FT3

Taking on the Old Caz

2012-01-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

It's the last Tuesday of the month and the last day of the month, that's gotta mean something. When you figure it out let me know. Tuesday nonetheless and time for another awesome ride with perfect January(?) weather.

Quick weekend report, while NoHandle sought friends to ride with and while R.G. took in some coastal views, long lost FT3er's Ghost, Green Fro and your own Cappy took on the Grasshopper Adventures "Old Caz" Cross "training ride." I will skip the part about how Green Fro spilled an entire cup of coffee on the seat of my new race van and get straight to the good stuff. While billed as a training ride, there are in fact posted results, so many people take it pretty seriously. Not sure how serious we were going to take this thing, the three of us lined up toward the mid-back of the 250 or so rider pack. Once the ride began we found ourselves in a massive bike train that must have extended a mile. There wasn't much room, nearly elbow to elbow from the shoulder to the centerline. Green Fro got a little fresh with a rider's wheel in front of him and went down in a flash, not the best way to start a 60ish mile cross ride race(?). Ghost and I soft pedaled for a bit because stopping in that moving mass would have been a bad idea. After a bit we decided that Fro would have some work to do to catch up, groups were starting to form, the pace was picking up and we were headed downhill. The first long decent was all on dirt and provided for some exciting railing on the cross bike. Some dudes were laying it on the line, at that point I lost Ghost too. Tons of passing and being passed was going on at that point. Surprise, to me it was starting to feel like a race. Once at the bottom it was a gravelish roll with lots of puddles in a super fast pack. Good times. Then onto the road for a while. I was in a group of about ten or so riders, of course I found myself on the front doing work to try to snatch up the group in front of us. Shortlythereafter, another bigger group caught us, and Curtis was in there. We hit another dirt climb and that was followed by a sweeet and long decent down to a creek that was flowing pretty well. Thankfully Ghost gave me the hot stuff to rub on my legs so they stayed warm even underwater (I will get to the burning part later). Guess what, more climbing after the decent, on dirt, and that is where I took down a delicious peanut butter, honey and bacon sandwich on a sourdough english muffin. Keeping the energy level in balance proved to be key. There was more riding along a creek now on pavement before we transition back onto some highway riding. Road tactics were in full effect, smart riders sat in. Not me though, I kept finding myself on the front of that group. We made it back to the puddled gravely section previously mentioned and that was the route back home. Up the super long decent, now climb we started with to the finish line at the top. That was when the burning started. Not only did my legs burn from riding, (which I love... "I am a cyclist..." damn those two steep pitches required some deep digging, but they also felt like I had a sunburn. Once the sun hits the legs with the hot stuff on 'em, you really get to enjoy heat.

Results are posted here if you are interested; http://www.grasshopperadventureseries.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Old-Caz1.pdf There were some familiar faces out there, some Sac CX racers, some MTBers from wayyy back, especially a few of the top finishers. Those guys have been at this a long time. FT3 represented well. Beautiful views out there, redwoods, eucaliptis trees and the like. Great stuff. FT3 needs to represent on this one next year. It is soooo worthy.

I hope to be in this week but not sure at this time. Let's start the count off at Zero just in case.

Ride like you mean it.

Cap'n

The State of the Taco

2012-01-25T18:51:00.000-08:00

Date: 1/24/2012
Riders: Cap'n, B, Nocar, Xteric, NoHandle, Keds (taco session)
Climate: Mild and dry
Soils: All states of saturation, from hard and tacky to deep mud
Route: Drop to the lake, turn CCW to horse camp, drop below the first dam, back up and continue lake loop, grab some horse trail, Barne's Back, Park Creek, cross country bushwhacking over slash piles and through dense stands of immature fir to Wedding March, 1A, continue lake loop, horse trail, end. or something like that.

I was surprised to see Cappy drive up to the Mosquito Lot with B in the back seat and Booker riding shot gun. Apparently, he received a last minute pardon from the governor and was free to ride. I loaded up and the Cap'n pulled in to the gas station, estimated the round trip costs, and we pooled all our moneys to get the FT3 shuttle on the road. It reminded me of hitch hiking in Guatemala.

Cappy rhetorically asked who would RideLead and we were off.

Ever striving to be better and more informed citizens, Mr. Obama's State of the Union Address was broadcasted first from the automobiles' sound systems and then by B's phone device. We were thus able to engage in a civic, non-partisan discussion of some of the salient points throughout the ride.

Somewhere on Barne's Back we encountered our first pool of deep mud. By Park Creek we had plowed through spots so deep it gummed up drive trains. At one stop I lifted my bike hoping to dislodge some of the mud by shaking it around a bit. I was confronted by about ten pounds of new weight. I will say that the Geax tires are fan-tastic in the slop.

Mud gave way to snow and we laid more fresh tracks. After a hilarious search for Wedding March where THTH prevailed as master route finder, we raced the descent, dense and fast as quicksilver.

The Knott Hole was bare when we pushed through the door. Mother Rye declared that the dining room was closed after 9PM so we sidled up to the bar. Service was prompt, but as one shell after another ripped in half at the first bite, no one commented.

One

2012-01-24T11:08:00.001-08:00

Reserved for Winter KWalifier RR

2012-01-17T12:52:00.000-08:00

I'll post more pics of yesterdays epic winter slipfest sometime soon, but first things first.

Tuesday is here again. One!

Still Dry Up High

2012-01-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

On Saturday afternoon I was able to get my bike all the way to the top of the Strawberry 4WD trail. Don't let the icy image scare you off. That shot was taken at one of the worst spots. Although the going was slower than usual, it was a ride, not a hike-a-bike. SB-KW is totally doable right now. If the weather holds, who is down for a run at it next weekend?

Two trucks tried to get to the top that day, but were turned around by ice. The humble bicycle wins again. The Rover pictured belongs to a party of Ukrainians that was just stopped by ice near the top. A good friend of mine, Orest, taught me some Ukrainian drinking songs years ago. After learning of their ethnicity, I got my Cyrillic on and sang them a tune. Boy howdy was that a good move. After complementing me on my total lack of an accent (I think they were being generous) they asked me if I liked "ribs." Next thing I know, I am enjoying delicious marinated lamb chops fresh off their charcoal grill, complete with vegetables and bread and all splashed down by a few swigs of Patron. It would have been great in any setting, but trail-side at 8K it was sublime.

The last two shots above show Nohandle in his happy place, tending fire at his place on Saturday night.

Consider this your weekly call out.

One!

Lit Up Like A Rolling Christmas Tree

2012-01-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

A ride went off as is the ordinary last night. In addition to six riders, two runners and a support bike, headed off into the unseasonably dry and mild conditions. Upon bikes, Cap’n, B, NoCar, T2, Councilman, and Lars “found” the trails slick with needles but fast. The runners Xterric and Ace (newbie) were escorted around the lake by Keds. A few rarely taken trails were sniffed out and found yielding a 50% return on the hunt. Sneaky Scouts offers a great albeit short connection from the picnic table area to the Qualifier, while Bushwacked had been thwarted by some entity trying to minimize impact. The trail discussion had an air of revolution. In an attempt to retain control, I admit I had to use ride leadership as a bully pulpit to ward off the attacks. Fearing a second week of coup attempts, I felt lifting the pace and hitting some “proper” trails may keep the revolt at bay. The combo of horse trails, #8 drop from Ferrari Mill, Palin’s, and Blair Witch provided the tentative stability needed to return to tacos while retaining office. With the sense of protest and revolution still in the air, palatably lingering even above the burn of the hot sauce, there then proceeded talk of name change. The observation the T2 had been a bit more consistent than T1 prompted the call to remove the primary “1” from T1 and give that to T2, thus properly ordering the T’s in level of commitment to the ride…did ya follow that? Sensing the disturbance in the force as any good Jedi will, who should walk in the door, in order to defend his name? The real and only T1! Might I add wearing a pretty darn classy G Spoke Carhart jacket…do I sense the need for a team set of jackets? Thus with order mildly restored, and using the very civil Roberts Rules procedures a few important decisions regarding future rides were made (see end of post for dates and times). Thus the ride ended…however, feelings of revolution are only ever temporarily put to rest, the current is there, will the Arab Spring give way to the Pollywood Winter? Great, now we will all need to get Twitter accounts so we can follow the happenings!

