Benny With The Bills
I wouldn't normally try to get down to Payson Canyon on a Wednesday night for the group ride. It's a lot of driving, and with the daylight hours being shorter and shorter lately, your ride time is kind of limited down there. But I got an email from Jeremy Jarneke who is a good friend of the club/shop who moved to Arizona awhile ago and was going to be in town this week. He and his wife Pam wanted to ride Benny Creek with us. The short version is that he wrenched his back and they ended up not coming.
However, nine other people did show up, including two different Bills. Pizza Bill, and Retro Bill.
We got a late start trying to figure out where Pam and Jeremy were, so we rode an abbreviated version of the Blackhawk to Benny Creek shuttle. We drove past Blackhawk Campground and started where the trail crosses the road to the west. We lost a couple of miles of a stout climb, but we made it out before it got dark.
And here is the picture from last night...........
Did you catch that? It's pretty obvious isn't it? Yes, Parrish was in the photo in July. The difference being that he said he was going on both rides, but he actually showed up way back then.
We got a late start trying to figure out where Pam and Jeremy were, so we rode an abbreviated version of the Blackhawk to Benny Creek shuttle. We drove past Blackhawk Campground and started where the trail crosses the road to the west. We lost a couple of miles of a stout climb, but we made it out before it got dark.Even though it's only September 2, there is already a slight tinge of fall in the air. Coming into the aspens above Jones ranch. The quakies are already losing some of their leaves. Not much color yet, but you can tell it's coming. I love mountain biking in the fall.
We were plagued by a few mechanicals. Nate was "just riding along" when he completely tore his derailleur off. On an uphill. Crossing a road. What the what? Good thing we had professional bike mechanic with us. Also a good thing that Nate was carrying a spare derailleur hanger in his pack. I know, huh? Strange that he's that prepared for a mechanical, but hasn't lubed his chain since June.Just after we got him rolling, and started the downhill in earnest, I took an ill-advised line through a ditch, and tore a gaping hole in the sidewall of my tire. I had a tube, but the hole in the tire was so big I had to boot it with a $10 bill. Some people might have used a $1 dollar bill, but I've always been willing to pay more for quality. That's just me.
We were plagued by a few mechanicals. Nate was "just riding along" when he completely tore his derailleur off. On an uphill. Crossing a road. What the what? Good thing we had professional bike mechanic with us. Also a good thing that Nate was carrying a spare derailleur hanger in his pack. I know, huh? Strange that he's that prepared for a mechanical, but hasn't lubed his chain since June.Just after we got him rolling, and started the downhill in earnest, I took an ill-advised line through a ditch, and tore a gaping hole in the sidewall of my tire. I had a tube, but the hole in the tire was so big I had to boot it with a $10 bill. Some people might have used a $1 dollar bill, but I've always been willing to pay more for quality. That's just me.I hadn't been to Payson Canyon since the 4th of July. There was a slight difference in the area, that you might be able to pick out from these two pictures taken of the same place. Study them closely.
Here is the picture from two months ago.............
And here is the picture from last night........... Did you catch that? It's pretty obvious isn't it? Yes, Parrish was in the photo in July. The difference being that he said he was going on both rides, but he actually showed up way back then.I guess the scenery is a little different too. Last time, the flowers and grass were shoulder high in some places, by now, they've all dried up, and been tromped down by the cattle. To everything, there is a season I suppose. Turn, turn, turn.
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