Tuesday ride

Had a great ride tonight with 5 of us heading up North Rim. Lost one rider at Maidu as he headed down and back. The two Steve's had set a blistering pace up N. Rim and didn't break until the power lines - the rest of us took a much needed regroup (for me at least) and finally got them. Good rest time at the power lines and picked Jason from Oregon. He comes to town once in a while (2x in a year) and rides with us. He had to bust his butt to catch up but got it done. We decided to head down Red Bud and walked the upper chute and marveled at how Larry has ridden it in the past. Headed out Goat aka A+ trail to Meditation Rock and back on A trail...this is when it got interesting. Jason proceeded to have 3 flat tires w/in a 2 mile stretch! Two rear and one front flat. He got a workout with his pump, used all my CO2 cartridges (they were old and heavy - happy to give them up) and finally lead us out of the final mile just as it started to get dark. Rode back in lower park after saying good-bye to Bob - the only one with enough sense to drive to the ride. We peeled off one by one and headed home in the dark. This weekend it's to Tahoe with a group of local riders - it will be a blast!

Mtn Bike Trip - OR/WA/MT

It was a great 12 days of traveling the Western Coast states and getting back home for a few days of relaxation and resting in Montana. My buddy Erik and I drove 3150 miles, rode 75 miles that included 22667' total ascent and 30057' total descent (according to the Edge GPS bike computer). Really good time and great trails. Quick recap: McKenzie River trail - 27 miles and beautiful. Erik cramped at mile 16 and I ran out of water at mile 20. We were not successful in hitchiking to the top trailhead but did manage to talk our way into a ride back to the top with a group of Reno area riders - instead of paying the local yokel "Bunky" $40 for a ride back up top. Great trail but really too long - would cut if off at mile 20 in the future. Next trail in WA Washougal area - Three Corner Rock. Whatever you read about this trail - SHUTTLE IT! The first 10 miles of fire road are crazy to climb and enjoy...not sure it can be done. Matt from Chico joined us for this ride and provided the shuttle rig. The first 2.1 miles go right up the ridge with a awesome view of MT Saint Helens, Mt Adam, Mt Jefferson and Mt Hood - truly spectacular. Then back down and through a ridge for another riveting 7.5 miles of singletrack. Just to get an idea of the ride - only 9 miles, right? Well, there are 60+ switchbacks to negotiate! Sweet all the way!! According the breadcrumb trail of on the Edge computer I counted 71 switchbacks (give or take 5-6). Then to Montana where we went back to my old motorcycle riding trails (20 years ago). Logging Creek campground in the Little Belts. Pilgrim creek was a great ride - lots of down and a little up. Good shuttle ride with lots of creek crossings. Last but not least was Deer Creek trail near Monument Peak Lookout. We were a "little" lost but knew whichever trail we were on would lead us to the same end point...just a matter of how much distance and climbing was ahead of us. We didn't chose wisely and ended up with 5800'+ descent tainted with 3800'+ of ascent. Unfortunately, most of the down came too early in the ride. I will be back there to hit some of the trails we missed. If you want to ride there look up Brin at the Knicker Biker in Gt. Falls, MT - he'll steer you the in right direction. Thanks Brin! We drove to Bozeman and had a cold beer at the Rockin' R bar and a Pickle Barrel sandwich - hard combo to beat (you'd understand if you've ever tried it). Then to and through Yellowstone National Park. If you get a chance SKIP the Imax movie on Yellowstone...waste of time and money. Then we rocketed through Idaho, made gambling contributions in Nevada and then home to wife and kids. If you want to check out more on trails try out www.trails.com - good trial period to get some info.