With some of the quorum departing for pilgrimages to the birth place of cycling, and the air of unrest, and having not plagiarized in some time, I feel it time for a bit of a sermon…Apologies to Jonathan Edwards for the destruction of his sermon, but here goes.

Mt. Bikers in the Hands of an Angry FT3

We find it easy to tread on and crush, like I do on the Sunday ride, a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by; thus easy is it for FT3 when they please to cast lesser riders off the back…

Those lesser riders are now the object of that very same screw tightening and hammering of FT3, that is expressed in the same torments of being dropped way off the back. And the reason why those riders aren’t always pedaling squares is not because FT3, in whose power they are in, is not very angry with them, as angry as FT3 is with many miserable roadies and hipsters currently pedaling squares, who feel and bear the fierceness of FT3’s wrath. Yea, FT3 is a great deal more willing to drop the great numbers that are now on earth, yea, doubtless with many that are now riding bikes, who it may be are soft pedaling, than FT3 is with many of those who we have already blown up and left gasping on the climb behind us.

So that it is not because FT3 is unmindful of their baggy shorts and flat pedals, and does not resent it, that FT3 does not let loose a blistering attack and cut them off. FT3 is not altogether such a “recreationalist” as they are, though they may imagine us to be so. The wrath of FT3 burns against them, their lack of fitness does not improve, the sweep vehicle is prepared, the searing attack made ready, the legs are a burning rage and glowing. The glittering sword is whet, and held over them, the attack hath opened its mouth under them…

Unfit cyclist ride over the pain cave on rusty sprockets and chains, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear the weight of an unfit cyclist, and these places are not seen. The launch of an attack goes unnoticed at noonday; the most alert rider cannot discern the change in pace until too late. FT3 has so many unsearchable ways of dropping unfit cyclist out of the world and sending them back to pedaling squares, that there is nothing to make it appear that FT3 had need to be at the expense of EPO or go out of the ordinary course of the training plan to destroy any unfit cyclist at any moment…

Amen

Rides:

Friday 1/6/2012 South Fork Double Cross: Roll out at 10:00 (Firm) at the Mos Lot. 9:30 for Coffee at Cap’n’s if the offer holds?

Sunday 1/8 or 15/2012 Winter crossing of Strawberry Kirkwood…I am a go for either Sunday, which one works better?

FTTMFTYSSFT3

2012-01-02T20:10:00.001-08:00

First Tuesday of The Month, First Tuesday of The Year and SSFT3. Hope you can make it. Bring yer S.S. or bring your gears, just bring yourself and enjoy some more of the dry December riding we are fortunate to have before us. I will be riding up, departing Pville around 4:00pm. Those of you with lax schedules, please text me if you wish to join me. Hopefully there will be room in a vehicle for a return trip. If not, there is always the option to ride home as well.

We cyclists are always looking for the next big thing. Some of us may have already discovered it. Turns out that thing is cyclocross. None can 'splain it better than these two cool cats;

Bike commuting is cool too, apparently. I hear lots of people in Davis, Portland and even Sacramento are doing it. These guys are even doing it.

That's about enough BS for now. Jumping to important matters like commitment's to race XTerra's, Race the Divide and Cross the Darian gap, we have some training to do. Those of you with said commitments need to get some base miles in so NoCar and I are proposing the inaugural 2012 South Fork Double Cross Ride. Departure time has been set at 10:00a.m. for this Friday, January 6. Other long ride suggestions may be considered but you must be present at the taco table and committed to ride to influence those discussions. Just know the ride window is from 10:00a.m. to about 5 or 6:00p.m.

That's all for now. See some or all you homies tomorrow. First Ride of 2012, SSFT3.

Be there or be riding squares.

Cap

ALWAYS Wear Your Helmet

2011-12-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

Well guess what FT3 riders, other people do actually read "our" blog. Just when we thought the internet was safe. "Anonymous" recently posted the following comment in the hidden comment field for a posting of July 29, 2009; "I thought I would set it straight, as I just came upon this blog, the guy did NOT die as was posted, he is alive and well and back at work. Please find out the facts before posting."

It appears one of our esteemed and multi-credentialed writers made the mistake of printing somthing that was not in fact, fact, on this blog. At least that is what "Anonymous" says. That being said, if we take what "Anonymous" says as fact, it appears one of our great journalists made a mistake. It also appears that the supposed helmetless rider is alive and well, which is most excellent news indeed.

Maybe he will come ride with us tonight.

The posting of July 29, 2009 reads as follows: "The rumors around the lake and trails are apparently true, a local rider without a helmet on, took a spill and landed on his head and has died from the result of the injuries. Keep those helmets on and encourage others, especially the younger folks, to do the same!"

Upon second reading, the words "apparently true" seem to indicate some measure of doubt in the writers words. Either way, the writer took the opportunity to turn this event into a tabloid rumor and utilized it to encourage helmet use and encouraged readers to encourage others to wear helmets. Such foul use of rumor. I will personally ensure that writer receives the appropriate and well deserved consequence. The short ride. One writer plays, we all pay. It's gonna be a short ride.

I believe the record has been set straight. Once we suffer through a good short ride, then we can put this behind us.

It's Tuesday. Go bicycling. Wear your helmet. Brush twice to be sure. Rinse, repeat.

XMAS FT3

2011-12-20T07:49:00.000-08:00

Well it's Christmas week and time for another chilly but dry FT3.

Let's spread some FT3 Christmas cheer around Sly Park.

ONE!

Io sono un ciclista!

2011-12-13T07:40:00.000-08:00

"In fact, I'm a cycling super freak!". Ok, I may not be a Rick James protege, but I like to suffer a bit. Suffering and penance have a long and storied history in our sport. Our cycling forefathers endured excruciating races, with none of the technical gear and support we enjoy today. In case you forgot, Magni nearly won the Giro with a broken collarbone in '56; he held a rope in his teeth to give him leverage for turning the cranks. Our own NoCar has rivaled this feat, tweaking his skeletal structure on several occasions, riding through the pain, and claiming a medal made of pure Ti.

No matter the circumstances, we are drawn to pain, and perhaps to the notion we are paying a penance on the bike. Like we must make amends for some long lost sin. If that is the case, I will be paying up for many years to come :)

In norther Italy, near lake Como, they have a patroness saint of cycling, the Madonna del Ghisallo. At a small church near the top of a mountain pass, a flame burns for lost riders, and all comers may give an offering or prayer on their way through. They have a tiny museum, with artifacts and bicycles from legends and their races. I am drawn to this form of religion, to the blending of cycling and spirituality.

Whether it's guilt, wanderlust or the search for a decent shot of espresso, your councilman will make a pilgrimage to the old country in the coming months. I wonder if they make an It's It with gelato? More on that at the Knot table.

Live long, ride well. I will see some of you at Mosquito at 5:45.

Uno!

Cold Tuesday

2011-12-06T08:14:00.000-08:00

It's SSFT3, FYI. I hope to see the Old Soldier, Kona, Kish, Mtn. Tec, and Specy 29er out there. As NoHandle would say, bring the kitchen sink. Should be about 31 degrees when we roll out. If were lucky, it won't be raining.

"You were lucky"

One.

