South Fork,IMBA, And Old Pics

Joshua — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:29:00 +0000

I was pouting about how few people showed up for last nights ride. Then I remembered that last year, the Wednesday rides were the ones that nobody showed up for. I would have been stoked to get three people. Apparently I was still pouting because I didn't take any pictures. Actually that was because I didn't bring the camera, but still.
Sally, Nathan, and Wes showed up. It was an uneventful trip around South Fork, but a nice cool evening, with a couple of rain drops thrown in for good measure. I did come to the conclusion that come 'cross season, Wes and I are going to be battling it out for 30th place in the C flight.

As a point of interest, I just signed the group up as an "IMBA affiliated" organization. I had often wondered what qualified other clubs as affiliated. Surely it must mean that they are out digging trails and organizing pep-rallies four times a week. Nope. It ends up that it's a lot like an individual who goes to the IMBA website and punches in their credit card. And then gets a packet of information in the mail. Actually, it's exactly like that, only it costs a little bit more. Thank Brian Fruit(the founder of the feast) next time you see him. There are a few modest perks to being in an affiliated club, which I will let you know about once I sort through the info. And the money does go to a cause that we can all get behind.

Finally, Nathan let me know how disappointed he was that I didn't post about last weeks ride. I think he just wanted to see pictures of himself. Ironically, none of the pictures I took are of him. Sorry buddy.

Here's Chef Scott from Park City(Go to Easy Street Restaurant in the SkyLodge on Historic Main, you'll be glad you did.),Tyler, and Kyle at the top of the Love Climb.Speaking of the "Love Climb". Here's Brady enjoying Kyle's nipple. Notice how Kyle can't look him in the eye. Maybe if we all pitch in a dime, we can buy Brady a water bottle and a cage so he doesn't have to beg water. Ever wonder where the trail that drops off to your left immediately after you cross the dam from the bottom of Tibble? It goes here.

No, it's not ridable.
Remember, we're riding South Fork counterclockwise Saturday night at 9pm. Meet at the summit trailhead and don't forget to charge your lights.

Ride Leader/Follower

Joshua — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:46:00 +0000

I get a lot of people who seem to think, erroneously, that as ride leader, I am some form of expert. I get a lot of mechanical questions that I stumble through. I get a ton of trail questions which usually reveal that I have the as little or less knowlege than the person asking the question. And most people would assume that as a ride leader I should be one of the fittest people in the pack. Those who have been on one ride with us know that this is not the case.
Last night, we rode up Hog's Hollow and over to Corner Canyon. At the saddle/overlook we decided to head up Jacob's Ladder. Delightfully, I was the only one who had ever ridden it. I like taking people on a new trail and having them unanimously agree that it's a good one.
This photo proves my point about the fitness. The reason I am filming the majority of the riders reaching the top of Jacob's Ladder,...is because I was one of the last one's to reach it.

Sally felt bad for me and hung back.

This was after she had hung with Jake and Riley(leaders of the pack) on the majority of the climb.

Proving that my trail knowlege is lacking, we took at least one major, and several minor wrong turns on the way to the top of Jacob's.

But Jacob's Ladder is it's own reward. Fast,swoopy, tech sections, tight corners. Killer trail.

Continuing on to Ghost falls, we kept up the tradition of somebody overcooking the corners and heading into the rhubarb. This time it was Nathan.

At the bottom we took the North Fork and did a little out and back down BST.

Here is the result of Riley's launch off one of the sandy rollers on the double track leading to BST.

Before we turned around at the closed sign on BST, Sally headed back as she was low on water. Once the rest of us headed back, I was proven ignorant and slow again by falling off the back of the pack and when we returned to Ghost Falls, I couldn't tell which way they had gone. Noticing a cloud of dust heading down towards the silica pit, I headed that way wondering if they knew something I didn't. Once I reached the bottom, I realized I was alone. The smart thing would have been to just head up Clark's and meet up with everybody else at the top. Instead I tried to pick my way up to the "Not" Brock's Point trail.

Ever climbed the south fork of Ghost Fall's? It's a bitch. And not knowing if I was even going the right way, I had my bottom lip out in a full on pout. Just as I was about to cry, I heard somebody yell my name. Luckily I was just about 50 yards from the intersection with "Not" Brock's Point. And that's where they had waited. Jake asked if I needed a rest before we started and my pride said no. The result was a huffing,puffing painful climb up to the road.

But, I made it. Those whose computers had not been recently torn off by excessive trail overgrowth said that we covered about fifteen miles which was pretty good for a Wednesday evening ride.

At least these rides keep me humble.

Bike Peddler » Wednesday

South Fork,IMBA, And Old Pics

Ride Leader/Follower