RR: Last Ride of 2006

Carrie had The Plan for the last ride of 2006 and it was most
excellent. Earlier in the week she had suggested riding the 31st,
including which trail we should ride. There was absolutely no argument
from me, only enthusiastic agreement.

The Sun was shining and there was nary a cloud in the sky when I picked
Carrie up and we headed to the trailhead. It was indeed, a beautiful
day. She suggested we grab a coffee on the way, still batting 1000 for
the day and we had just barely started. It was nice to get a little
hopped up on caffiene for me because of the weird hours I keep on the
weekends.

The drive wasn't too bad, especially since the area we were headed to
was generally in sight the last half of it. The skies had remained
clear adn the temperature was holding steady around what was predicted
for te day. Pulling into the parking lot revealed quite a few
vehicles, but I didn't see bike racks on any of them. Things were
still looking way up.

Readying ourselves didn't take too long and within ten minutes, we were
rolling. The route starts with a pretty significant climb that can
sneak up on you. That is until you turn around and look back down the
trail to see just how much you have climbed. That didn't happen though
because of the cool terrain features in sight to the side. There was a
pause to shed a layer to keep from overheating, but that was only
needed once throughout the entire ride.

With the initial climb finished, it was time for some great undulating
bench cut singletrackin'. My weapon of choice for the day was my rigid
Team Marin and it was definitely the right tool for the job. The track
was hardpacked and fast from recent precipitation, making it much less
daunting for Carrie and super fast when it needed to be. I led at
Carrie's insistence ad kept her within hearing distance if not in sight
at all times.

We rode at a nice cruising pace, stopping at overlooks to check out the
views and natural features of the area. There were also a couple of
blown-out and exposed sections of the bench cut that we walked because
the last ride of the year did not need to be the "last ride". The out
and back nature of the route Carrie had chosen had me in "memory" mode,
watching the trail intently as to remember as much as possible for the
return trip.

The last bit of out was a varied surface drop to a lookout. It started
smooth and hardpacked, turned to a bit sandy, then to a bit rocky with
loose rocks, and finally to a little stteper and somewhat rutted. I
tried keeping Carrie really close, but she apparently had a little
difficulty on the rocky part that I missed hearing or seeing. She was
still in earshot when I negotiated the last rut at the bottom, which
was comforting. I walked back up a little and watched her finish the
bottom section.

At the end, we walked out to the lookout and checked out the view.
There was a pretty good panorama and I made sure to play the
"interpretive guide" and point out a few known features. The trail did
continue past the viewpoint and we could see where it climbed out of
the next canyon over.

The ride back was a lot easier, except for the initial climb. We split
the climb up by riding some and walking some. I immediately noticed
that Carrie's tracks from her descent were almost always right on top
of mine. She is a fast learner! Before the end of the climb out,
there was a false "summit" that had a couple of sequential root drops
in it. I demoed them, talking my way down them and explaining what I
was doing while riding the obstacles. Carrie followed and rode them
identically. Yup, a fast learner.

The return trip was a little faster, even with a stop at the highest
point of the route on another lookout we had missed on the out portion
of the ride. Carrie had professed to her legs being a bit tired, so we
stayed in cruise mode. Even so, Carrie led the last climbing bit and
burned up to the last apex before the final descent back to the parking
lot. The descent went really quickly, with me leading and Carrie hot
on my heels. There was one final stop right before the parking lot to
enjoy the view and check out some rock climbers. What a nice finish to
a great trail on a wonderful day to close out 2006.

Still batting 1000, Carrie suggested stopping at In N Out Burger on the
way back to her place. How could anyone do better? The closeout ride
for 2006 turned out to be a memorable one, as predicted right from its
inception. A great route with a fantastic woman is definitely an
unbeatable combination.

In writing this over two weeks after the fact, I've had some time to
reflect on this ride and 2006 as a whole. It was an excellent year,
highlighted with some great riding on many different bikes, many
different places and with many different people. Capping 2006 off by
spending the day riding with Carrie made perfect sense to me because we
had met earlier in the year. It's indelible.

JD

"JD" wrote in message
ups.com...
Carrie had The Plan for the last ride of 2006 and it was most
excellent. Earlier in the week she had suggested riding the 31st,
including which trail we should ride. There was absolutely no argument
from me, only enthusiastic agreement.

The Sun was shining and there was nary a cloud in the sky when I picked
Carrie up and we headed to the trailhead. It was indeed, a beautiful
day. She suggested we grab a coffee on the way, still batting 1000 for
the day and we had just barely started. It was nice to get a little
hopped up on caffiene for me because of the weird hours I keep on the
weekends.