Staggered Start

2011-11-30T14:57:00.000-08:00

In the end there were five, though the rider count fluctuated right up to the relatively late departure from the Knott-lott. Just when we were about to leave, another un-kitted rider showed up. Just when we were about to leave, another un-kitted rider showed up. Just when we were about to leave, another un-kitted rider showed up. Eventually led by none other than Cappy, Xteric, Bambi, Councilman and I went out the back, dropped down below the first dam somehow, circled around, popped back up to M.E.T., rolled Flemming CCW, accidentally dropped 8A, climbed all the way up to the top of the Left from Camp Creek (a personal fave), then dropped said Lip and returned with a clockwise lake roll.

It was a fine ride, clocking in at just over 18 miles, nearly all of it either going up or down; proper.

The right side of my arse is tender today. I think a "loop out" (Bambi's words) may be the culpret. The traction was so good that it was indeed possible to ride your bike right out from beneath yourself on steep terrain. I initially rated the traction for the evening at around an 8, but was subsequently likened to an Olympic judge from the old Eastern Bloc. Consensus and a more thoughtful consideration put it comfortably above 9.

Councilman provided a generous offering of sauces retrieved from his recent trip to the borderlands (one can only assume he was down there keeping the Sinaloa in line). The Ace has a unique flavor, and the Viper has some real venom.

In other news about things from a bottle, let it be known that the Knott serves only the very freshest PBR available.

In case you are wondering about the picture above, that is Bambi laughing at Cap & Council trying to flash the FT3 gang sign with some semblance of authentic street cred.

Expect more images from our rides in the future, my durable camera was returned to me a few days ago. I lost it on a Tahoe ride over the summer, but it was found, the world is small, and through friends of friends it made its way back home to me.

On the biology front, Bambi took out yet another deer on the drive up last night. I saw the hairs in his bumper.

That's all, except for this. Humankind has checked off another epic accomplishment. We have sent "beer" to space and back, safely.

http://devour.com/video/first-beer-in-space/

And that's a wrap

2011-11-29T07:40:00.000-08:00

BASP Golden Gate Park 2011 - A 35+ from HeartsEyeView on Vimeo.

As some of you may be aware the exciting Bay Area Super Prestige Series Cyclocross Race at Golden Gate Park was held this past Sunday. In case you forgot what it is like to race that race, or in case you never knew, check out this awesome video posted by Jude Mayne, a racer from Reno who is leading the Sacramento CX Series. He finished 12th at the Golden Gate Park BASP Race. I am happy to say I was not too far behind him, finishing 19th. I am not in his video. Keep in mind as you watch this that he was called up to the line. With that in mind note how many riders he passed! I too was fighting a similar battle, albiet a bit behind him. I am, however, in this video taken by none other than our own Safety First, who may warrent a handle change to Camera First, as you may have seen he is pretty handy with a camera. He is quite Techy too, because I think he was the first to post any video on the BASP GG Park race on Youtube.

This is Safety's best still shot. I think he captured the pre-race intensity well. What say you?

All this talk of racing is making me thirsty. Along those lines, those non-racers among us will appreciate the following viddy from the SSCX world champoinships held at the same park two weeks ago.

With that, it is Tuesday and time for another mountain bike training ride. Actually, I may be done training. It looks like I am not going to be able to make another race this season. And that is fine. It has been a great season, a lot of fun with some solid finishes in a tough class. I need to save some excitement for next year. Maybe next year some other FT3 riders will be right there with me. Then again, maybe next year I will take up kiteboarding.

ONE!

Long Lost Rider Night

2011-11-23T17:18:00.000-08:00

A palpable tension formed when we seven riders assembled in the Knott Lott, doffed our pre-ride warm layers and switched on our lights. Would Cappy, back from months of perdition, be rideleader, or would LOtB take the reigns as tradition would dictate? The pause lengthened. NoHandle pushed the issue by announcing "not it." Another minute passed. Larz rolled out the front of the Lott and, after a few quick glances, the pack followed.

Appropriate for assessing the fitness of riders so long absent, we rode the qualifier. We continued up to the Northwest, along a rocky trail that reaches a local high point. From there we dropped to the Power Line trail, through the Boy Scout camp camp and down to the lake. For many the power line drop was new and all enjoyed the fast and loose trail. We took down an almost complete lake loop, turned towards Fleming, hopped the curb from MET onto a connector to Ferarri Mill, the dropped Fleming and Palins, and rounded the rest of the lake. All told, a sixteen miler (according to Larz's wristwatch).

Since Mother Rye and Even Keel were absent we were curious to see how the tacos would turn out. QA/QC was in place and normal Knott Hole standards were maintained.

Many, many items were placed on the calendar, with rousing calls of support for each. To note:
Placerville Turkey Trot tomorrow morning, 8AM at the library; FTfore! will be hosting its inaugural stroke-off on the first convenient sunday; FT14K will be climbing Mount Shasta this May; FTX is racing Cross Vegas in September 2013; FT3/Team Pugsley will cross the Darien Gap during much of 2015; and a broad field of FT3ers commited to racing an Xterra.

**Augmented to include T(ucson)TGFT3. Sorry I missed the ride and the T-Day run for fun and charity. Will see all next week.

TGFT3

2011-11-21T20:39:00.000-08:00

Friday, B and Droptail and I took the dogs out for some pollywood fun. Showers turned to rain and the temperature dropped ten degrees in an hour. The wind howled on the back side of the lake. Thick coated Booker thought it was great. We riders were fine, though it took me a few days before I really felt warm again. Short haired Zoey, however, shivered sadly and had take shelter in the Knothole. Mother Rye invited her to curl up next to the pellet stove and fed her king-size biscuits.

The turning season brings to mind life's cycles. And while we all look forward to the bone shattering bacchanalia of the winter solstice, other holidays have their place on the calendar. Recall last year's TGFT3: Cappy took us on a tour de steepes where our tires crunched snow within the Pville limits. Best enjoy the exceptional Pollywood trail conditions while you can. Won't be long before the winter's first FTski.

one

you smeared yourself in blackberry juice and did what?

2011-11-16T10:39:00.000-08:00

One by one, bar and helmet lights flicked on. With everyone ready, the "who wants to ridelead?" chatter commenced and B stated he would start out as rideleader. We headed out the back and rode to the guard station. Before dropping B's chin, Rock God was disrided by an errant pine cone. Instead of veering left at the big landing and taking the road back to the horse trails, B turned right and we followed that road down below the dam outlet. We nosed around looking for the trail that crossed the creek and climbed the other side back to the road we had left. Frustrated by trying to walk over slick rocks in cleated cycling shoes, I tried to ride a bit and found that trying to awkwardly dismount from a bike onto slick rocks is even harder than walking on them. Thud. After Bambi beat a trail back and forth through the brush, and everyone else sidetracked on the road, we found a crossing and pushed the bikes up the down escalator all the way to MET. True adventure ride training.
A classic B route choice we hit Fleming CW to 8A, came back out and climbed Redneck. Dropping the lip Rock God, Xteric, and B all went down. Super tacky soil inspired fast riding. At the lake loop, someone started mumbling about it being 9 already. B started riding CCW, no doubt looking forward to sharing the best piece of lakebed riding he had scoped. None followed. A standoff ended when B returned chastising the pack for shortriding the rideleader. To prove his point, he led us back along the length of horse trail.
The Knott was empty. A few words of apology and Mother Rye didn't mind staying open for us. She even said that if she had to close up she would leave a bucket of tacos and beers waiting for us outside. With adventure sports on the tv, 80s tunes on the hi-fi, and home made salsa gracing the tacos everyone was in high spirits. Xteric recounted a story of when he and his buddy would go hang out at the bottom of the Red Shack Trail and, to the confused amusement of river rafters, would strip down and smear blackberry juice all over themselves, and then..., well some stories are best left at the taco table.

