A good night to be hungry

The call came from Bambi while Councilman and I were loading up at the Mosquito Lot, "Out." National nite "out" was successful in its mission to deter crime and FT3 participation. Down to just two confirmed riders, we entertained ideas for a casual outing. But, a text from NoSauce and a call from Xteric brought the count to a civilized four. Councilman eagerly took the charge of rideleader. In spite of his ramblings about how tired he was after the mind-alteringly epic ride last friday, he launched out the back at near race pace.

Out to the Forest gaurd station, where Xteric slipped out at the exact same spot I had two weeks earlier. Down the steep loose bit, across the little creek, below the dam and up the switchbacks, single track, second dam, and around Fleming CCW. The pace never relaxed through that stretch and I found myself frequently out of the saddle sprinting to catch the pack.

By the time we started Redneck, the pace had relaxed a bit, allowing Cman to further regale us with how the S-KW ride, for all its amazing magnificence, had made him a better person. Still, he was feeling the strain of rideleader, and it was starting to show. Rolling around the tank trap at the top of RNR, his tire slipped and down he plunged into the hole. Fortunately, a little fir caught him in a tangle of Councilman, Dean and tree. Once he was confirmed unhurt, Xteric choked back his laughter and helped him out. Still a bit shaken, he remounted, and, almost immediately, caught a stick in between his wheel and fork and was ejected over the bars. It wasn't a head-on collision with a motorized vehicle, though, and Councilman dusted himself off, straightened his handlebars, and we headed for the lip.

Dropping the lip to the lake for a CCW finish. Everyone was muttering for tacos. We stopped for a dip to get the dust off. Xteric forgot his waterwings, and had to remain ashore. The short roll back gave Councilman just enough time for one more unplanned dismount (something about a cleat, or a pedal malfunction) bringing Xteric more amusement.

Frustrated by a locked gate we left the bikes out front of the Knott and had the back to ourselves. After assembling a healthy choice of sauces the tacos appeared in short order. And they were delicious. Just a few spatters of grease on the wax paper, supple tortillas, onions in chunks so Xteric could easily remove them. NoSauce short tacoed, leaving after he finished his 2-0-0 order. The rest of us lingered over our second basket. The talk turned to the mega weekend ride of Aug 20 & 21 , if he can swing it, Xteric is IN.