RR: AMB-04 an eastern flavor (very long)

I guess that should be our motto in life...
We arrived in ID and were floored on how great a place
it is... Beautiful weather, Boise is a beautiful city
and the people are awesome... Chris and his family
were our excellent hosts.
We got to relax and raft on the Boise river... What a blast...Chris'
family met us at the end of our leisurely float and we had an excellent
picnic dinner... a steak and Salmon feast with all the trimmings and a
few more beers. Chris offered to take us out for a sunset ride on his
local trails...
We drove down to the park and unloaded. Chris
commented on how anal we were with our bikes. We were
just happy to have them in one piece after the baggage
handlers had their way with them.
We took off and Carla was immediately having troubles.
She commented to me that the elevation must be getting
to her. I checked with Chris and he told me we were at
about 2000 feet... Now we may be lowlanders and
grossly out of shape but it shouldn't be this
difficult... I was huffing and puffing but I figured
the rather sumptuous meal and awesome NW brews were responsible... We
continued and Carla was red faced and looking like she might pass
out... She stopped again and spun her rear wheel… Well I should say
*tried* to spin her wheel... Her rear brake was
clamped... I stopped to make some adjustments...
Telling her she should fire her bike mechanic... Chris meanwhile rode
back... Probably wondering if he was going to need to call an
ambulance... We decided that it was getting dark so we would need to
cut it short, but he wanted to take us up to a ridge to show us the
view. We were floored by the views... This terrain was so different
from what we are used to. A full moon was rising... It was truly
beautiful... He took us to the top of a ridge and we stood for a few
minutes and soaked it in... When we took off Carla's brake was still
locking... I loosened it and she had the wonderful job of descending to
the trail head with only a front brake in the dark... We headed back to
Chris' to borrow his stand and find out what the deal was... Turns out
a bent rotor and messed up cable did it in. Some bending and one cable
later it looked like we had it going again. Friday... We headed up to
McCall... The drive was awesome... We drove from the sage filled valley
up the tree filled mountains... We arrived at the *cabin* and slowly but
surely everyone began to arrive. Adam dropped his boat in the lake and
we set off to watch G-man and Adam carve it up on the lake... Very
entertaining.
We returned and it was decided that we would do an
"easy" pre-ride...
This is when the saying... "It's mostly downhill" was coined... Take my
word for it if someone from the Northwest tells you it is downhill most
of the way... strap on your spare lungs and prepare to climb!
The trails were really nice. Back in the woods we felt a bit more at
home... with one small difference... endless climbing... I thought I
would just traipse up a hill in SS mode... Big mistake... The hills
here are long and the air is thinner than the soup we have on the east
coast...We finally topped the trail to a very beautiful view
of Payette Lake, pictures a little snack and off we go... The trip back
was especially fun... The trail really felt like an east coast trail on
the way back...
Just enough technical fun with roots and rocks thrown in to keep you
interested...
We got back, by the time we got back and cleaned up and a couple of
post ride beers it was somewhat late. Carla, G-man and myself attempted
to find some good eats in town, but it was approaching 11 pm... We ended
up driving from place to place and not getting a darn thing. I was
pulled over one of McCall’s finest for doing 40 mph in a 30 mph zone...
whoops...Got off with a warning and lecture...
Saturday... Could be summed up in two words... freaking awesome...
We arose to an awesome breakfast... bacon, sausage,eggs toast and good
coffee... all care of Chris and Adam...
We dawdled a bit and Penny sprang into action... She gathered up Carla,
Lorae and myself and off we went... Her logic was why wait around in
camp... We were soon on the way up to the trailhead... I am really glad
we got the opportunity to do this. We had a great ride up to the
trailhead. We arrived and got the chance to hang out a bit and soak up
the view and for Carla and myself a little time to acclimatize to the
altitude. We waited… and we waited and finally everyone else made it
up to the trailhead… After some playing around, repairs… The ride up
was rough enough for Steve to blow out a tire on his bike on the
carrier!!!
The “short” climb began. The A riders took off and except for rest
stops that was the last we would see of them. The trail was in great
condition, the weather was beautiful… Since the air was just a bit
thinner than I was used to I could get a good 50 yards before I needed
to stop and push my lungs back in. Gabrielle was yelling encouragement
and cracking jokes making it so much fun… Penny and Gabrielle are total
blasts to ride with.
Chris somehow got behind me and came up to a decent climb… I told him
in no uncertain terms he would do it and he cranked right up… Very
cool…
I decided pretty early on that I would take sweep… Being probably the
slowest helped the decision and I knew that I had no problem taking my
time. I was given the opportunity to stop after everyone had passed and
just soak in the silence and beauty… Every so often they would send Gab
or Penny back to make sure I didn’t get killed…
What an awesome place…
We stopped a few times along the way and everyone was smiling and
having a great time. This is one of those rides where everyone was just
loving it. Carla told me was a concerned that we were going too slow but
I really didn’t think so… Hell I was the one at the back of the pack… I
had 2 good crashes all day both happened one after the other… I think
it was a combo of being tired and just going too fast… The second I
fell onto and straddled a fire burned log… making my leg look like it
was ready for amputation. I left it so I could share my prize with the
others…
Carla was climbing over a log and ripped her shorts but I think that
might have been the worst of it for her…
There was the mud bog incident… I am the only one who could not be
talked into doing it… Everyone else tried to cross this deep bog. When
I rode up I saw Lorae covered in mud and I walked… Ok ok I got called
whimp, but Nyah thhhppptht
Near the end it was Carla, Lorae (nursing us along) and myself… We
stopped and Lorae asked me “Do you like huckleberries?”
I have never even seen a huckleberry so I said sure… we spent a while
picking and eating… That is one awesome fruit… Lorae commented that the
others would probably be angry that we stopped for berry picking but it
was worth it!
We got to the end… and I was both happy to be done and sad that it
wasn’t over, but little did I know it was not over… It was just a few
miles “downhill” (non Northeasterner take note) on the road…
We took off and it started out pretty Downhill… I used my mass to pass
all the skinny people up but soon enough it started to go uphill and
the headwind was pushing us down.
I slowed and everyone passed until it was me and Carla taking up the
rear again…
We grinded and grunted for a few mile when I finally saw the shining
mirage of Steve’s truck sent back to pick us up… I was off my bike and
waving madly… Carla on the other hand wanted to complete the mission…
Damn masochist!!! We finally coaxed her in the truck… I will just say
she was a little upset with me making her stop…When we all rounded up
together… Some of the real deal masochists decided to ride it out back
to the cabin… We hitched a ride with Steve (Gabrielle’s husband) and
had a great conversation…
Back home we all broke up into groups and most met back up at a local
eatery and then some ice cream… make mine a huckleberry please!
Sunday was a day of rest for me… Carla and Chris while some others
decided to go take a long plunge off a longer rock…
I have to say this was one of my fondest mountain bike memories… I hope
to be at the next AMB-ID… Now that we know what we are in for I think we
can plan a little better… Hauling bikes was not fun… No matter what the
hassles though it was worth every minute.
It was so great to meet y’all!!!
Now if you got through all of that… Here’s our pictures!!!