Bicycle, Bicycle, Bicycle

2011-11-15T09:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday!

The Icing on the Cake

2011-11-09T08:38:00.000-08:00

NoHandle generously picked up a couple of freeloading urchins at the 'squito Lott. After everyone was sufficiently bundled and burping prebers we rolled out. With Xteric and BDog we were five.

Xteric accepted the rideleader mantle, knowing that NoHandle was always ready to provide insight and guidance whether wanted or not. We dropped to the lake, turned right, crossed MET, dropped the horse trail, climbed the DH trail, dropped the lip, turned right at the lake, rode the first horse trail, continued around the lake, up the Rock Garden, got repeatedly disoriented on what was once the wedding march, but is now a muddy boulevard in the middle of an apocalyptic clear cut, busted tracks through fluffy snow, made it to the top of something, dropped what could be the new wedding march, accidentally encountered the trail Xteric introduced to us some weeks ago and has named Booker's stick, rallied that sick descent all the way to the lake, continued around the lake until I got a flat that required the combined tire changing expertise of all four riders, and finished on dirt at the start of the qualifier. At some point a motion was made to grant an honorary qualification to the Corvette shuttling DHer. Despite repeated calls for tabling, considerable time was spent debating the hair style of said DHer.

A small cluster of rowdy regulars was whooping it up at the bar. We eased into bar stools at the opposite end. As we finished our tacos, Mother Rye offered us some left over cake. It was actually a cupcake piled deep with frosting. One little cupcake was lost in a sea of frosting that spilled across the entire paper plate. I ordered more beer and passed the plate to NoHandle. He eagerly took a scoop and recounted his years as a student of cake decorating, how he made all his own frostings from scratch, and how, if he could make a living at it, his dream is to be a cake decorator. I took the plate from him and passed it to B who wasn't interested in the frosting since it wasn't lard based. The sassy taco bitty was bored behind the bar and wanted to stir up some action. So, after some negotiating she and B settled on a kind of dare. If B stuffed the cupcake and all the frosting into his mouth at once and drank a rye shot doused with the casket ghost pepper sauce that brought him infamy before, then she would buy him two additional shots of rye. B promptly stuffed that mess down his throat spurting buttery sugar out the sides of his mouth. It was on. The shots were produced and Mother Rye officiated over the spiking of the hot shot. I tasted it. It was hot. And the heat was born on alcohol so it skipped the mouth and burned all the way down. Needless to say, B dispatched it quickly and made a show of not caring one bit. An attendant was sent to monitor him while he was in the bathroom to make sure that he didn't hurl. After quaffing the chocolate milk offered by the Mother, he savored his remaining shot. Perhaps we'll get an update on the condition of B's bowels in the HCF.

Reverse Ninja Cycling

2011-11-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

This morning I donned my black US Navy issue wool sweater and my recent birthday-gift balaclava for the ride to work. It was 36 degrees when I left my house.Needless to say I was comfortable the whole ride. Surprisingly, other than the kid in the back of the Eldo Office of Education Van with a stupid black headband on staring me down, I wasn't given too many akward looks. What, was it cold in the back of that van? Dude, my balaclava has a purpose. Besides, the Ninja look suits me well and with a solid foundation of tai chi from my college days I might be able to fake my way through a fight. Ninja training, now that's another topic. Along those lines, I provide you the attached viddy. OK so he's no Ninja, and it's American football, and the notion that you would stay up three days and not eat because you are training is ridiculious. But if you were a Ninja you might. I am pretty sure if you are a Ninja you can go three days without breathing.

I am going to turn you gents on to the latest craze in cycling. It's called Ninja cycling. When fixies and cyclocross are out of style, and when you need to be as hip as the coolest hipster, you go Ninja cycling.

This time of year, if you ride without a light after 5:00pm, you are Ninja cycling.
Really? Ninja cycling? I am confident the law of natural selection will force this awesome trend into extinction, but how can I be sure? I am also confident that if you go Ninja Cycling too often you might be able to go three days without breathing.

So what does all this have to do with FT3?

We are like Ninjas of the night. Alas, the winter is upon us and we don our balaclavas and armwarmers. We don our knickers and tights, and reverse ninja cycling by using our lights. As our thoughts control our bikes, we spear through the night.

Ninja Cap'n

Back seat ride leading

2011-11-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

The wind cast a shower of pine needles over the Knott Lott. We carefully chose layers and some clothing swapping was necessary to keep Peter from showing up before the ride even got under way.

Missing the eager ride leaders of yesteryear, the assembled group, nine strong, was a cacophony of suggested routes echoed by excuses for not being ride leader. Frustrated by the delay, Rock God took the reigns. He was not immune, however, to the torrent of suggestions, corrections, and criticism that streamed from the pack.

Partial Qualifier - Partial Wedding March - Rock Garden - Lake Loop - Second Horse Trail - Councilman's Short Cut - MET - Downhiller Track - Rufus's? - MET - Connector to Ferrari Mill - Fleming CCW - Palin - Lake Loop - Knott Lott.

The Knott Hole welcomed the eight of us (one rider pulled the Weak Sauce move of skipping the taco session) as the night had been slow and the bar was almost empty. Mountain biking was on the tele, and Mother Rye shared her homemade salsa. More importantly, aces were wild, as B landed four free beers.

1! 2! 3! 4!

2011-11-01T12:27:00.001-07:00

Either go big or go bigger

2011-10-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

After a lengthy debate on whether to join long, lost Ghostrider for a saturday of hot foothill asphalt, or spend the weekend ripping Tahoe singletrack, we chose the latter. What with the singularly perfect conditions, and convenient shuttling, we couldn't pass up the chance to bike from Mt. Rose to Echo Summit (almost).

SATURDAY WARM-UP RIDE

We parked at Echo Summit dropped Hawley Grade, climbed Christmas Valley, headed East on Tahoe Rim Trail and dropped Mr. toads.

At the bottom, we met Drop Tail who had spent her day moving rocks and still managed more mountain biking miles than me and B. We retrieved B's car and moved it to a forest road near the bottom of Cold Creek. Then we retired to DT's where we assembly lined four pounds of ground beef, two pounds of bacon, three bags of buns and a pile of cheese into dinner and provisions for the following day.

SUNDAY LONG RIDE

Having prepped everything the night before, we stumbled out of bed, blasted the radio and tucked into breakfast.

The original plan was to start at The Bench trail and ride to Star lake, where a new trail was being opened to the public in a ceremony around noon. While that may have been a big ride, it didn't quite seem ambitious enough, so we drove to the highest year round open pass in the sierra nevada - mt. rose.

Fortunately, we didn't know what day it was, or we may have determined that the trail was not open to mountain bikes. As it was, we didn't see another soul, so we were obviously there on the right day.

The serenity of the morning was shattered when my new GEAX tire went flat. This tire was so hard to mount when I first bought it that I carried a knife ready to cut the rubber off the rim and an old tire to replace it. B executed the tube change without the slightest effort.

We rolled the Flume trail as morning light filled the basin.

The drop to Spooner Lake was frost bitingly cold,

and we were relieved to begin the 5 mile climb up to The Bench.

Countless swooping curves and granite blocks later we discovered a new dirt section of TRT that removed almost the entire asphalt section of our route. Having put down thirty-some miles we were ready to rest. And so we parked our bikes and pulled up stools at the Fox and Hound. Still burping food and beer, we churned up a steep pitch of loose sand, and back into the forest. Eventually we found Star lake and the new trail, and a long descent back to the car.

