I LOVE TO RIDE.
I love to mountain bike. It speaks to my soul. Sometimes that soul deals with some bumps and bruises along the way. This past Wednesday, at the Singletrack Social they weren't my bumps and bruises. They were Luke's. Thankfully, they were minor, but I still hate to see someone go down. (Maybe not as much as I hate going down...but nonetheless, it ain't fun.) When it does happen, the same question inevitably comes to mind. Are you prepared? Can you handle some blood? A broken bone? Get help? As much as mountain biking speaks to my soul, sometimes it bites back. How often have you thought about how you'd handle those teeth?
RIDE OF SILENCE (SINGLETRACK SOCIAL OPTION)
RAIN. SWEET RAIN.
As I sit here this morning and look out the window, I can only think how much this rain is helping the trails. And my grass. And the local farmers. And with a little moisture comes a bit of responsibility. Please don't ride the trails when they're wet. But do enjoy them once they've dried out.
A $1300 SURPRISE
HUGE HEWLETT THANKS!
Saturday's trail day out at Hewlett Gulch was a huge success. We were able to get 20-25% more done than expected. Thanks to all the volunteers, Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, Team BOB, Shreddin' Betty's, and a couple of hiking groups that I can't remember right now. We had 40+ people show up and get dirty! Let's make our next trail day at Lory State Park as equally successful. Also, thanks to Mugs for providing food and Road 34 for providing gift cards to lucky winners.
Just a quick update on our Hewlett Gulch trail day next weekend.
We’ve got 31 volunteers registered so far! Apparently we’re pretty excited to complete this re-route. The more people we have, the more trail that gets built. Go figure.
If you haven’t signed up yet please register at the Overland website, volunteer opportunities by Thursday night, April 26th.
You’ll also see that we’ve got the Friends of Lory trail day listed on the volunteer page. This is always a great day, and if you just read the event description you’ll see why it’s going to be particularly awesome this year. We'd love to see you out there.
Does your mountain bike utilize disc brakes? If so, when was the last time you checked to see how tight the rotor bolts are?
Recently, a buddy of mine and a friend were on a ride in Fruita zipping along the trails, up and over rocks, feeling the wind on their faces, and generally enjoying themselves when his riding partner noticed something making some funny noises. On further inspection, he noticed that all but one of the bolts on his rear disc brake rotor had managed to come loose – very loose – as in they weren’t there. This cautionary tale prompted me to check the brakes on my wife’s bike and mine. Lo and behold, ours were a wee bit loose too. Not to the point of being gone, but loose enough that they needed to be tightened.
At our monthly meetings, we've been working to bring in special guests. This month, cycling coach, Andy Clark joins us.
Apologies to everyone about First Aid/CPR training dates being all wonky last week. Here's the real training days.
We call our Wednesday night group ride a "social" because that's our intent. We want the ride to be casual. We want all levels of riders to feel welcome. We want you to have a good time. We have a few guidelines we follow to make sure this happens:
1. We split up into ability groups.
2. Someone from the club always sweeps.
3. We stop. We chat. We catch our breath.
4. We encourage each other.
5. We always yield to others and use exceptional trail etiquette.
6. We don't "drop" anyone.
7. We always socialize afterwards. (If we are at someone's house, please bring something
to share.)
8. Rides are always weather dependent and trail condition dependent. If it's not raining but it rained the day before and the trails are sloppy, we won't ride.
If you've never ridden the lollipop at Hewlett Gulch, your ankles, collarbones, and wrists will thank you. And thanks to the work of Overland, the US Forest Service, and Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, soon you won't have to worry about meeting your doom in the "asteroid belt" that makes up the final descent.
I enjoyed the twists and turns, ups and downs of
