If it's wet, hit it sideways

Tuesday's call-out provided an overview of the short but fascinating history of the development of our great sport. It also provided that there was going to be at least one rider who would join us from the much shorter history of FT3 and continue his role as the great councilman among us. He seemingly forgot how to carpool for FT3 however, as his text to me at the Knott Lott read "who is there?" Surprise, another one from the history books arrives just then, and it is the one we call "Rock God."

We proceeded post-hast for the Knott Lot while fielding calls from additional riders confessing their tardiness. We began assembling our cycling panties, fashionable spandex leggings, sporty socks, neck warmers, gloves, helmets and lights while waiting for the arrival of B and later Xterric. B was getting antsy after a day of sporting in pow and decided to make a quick run for Pre' BR's. 

The clear, darkening sky was cool and crisp, and the texture of the dirt lot below our feet increased the anticipation of the quality trails awaiting us. Rock and Cap'n bantered about some remarks about who's who on the cross scene just barely stopping short of calling one another out. And so it is good to have council when you need it. Alas Xterric finished donning his gear, some lights were tested and repaired and the request for ride leader nomination was made. 

This seven strong group featuring *most* of the classic riders of FT3 included Cap'n, NoHandle, Xterric, B, NoCar, Rock, and Councilman. In the absence of a nomination or self nomination for ride leader, the impatience of Rock came through strongly and he rode away, and the rest of us followed. We headed appropriately for the qualifier as it was clear some of us hadn't been on an FT3 ride for a while.  

While Rock and I were off the front there was some mis-direction among the latter half of the group at the bottom of the qualifier. According to my sources some tire track tracking skills were deployed during a discussion of the repack downhill before the group ultimately decided to continue up the qualifier. We broke towards the lower wedding march at the 3/4 point of the qualifier. The lower wedding march drop was fantastic, grippy, sticky fast and fun. While there were few wet spots, we determined that those areas were best hit sideways. The rock garden decent was owned by all and we regrouped at the bottom. Then we headed around the lake clockwise, taking the horse trail to the super steep climb toward MET. At MET we took Ferrari Mill to lower Fleming, Palins, Palins lower, up the dam road back to MET, along the lake to the first dam and then up "Triple X." 

Many riders tried, and some more than once, but ultimately, it was it's namesake rider that once again owned the coveted Triple X climb; Xterric cleaned it with supreme bike handling prowess and a small block 8 rear tire. We took the backdoor trail back to the Knott lot. All agreed that if we were not present, we would have missed out, and that riding conditions and weather were mountain bike textbook perfect. We were fortunate to avoid any personal regret due to the potential of rain or cold. Taco's were excellent and the sauce selection is just as well. 

A few baskets of tacos arrived and the noshing began when a rider asked "where's B?" "B is being B" replied NoCar. Later, the Taco Mom informed us that B had lost his wallet. Xterric went out for an inspection and returned un-surprised that B had unloaded, literally, everything from A to Z in the parking lot looking for his wallet. Just then, the Taco Mom returned, all smiles, to announce that she found the "lost" wallet underneath the car. The rest of us pondered if we would ever receive Taco Mom assistance if we lost anything in the parking lot. 

A few important items were discussed:

1) Sunday Morning Ride 10/28 on El Dorado Trail Pville to Folsom, ending at BJ's. Start approximately 8:00am finish around noon. May need to shuttle to drop a car in Folsom depending on head count. Who's in?

2) SAC CX Double header in Folsom November 3rd and 4th. 3rd - Lembi Park, 4th - Folsom Rodeo Grounds.

3) Sunday 11/11/12 Veteran's Day ED Trail/Cronin Loop (counterclockwise, pville-cronin, EDH-EDT) departure early afternoon 2 or 3pm in order to preserve light usage. Who's in?

And that's a wrap. TacoStrong.