**Edit - Map Just Added**
Blue line shows Sunday's route (N-S, 55 Mi., 10.5K' of descent)
Red line shows the Saturday ride from Hawley to Toads.

the return of rock god

2011-10-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

After spending the last three months idling in the surf of his private Polynesian island, Rock God returned to the FT3 fold. To resume his dominant place in the pack, he claimed Ride Leader status while everyone else stared at their feet trying to avoid nomination.

We dropped straight to the lake, headed right, crossed MET to the horse trail, dropped, back up the switch backs, CCW Fleming, to Redneck Rising, dropped the lip, and, without succumbing to the democratic process that leads to short rides, continued CCW around the lake. Somewhere on Fleming RG took a spill (his third downhill crash in FT3 history) that left him bleeding through his kit and tore a hole in his twelve panel knee warmer.

With the late season draw down, normally submerged lake bed is dry and ready for riding. This new terrain offers cobbled technical sections, smooth rolling slick rock, boggy deposits of sediment and a little bushwhacking for good measure. While all riders tested the lake bed, the off-camber pitch and loose rock sent most climbing back up to the trail. Among the bold, B and Xteric rolled the lake to the bitter end, which was especially bitter for Xteric who pulled yet another off-bike crash. This time he managed to get himself wedged between tree roots exposed from bank erosion. Apparently, he was unable to remove himself and had to wait for B’s fit of laughter to pass before he could be extracted.

Tacos were a jubilant affair. With the bar packed and the weather warm we got a fire raging and sat outside. NoHandle was celebrating his 35^th birthday (in dog years) and was fortunate enough to have a designated driver show up to take him home. Cap’n rolled up in his khakis and flip flops. RG made a sauce offering that brought those who tried it to sweat, cry, and hiccup.

A full calendar of FT3 events are slated for this weekend. Saturday: Ghostrider (so named for how he disappeared from FT3) has proposed a dirty road ride from Coloma, Cap’n will be racing ‘cross in Folsom and anyone who rides to the Folsom race in time to watch Cappy’s kids will earn free beers and a ride back up. Sunday: the former Xtera racer turned golf pro Putter will be hitting the links and shuttle parasite nocar is clamoring for an all-day mountain ride.

Occupy Pollywood!

2011-10-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

One!

No, I am not claiming to be the 1% (I wish); just wanted to put up an early ride call out. If I were the one percent, there would likely be much more carbon and Ti in my lineup. So basically, this week is a riding protest against Rock God.

This edit is on behalf of Ghostrider:
"I'm doing a ride on Saturday. Possibly mtb, most likely road with mixed terrain. Road will be 60 to 80 miles, mtb will be 30 to 60. Much beer will be consumed afterwards. Start time will be about 8 in the am. Meet up will be earlier at my house or in town."

Ghost can be reached at 748-9207 or pedalsparky@yahoo.com

Tuesday, Bloody Tuesday

2011-10-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

It all started in the Knott Lott. B mashed up the spring in his brake while remounting his front wheel. After he finished pouting, and Bambi mended the part, he considered swapping pads around. This led to crass jokes about feminine napkins which portended the bleeding to come.

We started a bit late. B, Safety, and I agreed to a 6pm, mosquito pick-up by Xterric. Rock God showed up to sniff out the mood of the evening. Being too unfit to ride (???) he salvaged his ego by criticizing Safety's granny gear. At that point, we loaded up and RG set out to totally crush the bike path. We were so tardy to the Knott Lott that we missed the other sniffer. Larz stopped by the knott lott after a gen2 ride. Unfortunately, that outing left him too winded for FT3.

Lights blazing we followed B out the back to the Chin drop. The soil was saturated, but fluffy. Tires gripped well, but would break traction suddenly. We climbed Fleming CW. Dropping past the parking lot on the new-ish connector trail B oversteered on a fast corner. I arrived just in time to see him picking up his bike which was facing the wrong way. A scab on his elbow had ripped off and his arm dripped red. But, no matter, onward. We tackled 8A, then cut back out to Redneck, crossed MET and dropped the Lip. As Bambi raced ahead, I settled back, riding protectively of my frail collarbone. I caught up with the front to see Bambi pulling himself out of the bushes. His leg looked like it had been clawed by a mountain lion. At the bottom of the lip rideleader B democratically allowed a vote on a CW or CCW lake loop. Bambi claimed he would be forced to whimper like a baby if we rode the long way. Xterric protested that Mother Rye would be upset if we came back late. This left a tie, as B and I preferred the long ride. The vote fell to Safety who, always concerned about the well being of his fellow riders, chose the short ride. Like horses to the stable, the pace picked up at the anticipation of tacos. The last fall of the evening happened off-bike. The pioneer of such classic dismounts as the no-mo-endo, was hopping over a log when he misjudged his landing and plummeted over the cliff edge towards the lake. He reportedly suffered minor rectal injuries, but that was never confirmed by inspection.

We were greeted with first aid kits and home made chips at the Knott. In order to make sure we didn't feel too welcome, B was no-tacoed. When I went to pee at the end of the evening, I momentarily thought I had stumbled into the wrong room, as the trashcan was vivid with the waste of wound washing.

Still feeling vigorous, B and I got back on our bikes after tacos. We enjoyed the crisp night air on the Sly park climb and then basking in the light of the harvest moon, we sat back and coasted to the liars bench.

One (Again)!

2011-10-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

Bambi tracked this video down of one of his fellow ruminant mammals. Consider yourselves called out.

Lights From the Lott

2011-10-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

(amended to include photo's of the self-mutilation)

I don't have much time due to a meeting coming up in a few, but here is a short report. Xterric, THTH and I made up a three-man outing on Tuesday. Ride leadership was shared. The route was meandering and included leaving via the Backdoor, dropping Chin, reaching around to and then dropping a Lip, & going around the lake. On a dry night, it would have been a short ride, but it sufficed for the first wintery outing of the season. Trail conditions were very nice, and should be even better by now.

Councilman was all set to join us, but ended up visiting with Ed the Team Nurse over some mishap with a brake rotor involving a split fingernail and a cut to the bone. Any updates on that yet? Heal quickly, Councilor.

Hopefully the comical misunderstandings involving the Knott Lott, Mosquito Lot, and rider carpooling will see some light in the HCF. I've no time to go into that now. It was as good as any classic Three's Company episode plot involving miscommunication and jumping to far-fetched conclusions.

Xterric did the first known FT3 No-Mo-Endo. It was sweet, in a decidedly un-MacAskillian way.

Godfather turned up at the Knott and made a light offering, motion activated ghouls of some sort. Pretty sweet, and seasonally timely.

First Tuesday, First Taste of Winter

2011-10-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2005-12/real-rocket-bike

^^Now there's a real hybrid.^^

Tonight is SSFT3, roll it if you've got it. Or not; don't let gearing hamper attendance.

One!

Debutante Roll

2011-09-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Half of the bikes last night were new. Xterric was sporting his freshly built, steel-is-real Niner niner. I rode it about the lot, and liked it a lot I did.

The Sauceless One now has a new big-wheeled Stumpy like nearly all the rest of us. Echoes of the phrase “way faster” could be heard all night. It seems like he is happy with his choice.

There is more horse trading going on behind the scenes, too. The Captain is abandoning his stiff and smallish Czech CX racing rig in order to stretch out on a Kona Major Jake with some carbon treatment in the hindquarters.

I am moving the parts off my crosser to a material with a much longer fatigue life; good old fashioned chromium-molybdenum steel.

T1 is in the market for a crosser. Details are still being worked out, but it looks like he may end up on my Redline, spruced up with a brand new 105 build. Are you reading this Cappy? Plan A is now to sell the Fort as a nekkid frame(set?), assuming the Conquest Pro goes to T1.