http://community.webshots.com/script...umID=173120918

http://community.webshots.com/script...umID=173479537

Oh and before I forget credit to Penny and Chris for some of these
photos…

Jimbo(san)


--
Jimbo(san)

Jimbo (san) wrote:
....
We dawdled a bit and Penny sprang into action... She gathered up
Carla, Lorae and myself and off we went... Her logic was why wait
around in camp...

They don't call me ADD for nothin'....

.. Gabrielle was yelling encouragement
and cracking jokes making it so much fun… Penny and Gabrielle are
total blasts to ride with.


aw, shucks....


… Every so often they would
send Gab or Penny back to make sure I didn’t get killed…

They paid us to do that. ;-)


What an awesome place…
Near the end it was Carla, Lorae (nursing us along) and myself… We
stopped and Lorae asked me “Do you like huckleberries?”
I have never even seen a huckleberry so I said sure… we spent a while
picking and eating… That is one awesome fruit… Lorae commented that
the others would probably be angry that we stopped for berry picking
but it was worth it!

you have experienced a special NW pleasure there.

rock…
I have to say this was one of my fondest mountain bike memories… I
hope to be at the next AMB-ID… Now that we know what we are in for I
think we can plan a little better… Hauling bikes was not fun… No
matter what the hassles though it was worth every minute.
It was so great to meet y’all!!!

same back at ya!!

Penny

On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 03:04:46 +1000, Jimbo wrote:

Now if you got through all of that… Here’s our pictures!!!

http://community.webshots.com/script...umID=173120918

http://community.webshots.com/script...umID=173479537

I appear to not be the owner of the album

Sounds fantastic - I'd love to make it across at some point. Maybe next
year...

Jimbo(san) http://community.webshots.com/script...umID=173120918

http://community.webshots.com/script...umID=173479537

Oh and before I forget credit to Penny and Chris for some of these
photos?

Jimbo(san)

Sorry about the bad link... tis should do it

http://community.webshots.com/user/madwheels

Jimbo(san)

Jimbo san wrote:
http://community.webshots.com/user/madwheels

Jimbo(san)

Great photos and trip report. Did you do any riding up in Idaho City,
or were you playing tourist?

justen at cable one dot net

On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 03:04:46 +1000, Jimbo wrote:

I guess that should be our motto in life...
What, "eastern flavor" or "very long"?

We took off and Carla was immediately having troubles.
... Her rear brake was clamped...
Holy crap.

I was
pulled over one of McCall’s finest for doing 40 mph in a 30 mph zone...
whoops...Got off with a warning and lecture...

IIRC Mr Adventure pulled off the same trick last year. It must be because
you're both so charming. I'd never get away with it.

After some playing around, repairs… The ride up
was rough enough for Steve to blow out a tire on his bike on the
carrier!!!

Is *that* what was going on? I was wondering why it was taking so long to
get the bikes off the trailer.

Every so often they would send Gab
or Penny back to make sure I didn’t get killed…

I'll let you believe that's why I was back there.

