Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Mostly Rideable, Hmmmm...

The following ride report was submitted by No Car:

The ride for B and Nocar began in Pville. Shortly after 4PM they dashed like squirrels across Hwy 50 and rolled to the Knott Hole via Pollock Pines. Arriving slightly early allowed time to start their tabs with a nip o' rye.

The gathering group was in a tissy at the knot lot. Apparently, Peter had looked at the trails from the parking lot and determined that riding was impossible. After some discussion, Peter was left to finish his PreBR alone, as NoHandle, Cap'n, Bambi, B, Rock God, Xteric, Councilman, and Nocar headed out for the qualifier. It was a night of hasty, unplanned dismounts, which began almost immediately. Bambi was fiddling with his light and failed to notice the downed tree that crossed the trail. He saw it a second before impact, screamed like a girl, and leaped off his bike. He sailed fifteen feet bounced and rammed into the cutbank. He checked for blood and found none, and bent his brake lever back to a useable position. We pushed the tree off the trail and rolled on. We started up the qualifier, then retreated, followed some as yet unnamed trails and then dropped via boyscout camp to do a lake loop. The snow conditions varied widely, but were mostly rideable. Probably every rider at one time or another, (or frequently) experienced his front wheel lock up in a drift followed by ejection from the bicycle. Only too then be rear ended by the next rider. After a successful lake loop, Ride Leader NoHandle (having long ago designated Cap'n as Subordiante Ride Leader) pushed the group to continue with a quick foray onto Palin's Plunge. Substantial grumbling emanated from the ranks as it became clear that the loop would be a hike.

Our evening at the Knott Hole was quite festive with the glow from the Amish fireplace and the Christmas tree. [Administrator's note: the tunes were loud, not spanish nor country, and B’s request to turn up GnR was met with applause. This administrator suspects that the Taco Mom’s absence had something to do with this] No by-laws were questioned, nor mandates declared. Although the newest, um, taco server, created new names for us. Apparently our own nickhandles aren't good enough.

9 comments:

  1. Great job No Car, an accurate accounting of events and the tone of the outing.

    I've discovered my P3 tendencies are directly proportional to a drop in temperature, I'll have to add that to the algorithm. I do have to admit the lake loop trails were surprisingly rideable with the solid crust provided ample traction but variable resistance for numerous 'ride of the minute' performances.

    Also, I think the FT3 Karma quotient caught up with my reluctance to comply to CX/SSFT3 mount regulations and due to a rare mechanical mishap I was stuck in my small cog, grinding up the slightest incline all evening - the legs are certainly burning today. I noticed I was not the only one defying FT3 guidelines, so beware.

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  2. RG, any update on your brand new yet broken shifter?
    Nice write up NoCar.

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  3. Cap'n should have included a "this post has been sanitized for your protection" disclaimer.

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  4. Quote of the hour, if not the night:

    "now that's just the right amount of..."

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  5. I understand that the good name of LOtB was batted around with some less than kind words prior to the ride...It seems that the belief was that I entailed better riding conditions than what was encountered by the group. Let me quote my "call out" quote and see if I was accurate or not:
    The lake loop and Flemming will definitely have some open areas worthy of riding by night fall. Any open areas may still have a build of thick white crud to deal with, but it is going fast.
    Looks like I was spot on! The good name lives to fight another day! Hope to be back in the fold next week on totally clear trails.

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  6. It's true, Peter was talking all kinds of smack.

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  7. Are you guys talking bad about me? It hurts my feelings. One of these days I will ride in the snow with you guys again.

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  8. The Cyclocross Nats are underway as of today.

    Ned Overend killed in the 55+ , w/local teammate Norm Kreiss taking 2nd.

    Our local Masters Mentor John Elgart took the 65+ crown, his 21st national title and 4th CX national title.

    Bay Area cutie pie Gina Hall got nipped at the line for 2nd by Wendy Williams of River City Bicycles in the Women's 40+ race.

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