On to last night’s ride details. We were 4. There was no meeting at Mosquito, as we all converged at the Knott Lott. Xterric led Nosauce, T1 and me out the back, up Palins, ‘round the 8 then about the lake. Dust was manageable, the pace was casual, and there was much chatting. T1’s knee was hurting near the end, but he HTFU’d and pedaled on.

Tacos were tasty, and the staff amenable enough. I tried to get them to put Xterric’s hated onions underneath the greasy meat, but they did not oblige. T1 took a page out of Rock’s playbook and ordered a “special” beer. Way too cool for school.

There you have it, another week in the books. Get ready for winter, ‘cause it is coming. Our lamps were illuminated not far from the Lott. Those days are getting shorter, and quickly.

"You didn't drop me. I decided to go easy."

2011-09-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

I think this may be the follow-up to the viddy Cap posted a few months back.

One!

Flat tire taco tuesday

2011-09-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

With all the anticipation of prom night, or perhaps the release of the latest iPhone, B, Safety and I, your councilman, hastened to the Mosquito lot. We were looking forward to a visit with our resident man of steel (Ti, really), NoCar. We were greeted by the entire NoCar family, and treated to a first look at the hardware. It did Knott disappoint. Ideas abounded as to it's next incarnation; Jewelry? Brake mount? Utility bar under seat rails? Only time will tell, but I'll bet a patent is in the works.

We soon parted ways and headed up to the Knott. We were met by NoHandle, Bambi, and Xteric. After some deliberation over ride leader, with plenty of Not It's thrown out, your councilman reluctantly took the helm. I say reluctantly only because 2 weeks of academia and beer consumption did not portend a lively ride. Turns out I was wrong, sort of.

Our route included backdoor to roadkill, then the frontage trail along Sly Park Rd to the Forest Service cabins, then B's chin down to unnamed trail leading back up to spillway and up to MET. From there we crossed the road and took the short ST up past the group campgrounds, and that's when the ride went flat, literally. Bambi suffered a rear puncture, apparently due to a large chunk of glass. We were treated to a race worthy change out, and a colorful lesson on *proper stroke count and pumping effort when filling the tube. Once rectified, we set out for a counterclockwise tour of Fleming.

Only minutes in, and just past Palin's, we experienced Flat 2, the redux. This resulted in further discussion, a loaner tube (a cx tube, I believe, or one of those fancy latex, ribbed versions, *see above), and THEN we were off. The pace was brisk as we ascended Fleming and then railed the downs. For good measure, and because B was still recovering from a cold, 8b was thrown in. The descent was wild and fast, and after a quick refueling, we climbed out. The CCW tour continued and 8a was considered. We decided against Redneck, dropped back down to complete Fleming, and then plunged a rather dry and loose Palin's. The hour was late and tacos were calling, so off we went to find our birthday boy, Cap'n. He opted for a late road roll up, and we didn't want to keep him or Mother waiting.

Tacos were accompanied by grimaces and strong body language behind the counter. We were again late, and holding up the show. Birthday boy arrived not long after orders went in, and he was treated to a birthday round. The tacos themselves were rich and meaty, though sauce selection was limited. Cap'n was all but ignored when attempting a late 2 taco add. At this point, the taco bitty went postal and threw out the "you guys are ..icks" comment. Chaos ensued, and feelings were hurt. As a would be counselor, I attempted to bring both sides together, and over several pay beers, relationships were mended. We agreed to show up all winter and provide income, the bitty promised not to defile our food. Peace was restored to pollywood.

As we loaded up for the ride home, B challenged Cap'n to ride back to P town by way of a Pino stop. Cap'n took the bait and off they went up Sly Park Rd. As a sag wagon, I made a fuel stop and then met them shortly thereafter for a b-day nightcap. The Pino offered it's usual cast of characters. A robust young lass with a small dog chatted us up, with questions related to whether we were coming from, or heading up to, Tahoe. It's comforting to know that she wasn't far off; FT3 has and will continue to launch such long rides, even under the cover of night.

Cap'n and I bid our LRP comrade goodnight and headed for the 'squito lot. As rides go, it was short and "flat", but it's always better than a day at work, surgery to get hardware removed, or being run over by a lunatic. Count your blessings, brothers.

Until next time...

Nope!

2011-09-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for cycling related content in this video, you may be disappointed.

One!

Jamboree

2011-09-14T08:35:00.000-07:00

NoHandle earned the Scout Master title last night. Not only did he run the Mosquito-Knott shuttle service for me and Safety First!, he chose a route that showcased the unseasonably excellent trail conditions. Meeting us at the Knott Lott, T2 was ready with both brake levers attached, and T1 was eager to get some riding in before his debauchery fest at Interbike.

As soon as we hit the ramp at the base of the Qualifier, it became clear what a treat this night would be. Sunday night's storm was a real gully washer in Pollywood, and all the dust and loose material got washed into the Reservoir. The soil was only superficially moistened, so it wasn't as tacky as some of the hallmark days of late spring. But, after months of deteriorating conditions, it was worthy of squeals of joy.

Up Qualifier (no dust), to the Wedding March early cut-off. NoHanlde surveyed the logging damage and determined that, yes, the Wedding March has been beheaded. Dropped (no dust) to 1a, where in some of the formerly deep dust sections the rain had formed a layer of cohesive moist soil on top of a layer of loose dry soil. Cutting turns was akin to skiing in deep powder.

A light rain fell. Always prepared, the Scout Master was ready with warm layers, but they weren't needed. Unlike the torrents of winter, it was like being spritzed by attendant fans. Lake loop CCW (no dust), giving us a teaser waft of taco aroma, to the horse camp trail (still lots of loose rock, but no dust). Up the switchbacks, cross MET, and through the group and equestrian parking areas for a road sprint up MET to the upper Fleming parking lot. Merit badges were on hand for the riders that managed to stay ahead of the grupetto and hang with the peloton.

After a quick climb CCW on Fleming to the powerline high point we descended in a delirious rush of prime handling and no dust. We regrouped at the top of Palin, and then plunged like the stock market. Rolling below the dam after that series of delicious descents, we couldn't help wishing that every day could be this tuesday, like in the Bill Murray movie.After climbing back to MET, and hopping on the lake trail between the dams, leading temptingly back towards tacos, the Scout Master wasn't ready to end the evening and dropped back down the switchbacks we had climbed earlier, and rode on to B's chin, Road Kill and the Knott Lott. Back at the cars, it was confirmed that Cap'n was either playing soccer or going for a jog at some address off of Petery Lane.

Contrary to the general panic that Mother Rye would scold us for our absence last week, (well, we actually were upbraided in front of the packed bar) service was actually quite indulgent. A boisterous group outside started cleaning up as our tacos were coming out. And who should come over to our table, but the world famous chef and creator of chickenbake. That particular dish was not offered this evening, but she did share a heaping bowl of guacamole and two kinds of home made salsa. Mother Rye complimented the offering by frying us platter after platter of chips. T1 got so stuffed he had to give away his last PBR. At payout, we even got to hear three Ceagles sound their mating cry as they clinked their cocktails overhead.

Mostly sunny, highs reaching 80, and humidity around 30% means outstanding conditions will not last. Call in sick, cancel soccer practice, take off your running shoes and head for Pollywood.

A special thanks to the Mrs. who encouraged me to go riding on our anniversary.

Piling Paul on top of Peter

2011-09-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

Good day FT3 riders. A while back I did a ride in Bambi's 'hood and came across Petery Lane. I stopped beiefly, shot a photo, and relished in the fact that I don't live there. It is Tuesday and the blog remains quiet just before noon. Hopefully the blog is not being reduced to another paltry web page. Not hardly. This is much more of a "Paultry" web page, where great rides are documented and great cyclists come together. Hopefully some of you are planning to come together this evening in the riding ritual that is FT3. Those of you who rode last week but did not ride up for tacos better be present to receive the wrath due from Mother Rye. If the stars align, I may cycle my way up for the taco part as well to catch some of that wrath. However Petery I may feel about it.

