Monday, August 10, 2009

Ride 64 or 65? I will have to go back through and count again...they start adding up and its easy to loose track. Big weekend on the FT3 front: NoHandle got moved and a good group of us took down the Pony Express (XP) trail. Great ride on the "not so well marked" and "not so well advertised" new trail connecting Echo to Ice House via mostly single track and dirt roads. I would say the split was about 70/30 single track, but then again I was seeing double by the end so my dead reckoning may be dead wrong. Although it is a net downhill run, the deep sand and steep climbs make the ride much harder than it appears. Ghostrider, B, Bambi, and I all left P'ville bright and early to drop a car and Ice House and head west. We met Taco Spawn atop Echo and headed out into the unknown. B had done the trail before and took the roll of ride leader, equipped with a GPS he played the part well. The ride has several distinct features, not to worry, there is at least one "Pain Cave" entrance upon each section. We hit some high alpine stuff, some deep forest sections, some burned out areas, a couple of dirt roads, deep sandy climbs, and a final section of dirt road that I could have swore I saw Jesus on...in all, well over 4 hours in the saddle and a good day had by all. The Barnes family plan back fired, my better half thought if I was out on a ride the baby would definitely come along, but alas no baby yet. We will see what this weekend has in store...

It has occurred to me we have not fashioned an epic, poetic, Shakespearean call-out in sometime...I will get the creative juices boiling for next week.

Mosquito @ 5:45...Exit 54?

Zero (I might be out for a few weeks as the family grows by one)

Hope you enjoy the images from the weekend. Sorry NoHandle we missed the photos of your move.















B clearing the morning cobwebs with some hair of the dog!

















B's HFTU nutritional game plan.

















The High Alpine stuff had some sweet spots!






















Everyone ones a critic:
FYI: The plaque "behind you" stated the campground had been improved thanks to a large donation!























"If these are baby heads, I don't want to see the babies."


















"Anyone seen Lars?"


















A much needed break for food! My legs could have sparked a new fire!

















The final push. Damn, that is a good looking red kit on that guy!


XP Trail from Matthew Barnes on Vimeo.


Until we ride again:
LOtB

9 comments:

  1. Two, I have not been able to eat enough since the XP ride. Need some Tacos, Hot sauce, and PBR. I found some Malindas XXX and I am bringing her with me. We should paint some faces on all those heads we rolled over on sunday.

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  2. VD makes three. I am jeolous about not making it on Sunday's ride. There will need to be another epic ride like that planned on the weekend.

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  3. A nice ride on Sunday for sure!
    I will not be attending tonight's ride though. Maybe I should of timed my proposal till post FT3 ride.
    Oh well, I'm wondering if In-law has some contact information he can send my way? That belt drive been haunting my dreams!

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  4. You know chris I have access to that frame. In law is living in SF the frame is up here. He will never know.

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  5. FOUR! I spent some time last night putting together the special garden salsa offering. Again, not hot enough to make me proud but it should provide a nice match up for matilda or melinda whoever she is. Had a nice ride up the coast in Monterey this weekend followed by a surf on small but decent waves. It is notable that I was nearly killed in a head-on by a Honda civic making a stupid pass on a two lane road. Seriously, it was the worst and most scary on road experience I've had. My last word would have been a loud F-bomb. Thanks to B for keeping the bitch while I was away. PBR fall season game 1 is at 8:40 Thursday, can't wait to see the FT3 ballers represent again.

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  6. Cool! The LoTB multi-media presentation made this one look like a must do; I really like the staged single track video, good spacing of riders for the pan back segments of each rider.

    I know that High Sierra stuff can take the juice out of you, I'm still recovering from my last two motorized ventures. I've picked up some kind of bug and I'm out tonight.

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  7. I major shout out to FT3 crew for all the help. Especially the Dads w/kids and that guy w/curly hair and a big ass trailer, but no real handle.
    Should I even comment on tonight and my attendance?
    No can do tonight. I'm swimming in boxes, work and projects. Maybe drwonding is more accurate. I got in two little rides last week in Mammoth so I'm not totally messed up.

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  8. Justin,
    What are we looking at for price? What does the frame include?

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  9. Councilman is still drowning in projects and baby prep. #2 should be here in the next couple weeks, if not sooner. Sorry for the no show NoHandle. The Epic looked like a blast. Thanks for the footage. Looking forward to a callout from the Bard next week....

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