There was the mud bog incident… I am the only one who could not be
talked into doing it… Everyone else tried to cross this deep bog. When
I rode up I saw Lorae covered in mud and I walked… Ok ok I got called
whimp, but Nyah thhhppptht

That mud was some shtank, wasn't it!! Ick.

I have never even seen a huckleberry so I said sure… we spent a while
picking and eating… That is one awesome fruit… Lorae commented that the
others would probably be angry that we stopped for berry picking but it
was worth it!

Anybody who gets angry about stopping & picking berries probably shouldn't
be riding with moi.

It was so great to meet y’all!!!

Likewise!

gabrielle

Jimbo(san) Wrote:
I guess that should be our motto in life...
We arrived in ID and were floored on how great a place
it is... Beautiful weather, Boise is a beautiful city
and the people are awesome... Chris and his family
were our excellent hosts.
We took off and Carla was immediately having troubles.
She commented to me that the elevation must be getting
to her. I checked with Chris and he told me we were at
about 2000 feet...

Nahh, we started at 2,800. If you're from sea level, you'll feel it.

Now we may be lowlanders and
grossly out of shape but it shouldn't be this
difficult... I was huffing and puffing but I figured
the rather sumptuous meal and awesome NW brews were responsible...

We decided that it was getting dark so we would need to cut it short,
but he wanted to take us up to a ridge to show us the view. We were
floored by the views... This terrain was so different from what we are
used to. A full moon was rising... It was truly beautiful...

That *was* really grand. I do nearly all my summer riding in the
morning, so that huuuuge full moon grinning down on us above the trail
was quite a treat.

He took us to the top of a ridge and we stood for a few minutes and
soaked it in...

Friday... We headed up to McCall... The drive was awesome... We drove
from the sage filled valley up the tree filled mountains... We arrived
at the *cabin* and slowly but surely everyone began to arrive. Adam
dropped his boat in the lake and we set off to watch G-man and Adam
carve it up on the lake... Very entertaining.
We returned and it was decided that we would do an
"easy" pre-ride...

The big delay Sat. a.m. was due to the fact that the Dirt Darts showed
up at the cabin just as we were loading up to follow you guys.

The “short” climb began. The A riders took off and except for rest
stops that was the last we would see of them. The trail was in great
condition, the weather was beautiful… Since the air was just a bit
thinner than I was used to I could get a good 50 yards before I needed
to stop and push my lungs back in. Gabrielle was yelling encouragement
and cracking jokes making it so much fun… Penny and Gabrielle are total
blasts to ride with.
Chris somehow got behind me and came up to a decent climb… I told him
in no uncertain terms he would do it and he cranked right up… Very
cool…

Give me an audience, and I'll kill myself to show off...

I was given the opportunity to stop after everyone had passed and just
soak in the silence and beauty…

That's it.

We stopped a few times along the way and everyone was smiling and
having a great time. This is one of those rides where everyone was just
loving it.

Check your contract, the fine print guarantees the best time of your
life, or we refund the enrollment fee...

We stopped and Lorae asked me “Do you like huckleberries?”

That was sweet. yuk yuk yuk

I have never even seen a huckleberry so I said sure… we spent a while
picking and eating… That is one awesome fruit… Lorae commented that the
others would probably be angry that we stopped for berry picking but it
was worth it!
We got to the end… and I was both happy to be done and sad that it
wasn’t over, but little did I know it was not over… It was just a few
miles “downhill” (non Northeasterner take note) on the road…

I hated road riding before, and I still do.

Some of the real deal masochists decided to ride it out back to the
cabin…

That was pretty tough. You probably saw the bonking photo where Dirt
Dart, GMan and I are having a near-death experience while Lorae refills
our Camelbaks from some cabin's hand crank well.

We hitched a ride with Steve (Gabrielle’s husband) and had a great
conversation…
Back home we all broke up into groups and most met back up at a local
eatery and then some ice cream… make mine a huckleberry please!
Sunday was a day of rest for me… Carla and Chris while some others
decided to go take a long plunge off a longer rock…

Pancakes, bacon, eggs, oj, coffee, it was all happenin.

I have to say this was one of my fondest mountain bike memories…

Me too! This was my only "purely for fun" getaway this summer, and I
just really enjoyed all of it.


I hope to be at the next AMB-ID…

You gotta come. We'll have the big one from CO back for you to meet.
(And try to keep up with, heheh) Boy, we're getting some fun plans
together for next year, already!

Now that we know what we are in for I think we can plan a little
better… Hauling bikes was not fun… No matter what the hassles though it
was worth every minute.
It was so great to meet y’all!!!

Jimbo(san)

You guys were a lot of fun, and you're welcome here anytime, and you
know it...

paladin/Chris Brown,
just don't call me late for dinner
Passionately putting the mountains back into mountainbiking.


--
Chris Brown

On 13 Aug 2004 16:13:15 -0700, (Jimbo san) wrote:

Jimbo(san) http://community.webshots.com/script...umID=173120918

http://community.webshots.com/script...umID=173479537

Oh and before I forget credit to Penny and Chris for some of these
photos?

Jimbo(san)

Sorry about the bad link... tis should do it

http://community.webshots.com/user/madwheels

Jimbo(san)

Nice RR and pics,
Bill