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1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, one dislocatedfinger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles
What's wrong with this picture? I wonder how a "leisurely" mountain bike ride could do so much damage?
Mike From: Preston and Meg Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:12:26 -0700 Subject: Juniper Ridge ! Almost as soon as I arrived at Helen's Fest on Friday, General Grant came to me with a fire in his eyes - "Hey, what do you think about riding Juniper Ridge on Sunday ?". Now...I wanted to do that ride this year. In fact, as I told the General at the time, I was pretty sure that was my favorite epic ride of all, and I hadn't done it in a few years. BUT - this is not something you just casually contemplate on less than fresh legs. The logistics were intimidating as well, drive up from Helen's with a crew, stage the cars for the point to point...it all just seemed difficult. I might just relax with a nice cruise down the Lewis River on Sunday. But I told him if we could get a good crew together, I would lead. Well Gen. Grant did a great job of recruiting for the cause, and we had Janitha, Evergreen executive director Glenn Glover, Evergreen volunteer of the year Peter Sherrill, and young blood "Jordache" Jordan. After a traffic free drive up the windy road 25, pushing the limits of machine and man the ride almost felt like it could be anti-climactic ! One can only write so many details, so I won't give the blow by blow but the trails were in fantastic condition. AT first it felt hot, my legs were very sore and the first few ups seemed agonizing. Some days the trail rides you but for me this was one of those magical times when a hand from above reaches down and lifts you up the hill. All the suffering since February was to pay off. These big country rides just supercharge me with fervor, and I love experiencing rides of this caliber with new people, none of whom had been up there before ! I felt like I climbed more and enjoyed it more than any other time. And believe you me, I have suffered on this ride before. As one crests the final super climb, Mt. Hood, Mt. Helen's, and especially Mt. Adams surround you. There is one rise where the vista of Mt. Rainier completes the vision. As each rider came into the meadow (their doubt of the rides worthiness surely starting to grow but now utterly dispelled) I made sure a topless Julie Andrews (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) was there to greet them with smile and song. Our utterly Alpine like trail experience continued across the ridge and down the first sketchy mountain downhill until the dreaded Sunset Peak "poosh" commenced. Mirages came and went, the mind reeled, I'm pretty sure I blinked and like Jim Morrison in the desert I saw Len 'the Legend' himself smiling down at me, urging me on (I will always associate this ride with the Slog-father). Due to logistical difficulties, General Grant actually missed the first portion of the ride, but one of his best qualities is a roll with it attitude combined with resourcefulness and this meant that he had managed to find his way from other directions and was there sleeping in the sun to greet us at Suntop peak, completing the circle that had been broken. From there - the Pro level double diamond downhill section (no kidding its gnarly). Peter dislocated his finger in a small off, but brushed it off with the stoicness of a Spartan warrior. From there came the brutal tech climbs up and down the ridge, rocky shale sandy steep pitch goodness. There is something about a hillside trail leading off into the horizon, a string of bikers riding along it that has an endless romantic quality. One final look at the Adams behemoth dominating the horizon, and then ..... ULTIMATE F'IN DOWNHILL OF ALL TIME. Miles of it....miles of it.....As I told the crew in the beginning, point to point this ride has more downhill than uphill, the only problem with that is there is A LOT of downhill. I don't think they believed me after all the work, but here we were. I won't sully it with words -magic, hardcore, high speed stuff - miles and miles of it. Although a complete non-sequiter, I could hear the words of Gandalf urging the companions on after their escape from the Balrog - "Fly, you fools !" Utterly adrenalized, completely moralized and prepared for one more last little climb...heh heh...never quite as little as I remember. And then, another 3 miles of rowdy DH, an unbelievable mix of hardcore loose rock trench and berm moto trail that would instantly transition to smooth track forest trail even the WTA would love. Whoop-de-doos that came in and out of your rhythm like finding your pace with a new lover. High speed rails that would suddenly turn into sketchy mud slick cinder block chutes pounding the adrenaline into your head. Linked berm sections better than Whistler...The Tongue Mt. downhill is as good as it gets people. Jordan downhilled the last section with no chain or derailleur, which was a small miracle because before the ride even started I had tried to fix his loose hub and found his front axle broken and I was dropping ball bearings on the dirt. The front hub held, but the bike Gods had to be satisfied. I don't think he even cared, you didn't need a chain anyway. I had it re-affirmed in a big big way that this was my favorite E-P-I-C of all. Stats- about 7 hours at a leisurely, enjoy the big mountains pace. 90oz of water, 64 oz of cytomax consumed. 1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, one dislocated finger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles. |
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1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, one dislocated finger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles
"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... What's wrong with this picture? I wonder how a "leisurely" mountain bike ride could do so much damage? Mike Sounds like a ride dreams are made of :-) brilliant. Pushing the envelope wins out every time....love it! Jon~ --- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to --- |
#3
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1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, onedislocated finger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles
On Wednesday, August 1, 2012 6:55:46 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote:
"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... What's wrong with this picture? I wonder how a "leisurely" mountain bike ride could do so much damage? Mike Sounds like a ride dreams are made of :-) brilliant. Pushing the envelope wins out every time....love it! Go for it. Break a leg. You deserve it. |