The drive wasn't too bad, especially since the area we were headed to
was generally in sight the last half of it. The skies had remained
clear adn the temperature was holding steady around what was predicted
for te day. Pulling into the parking lot revealed quite a few
vehicles, but I didn't see bike racks on any of them. Things were
still looking way up.

Readying ourselves didn't take too long and within ten minutes, we were
rolling. The route starts with a pretty significant climb that can
sneak up on you. That is until you turn around and look back down the
trail to see just how much you have climbed. That didn't happen though
because of the cool terrain features in sight to the side. There was a
pause to shed a layer to keep from overheating, but that was only
needed once throughout the entire ride.

With the initial climb finished, it was time for some great undulating
bench cut singletrackin'. My weapon of choice for the day was my rigid
Team Marin and it was definitely the right tool for the job. The track
was hardpacked and fast from recent precipitation, making it much less
daunting for Carrie and super fast when it needed to be. I led at
Carrie's insistence ad kept her within hearing distance if not in sight
at all times.

We rode at a nice cruising pace, stopping at overlooks to check out the
views and natural features of the area. There were also a couple of
blown-out and exposed sections of the bench cut that we walked because
the last ride of the year did not need to be the "last ride". The out
and back nature of the route Carrie had chosen had me in "memory" mode,
watching the trail intently as to remember as much as possible for the
return trip.

The last bit of out was a varied surface drop to a lookout. It started
smooth and hardpacked, turned to a bit sandy, then to a bit rocky with
loose rocks, and finally to a little stteper and somewhat rutted. I
tried keeping Carrie really close, but she apparently had a little
difficulty on the rocky part that I missed hearing or seeing. She was
still in earshot when I negotiated the last rut at the bottom, which
was comforting. I walked back up a little and watched her finish the
bottom section.

At the end, we walked out to the lookout and checked out the view.
There was a pretty good panorama and I made sure to play the
"interpretive guide" and point out a few known features. The trail did
continue past the viewpoint and we could see where it climbed out of
the next canyon over.

The ride back was a lot easier, except for the initial climb. We split
the climb up by riding some and walking some. I immediately noticed
that Carrie's tracks from her descent were almost always right on top
of mine. She is a fast learner! Before the end of the climb out,
there was a false "summit" that had a couple of sequential root drops
in it. I demoed them, talking my way down them and explaining what I
was doing while riding the obstacles. Carrie followed and rode them
identically. Yup, a fast learner.

The return trip was a little faster, even with a stop at the highest
point of the route on another lookout we had missed on the out portion
of the ride. Carrie had professed to her legs being a bit tired, so we
stayed in cruise mode. Even so, Carrie led the last climbing bit and
burned up to the last apex before the final descent back to the parking
lot. The descent went really quickly, with me leading and Carrie hot
on my heels. There was one final stop right before the parking lot to
enjoy the view and check out some rock climbers. What a nice finish to
a great trail on a wonderful day to close out 2006.

Still batting 1000, Carrie suggested stopping at In N Out Burger on the
way back to her place. How could anyone do better? The closeout ride
for 2006 turned out to be a memorable one, as predicted right from its
inception. A great route with a fantastic woman is definitely an
unbeatable combination.

In writing this over two weeks after the fact, I've had some time to
reflect on this ride and 2006 as a whole. It was an excellent year,
highlighted with some great riding on many different bikes, many
different places and with many different people. Capping 2006 off by
spending the day riding with Carrie made perfect sense to me because we
had met earlier in the year. It's indelible.

JD


Good stuff. 2006 was my "road to recovery" year with ott7 hoping to be
riddled with way more rides, hoping to get my skill level up a notch or two
and riding with a larger assortment of riders and skill levels.

Sounds like you got a keeper so keep her!

Gary (the oaked arrogant ******* is splendid, thanks)

JD wrote:
In writing this over two weeks after the fact, I've had some time to
reflect on this ride and 2006 as a whole. It was an excellent year,
highlighted with some great riding on many different bikes, many
different places and with many different people. Capping 2006 off by
spending the day riding with Carrie made perfect sense to me because we
had met earlier in the year. It's indelible.

JD

Glad your last ride of 2006 wasn't your "last ride." Good writeups are
worth reading, that's my motto.

'06 stretched me in 2 directions. Leading a weekly begintermediate
group ride, and exploring tougher, new trails with hotdog riders.
'07's looking even better.

CDB

"JD" wrote in message
ups.com...
Carrie had The Plan

Nuff said.

Excellent reading JD. Thanks.

Have a great '07.

Marty

Marty wrote:
"JD" wrote in message
ups.com...
Carrie had The Plan

Nuff said.

Excellent reading JD. Thanks.

Have a great '07.

Marty


Y tu, amigo.

JD