Summer out of the nearly empty bottle.

SLC Bicycle & Frogs

Met Mark for lunch and stopped by SLC Bicycle for their grand opening. It's a nice shop. Chatted with Brad about bike gear, etc. Bought some CarboRocket (Raspberry Lemonade - can't wait to try it), some Bontrager Super Juice sealant (the Stans isn't even lasting 2 months), and two Knog Frogs (white for the front, red for the rear). Got an autograph from Lance.

The Frogs are simple, cheap and elegant (as in a functional design that also has a pleasing form). Hey, I'm a mechanical designer so I'm into this stuff. The body is silicone rubber and the "tail" wraps around anything close to handlebar or seat post diameter and stays put. Press the button once for constant light, a second time for flashing, third time shuts it off. The small size means I'm much more likely to take these along in case I get caught after dark (much more likely this time of year as the days shorten). Brad commutes with Frogs and he gives them a thumbs up. The Bike Snob had some fun with them.



After the candy store, er, bike shop visit we went to B&D Burgers for lunch. Mark got the last avocado burger and I had a cheeseburger - good eats.

Last Weekday Timpooneke This Year?

After work I joined Steve, Kerry, Gary, Kendra and my sweet wife Jolene for a ride of the standard Timpooneke loop ride up American Fork Canyon. With the shortened daylight hours this may be the last weekday Timpooneke ride. This time of year gets me down - I love the after work rides.

I expected the trails to be pretty dry, but they were damp with the occasional mud puddle. Temperature was nice and cool. Some threatening clouds rolled in, but we only got a sprinkle or two of rain.

I've been feeling good on the bike the past 2-3 weeks - especially climbing. I stayed in the middle ring up to Pine Hollow then climbed it in 3rd. I was even feeling pretty flowy on the downhill.

The climb up Deer Creek South Fork was made more difficult by the mud - the stickiness add friction and the mud caked on the tires added weight. One particularly slimy short but steep slope I was spinning out and had to really smooth out the pedal stroke to make it up (the aggressive rear tire helped a lot too). I made the climb, but with the added resistance it hurt more than usual. Oh, and we saw a flock of wild turkeys - probably 6-8 of them with a good sized tom.



We finished off in the usual manner - out the Ridge and down Pine Hollow. I got the speed up pretty good down Pine and caught a little air off two root drops. We cranked it out pretty hard to finish. I made the split log bridge crossing.

A great ride on one of my favorite trail loops.

Kendra rolling on her new Superfly with Gary in the background


Jolene cranking along and loving it