#4
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1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, one dislocated finger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles
"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... On Wednesday, August 1, 2012 6:55:46 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote: "Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... What's wrong with this picture? I wonder how a "leisurely" mountain bike ride could do so much damage? Mike Sounds like a ride dreams are made of :-) brilliant. Pushing the envelope wins out every time....love it! Go for it. Break a leg. You deserve it. No need to be nasty, everyone is entitled to a viewpoint or is this newsgroup only for anti-mountain bike comments? I was hoping with the alt.mountain-bike name that this would be a great spot for discussions on all things 'mountain biking' related.....'scuse me! Jon~ --- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to --- |
#5
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1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, one dislocatedfinger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles
On 8/2/2012 5:24 PM, Lamblies wrote:
No need to be nasty, everyone is entitled to a viewpoint or is this newsgroup only for anti-mountain bike comments? I was hoping with the alt.mountain-bike name that this would be a great spot for discussions on all things 'mountain biking' related.....'scuse me! Once you filter out the convicted criminals, and those that respond to him, the group is useful. |
#6
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1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, onedislocated finger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles
On Thursday, August 2, 2012 5:24:21 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote:
"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... On Wednesday, August 1, 2012 6:55:46 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote: "Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... What's wrong with this picture? I wonder how a "leisurely" mountain bike ride could do so much damage? Mike Sounds like a ride dreams are made of :-) brilliant. Pushing the envelope wins out every time....love it! Go for it. Break a leg. You deserve it. No need to be nasty, everyone is entitled to a viewpoint No one is entitled to lie. Try telling the truth for a change. or is this newsgroup only for anti-mountain bike comments? I was hoping with the alt.mountain-bike name that this would be a great spot for discussions on all things 'mountain biking' related.....'scuse me! Jon~ --- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to --- |
#7
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1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, one dislocated finger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles
"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... On Thursday, August 2, 2012 5:24:21 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote: What's wrong with this picture? I wonder how a "leisurely" mountain bike ride could do so much damage? Mike Sounds like a ride dreams are made of :-) brilliant. Pushing the envelope wins out every time....love it! Go for it. Break a leg. You deserve it. No need to be nasty, everyone is entitled to a viewpoint No one is entitled to lie. Try telling the truth for a change. Explain your accusation Jon~ --- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to --- |
#8
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1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, one dislocated finger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles
"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... On Saturday, August 4, 2012 7:28:06 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote: "Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... On Thursday, August 2, 2012 5:24:21 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote: What's wrong with this picture? I wonder how a "leisurely" mountain bike ride could do so much damage? Mike Sounds like a ride dreams are made of :-) brilliant. Pushing the envelope wins out every time....love it! Go for it. Break a leg. You deserve it. No need to be nasty, everyone is entitled to a viewpoint No one is entitled to lie. Try telling the truth for a change. Explain your accusation Jon~ --- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to --- Mountain biking is promoted via a mountain of lies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 snipped vastly over repeated tripe 8 Hmmmm.....No wonder you are widely despised Mike. Consider yourself ignored from this point on. Jon~ --- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to --- |
#9
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1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, onedislocated finger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles
On Sunday, August 5, 2012 6:09:33 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote:
"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... On Saturday, August 4, 2012 7:28:06 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote: "Mike Vandeman" wrote in message ... On Thursday, August 2, 2012 5:24:21 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote: What's wrong with this picture? I wonder how a "leisurely" mountain bike ride could do so much damage? Mike Sounds like a ride dreams are made of :-) brilliant. Pushing the envelope wins out every time....love it! Go for it. Break a leg. You deserve it. No need to be nasty, everyone is entitled to a viewpoint No one is entitled to lie. Try telling the truth for a change. Explain your accusation Jon~ --- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to --- Mountain biking is promoted via a mountain of lies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 snipped vastly over repeated tripe 8 Hmmmm.....No wonder you are widely despised Mike. Only by mountain bikers, since I tell the truth about their selfish, destructive sport. They can't stand ANYONE who tells the truth about them. Consider yourself ignored from this point on. |
#10
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1 broken chain, 1 broken derailleur, one flat tire, onedislocated finger, one lost sailor, and 6 giant smiles
On Sunday, August 5, 2012 6:09:33 PM UTC-7, Lamblies wrote:
8 snipped vastly over repeated tripe 8 Hmmmm.....No wonder you are widely despised Mike. Vague responses like that prove that you don't know what you are talking about. No specifics whatsoever! |
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