Those of you who read the HCF may be aware that I did some "bicycle logging" last week. B's useful utility trailer worked well to help me haul out four nice chunks of Oak from a local urban section of the ED Trail. It was an exciting event, to say the least.

It seems as though soccer season and the slightly changing fall weather has much of FT3 busy with school, work and cyclocross training. Some of the more dedicated riders are getting out on the early front especially on Friday mornings. The 6:00am Cozmic Cafe start time has been met with approval by a handful of riders. The callout stands for this Friday. For now that ride remains a road ride until further notice. Early birds up.

This weekend is Folsom Cyclebration, resident FT3 racer Cap'n will probably race the MTB race on Sunday if anyone wants to roll down there. Fringe member and full time roadie Green Fro has indicated an interest in the asphalt-based Circuit Race which takes place Saturday evening. And furthermore some FT3 members will be spotted at the Annual American River Music Festival. Should be a fun weekend.

Piling Awesome On Top Of Awesome

2011-09-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

After weeks of planning, trail recon, and trying to drum up a few bold riders, we were almost there. In Strawberry, planting the target car, I realized that one of my brake pads had fallen out. Just as I was about to blow a gasket, sharp eyed Drop tail surveyed the parking lot and found it. Moments later, B and I laughed giddily as we finally straddled our bicycles and embarked on our the day adventure that would have us sharing the ride leader role as we covered too much ground for just one rider to know. And, still, a fair chunk was unexplored, unmapped and new to both of us.

FRIDAY

Hawley grade: Awesome, everyone knows that. But instead of the dull climb back to Echo Summit,
Round lake: trailhead is just across the upper truckee river. A rolling, climbing mildly technical singletrack cuts through the forest and connects with the
Tahoe Rim trail: We took our first break at Round lake, huffing and puffing after the climb. We were already 600 feet higher than Echo Summit. The trail condition was superb and we were still fresh.
As we rolled the easy flats, we debated the relative merits of bike portaging vs.bike pushing vs. bike riding once we hit the
Pacific Crest trail: A smooth strip of compacted dirt that could be ridden in the aero position on a time trial bike. In spite of this, we shouldered our bikes and started walking the o.7 miles to the turnoff.
The mosquitoes landed on us in angry swarms. Hampered by our burdens we swatted desperately and doubled our pace. Passing hikers smiled and made jokes at our expense and we were glad we weren't getting the stinkeye for racing past in a cloud of dust. When no trail emerged we stopped to consult the gps while the little buggers sucked us dry. We had cruised past the turnoff. A little disheartened, and a little sore, we now just pushed our bikes back up the trail. Still no turnoff. We turned into the woods, hauling the bikes over logs and rocks, knowing that if we couldn't find this trail we would have to continue to the next turnoff, over a mile further. And if we had to go to that next trail, we wouldn't be carrying our bikes like a couple of happy fools waiting for the sun to set. And if we ended up riding, then our earlier smugness would all be for naught. So, we desperately searched for the trail and, ultimately, found a few footprints in the sand.
Schnieder Cow Camp - PCT connector: We followed this thin track up to the ridge at 9200 feet.
A screaming, swooping descent through deep wildflowers
brought us to
Caples Maintenance Station Road which is familiar to anyone who has done the Strawberry Kirkwood ride. An easy descent brought us to
Hwy 88: and the Kirkwood Inn! Councilman was about half an inch into his first pint when we arrived, and Drop Tail was about a minute behind. After dinner we drove to our secret camp site near Silver lake. Two coolers of beer were produced from the party van and B set to work building a camp fire that could burn until the snow fell. The festivities were reserved. Saturday's ride was packed with unknowns, and even if everything went smoothly it would be a big day. A late start would surely spell returning after dark.

SATURDAY
The cock crowed, was caught, butchered and made into coq au vin before anyone stirred in the secret camp. After a prolonged coffee service and a meal of MREs we began waiting for Xteric in earnest. Ultimately, the day had to start, and the Xteric Commemorative Ride commenced. (Apparently he found a set of flashy rims for his new truck on Craigslist and he wanted to show them to Peter.) We rolled over to the FS Silver Lake campground where Mrs. Nocar and co. were camping and dropped off Bookerdog. Given the late hour we jumped onto
Hwy 88: for a short drop to the Horse Canyon trailhead. We picked up the
Thunder Mountain Connector Trail: a little piece of singletrack that lets bikers avoid 88. Now, maybe two miles into an epic day, Drop Tail falls off the back and doesn't reappear. We retrack and find her with her bike upside down --the rear wheel so terribly out of true that it was rubbing on the frame. Councilman produced a spoke wrench and I torqued on nipples like a sadist in a dungeon. With judicious loosening of the rim brakes the Kona was back in service. We quickly gained elevation on
Martin meadow road: to martin meadow campground, busted through the middle of a campsite blocking the trailhead (B weaved in between the tents) to
Castle Point trail: charged past the day's first sweeping vista, and never paused as we crossed 88 and climbed the
Thunder mountain trail: past the kirkwood turnoff and into the high country.
We paused at the divide to eat jalapeno poppers and respond to text messages from people who weren't doing anything exciting.
Councilman was starting to wonder if the cramping in his gut would force him to abandon the day's ride.
Fortunately, after tipping out at 9400 feet, the descent from the ridge was fast and fun and spirits were bolstered. We made a left onto the
Horse Canyon trail: that was scattered with rocks churned loose by motorcycles. The days first hike a bike gave way to rolling stretches of wildflower diversity that sent the mind reeling.
We pushed the bikes around snow fields, up steep gullies swollen with melt. Back above 9200 feet we swooned, encountering the first massive view of the Mokelumne wilderness and the distant Sierra Nevada spine extending to the South.
The Squaw Ridge jeep road: is lightly traveled this high and is wildly fun to bicycle.
With pitches of short steep climbs, granite slabs, and deep pools, only a few intrepid motorcycles venture this far.
Riding past the Plasse trading Post site turnoff the trail got a little busier. We encountered three jeeps out for a short drive. Delirious from the altitude and exertion, and being confused by the spaghetti pile of trails with different designations, I proceeded to give them flat wrong directions. The driver looked patently pissed, and B sorted it out. We were longriding the hell out of them, though, so who cares?
We kept dropping big banked corners, carrying momentum, hot, into rocky sections, and back into another set of s curves so tight we leaned the bikes horizontal rounding them.
The Long Valley Trail: emerged just as we collectively wondered how long this day would be. Drop Tail, fresh from oral surgery, had been on a limited diet and was starting to fade. Councilman was glad he hadn't missed the bundle of fun we had just dropped, but he was getting awfully inquisitive about how many miles remained. The motorcycle trail was a technical playground, bottoming out in a vast soggy meadow, requiring multiple stream crossings, and multiple applications of bug-off.
We refilled our water at a stream that met all the requirements of the more selective riders. After several technical miles, Drop Tail requested another break by Mud Lake. We turned onto the
Allen Ranch Jeep road. While some other singletrack was possible, we were in no mood for route finding. Our last climb was roughly equivalent to the Qualifier for gain and steepness, but this late in the day it took a toll on our pack.
We knew we were getting close to home, which was fortunate, since everyone was out of food and the sun was getting low. After another perilously steep and loose descent on the
Allen Camp motorcycle trail we turned onto the
Granite lake non-motorized trail. As the name promised we rode over rocky slabs and navigated through boulders.
The trail is heavily used through here and we kept getting drawn onto sucker trails. After almost heading the wrong way on the
Minkalo trail we wearily rolled the last couple miles. In spite of the late hour, the hunger pangs, and the threat of darkness, B insisted on performing a quick inspection of a hiking bridge we crossed. Finally back onto the asphalt of the
Silver lake road, we knew we were home safe. We picked up the
Connector trail to the FS camp to reclaim Booker. Arriving at Mrs. Nocar's camp, she and her friends were mildly disconcerted about our grim appearance. "You guys look tired." was all we got for a greeting. That, and "we already ate all of our dinner." So we wasted no time returning to the secret camp to bathe in wet-wipes (already too cold to swim), pop open beers and sit. B started a fire that could melt a brick and cracked open a beer by spinning a bike wheel and letting the spokes kick off the cap (not with my bike.) We all oohed and aaahed over our delicious MREs, while pouring back beers and water and electrolyte drink until it became uncomfortable to move.

SUNDAY
I got up, cleaned and lubed the Spot's chain, packed my day bag, broke down my tent, rode over to Mrs. Nocar's camp and had some coffee and snacks and rode back and STILL no one was stirring except Booker.
After a nourishing breakfast
and an incredibly lazy packing session, Booker, Drop tail, B and I headed out for
The Secret trail has a sneaky trailhead right out of our Secret Camp site.
We followed cairns and occasional tracks through the granite sections, while the route was plainly visible when it passed over soil.
A long descent of mixed terrain brought us to the
Forgotten Flat trail: which plummeted insanely steeply with big drops over loose rocks. We walked a bit. When we bottomed out at the Silver Fork I enjoyed a quick soak. I probably violated the Clean Water Act as layers of sunscreen, campfire smoke, sweat and chamois butter washed downstream. Keeping the exploration spirit alive, we checked out the
Old Silver Lake trail: B was an unstoppable climbing machine as he continued to power up the steep technical ascent. My legs had exploded long ago, but I did manage to hike a few sections clean.
On the tight switchback descent, I was too tired to get off my bike and, just rolled everything, come what may. Back on the familiar climb up to Strawberry ridge on the Caples Creek trail; the hike a bike was welcome respite to get off the saddle sores. By the time we reached the
10N14 jeep trail, we collapsed and ate the last of our food. Several climbing miles remained, and we were spent. Debating as to whether we should push for the Strawberry Canyon OHV trail, Drop tail firmly voted for the earlier drop at Cody Meadows. Booker was silent. I looked over at B and said, "we have to end this ride sometime." With his eyes squinted from stinging sweat, he nodded slowly in agreement. Fortunately, we were in country that B knows well and he sped us past the numerous confusing intersections and we plummeted down
The Cody Meadows trail in an ecstatic rush.
Back at the target car we changed out of our grimy clothes and went to the Strawberry Inn for burgers and beers. And then home to one of the greatest showers of all time.

Crystal Basin Weekend Ride Report/Tuesday Call Out - ONE!

2011-08-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

^^*Edit* ... to reflect that tonight is set to be the first ever HDFT3

Adventurous rides linking seemingly disparate areas has been the norm this summer, and this past weekend was no different.

The Crystal Basin area in the Eldorado NF just W of Lake Tahoe was the backdrop this time. The goal was to ride trail all the way from the Lyon's Creek TH on Wright's Lake Rd. up to Loon Lake; then time permitting, go on to encircle the lake.

We spent most of Saturday setting up for a long Sunday on dirt.

^^First order of the day on Saturday was to drop off and erect a camp near Lyon's

^^Next we drove up to Loon, planted a target car, and rolled the roadies 30 miles back

^^... to camp

^^After getting a bit of a slow start we set out on Sunday morning around 0800 & headed for Wright's Lake via the Lyon's Creek & Bloodsucker trails.

^^Near the lake we hopped on this little gem.

^^That lingering snow looks like this up close and in the winter. That is the unnamed peak above Boomerang and Umpa lakes, Price, and "Smith." Fine ski terrain.

After an extended search we finally found the E end of the Two Peaks Trail where it intersects with Barrett.

^^I'm glad we did locate it because though hard to follow at times, it is a great trail. Especially pleasing is the drop down to the west from near the top of said two peaks.

^^Next on the menu was the Bassi Trail

^^& the granite playground that flanks it

^^The Bassi Fork of Silver Creek

^^After reaching the Van Vleck Equestrian area a short stint on the Highland Trail led us to the Loon Lake Trail, which would be the final one of the day.

Upon arriving at Loon the sun angle was getting low so we scrapped plans of tacking on the extra loop. We had already been in the saddle for 30 mostly rough miles and 9 hours. That's if you count hike-a-bike and navigational pondering as "saddle time."

^^CCW Loop, red =road (Sat), blue = dirt (sun)

The long and the short of it

2011-08-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

With some folks out on family camping adventures, and others exploring vast sections of our national forest, it was a pleasant surprise to see a count of 5 yesterday. Sadly, NoCar spent a good part of the day exploring the contours of les toilette, and bowed out gracefully by day's end. That left us with Bambi, B, Safety and Me, your councilman. Given the uproar over local politicians of late, I may be soliciting for a new handle. More on that topic later.

After a timely arrival at the Knott, some from Mosquito, and yours truly from the Waldorf Retreat at Fallen Leaf Lake, we assembled and prepared for what NoCar suggested would be a short ride. A power sharing agreement was quickly formed, as no one wanted to lead said short ride. We negotiated and agreed to run a traditional loop incorporating back door, horsetrail drop, spillway, Fleming CCW, 8b (my favorite), Redneck, right lip drop and lake loop. Safety put the hammer down on an early climb, and a slightly hobbled Bambi pushed the descents, but the pace was generally relaxed. We still got in 18 miles, and a wee bit of climbing. Though admonished by Mother to get our taco orders in early (what is early, anyway?), we opted for a swim and rolled back into the lot just before 10.

Nearly denied tacos, and offered hot dogs instead, we pleaded our case and eventually tucked into some delightful fare. Gone was the mystery sweetener of last week. Apparently Even Keel, AKA "The Meat Man", had something to do with that. Ample sauce selection, minimal beers, and a timely departure followed.

A couple of us ventured into P'town for a "quick" visit to Powell's. Dr. Nate was in rare form, and this led to an extended stay. One of us slept in and, as such, offers this tardy but tidy RR for your consumption.

Housekeeping items:

Still looking for RR from the Marquis Ride of last weekend. 80+ miles of heaven and hell, with some exceptional planning, staging, and camping thrown in. Pics are in your inbox.

Run Reports from our Podophiles. Seems FT3 has some off the couch talent, and the results for all were impressive. Chick'd or not, that is a shite ton of mileage on foot. Most people wouldn't cover that distance in a summer. Chapeau!

Star Lake or other South Tahoe dirt ride going off tomorrow, 9am, for any takers. Call Cap'n for details.

Recovery Tuesday

2011-08-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

"I am still working on walking, but I can ride." says Bambi after his powerful debut into the El Dorado jogging scene.
Plenty of long distance exercise went down this weekend. Tonight may be a good time to celebrate the short ride. Something in the piddly, twenty mile range, with no hiking.
Bambi: One
Nocar: Two

47 Ag

2011-08-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

There was a ride on Tuesday, and it was awesome. Lars led, and six followed. Numerous "sneaker" trails were used to creatively connect select Pollywood Megaplex classics in a way that only the Dear Ride Leader Emeritus can. There was dust. There were also Peebers and tacos, which I, at lest, found to be a bit on the sweet side. Something strange made its way into the spice mix.

Enough with the old crap though, this weekend the marquee adventure ride of the season is set to go down. Departing from our usual haunts FT3 will dominate the landscape around Silver Lake. Hopefully some riding will also go down over at Fallen Leaf, perhaps including some serious FT3G2 action.

In case there are any stragglers looking to join the fun at Silver, here's an itinerary:

Friday(today):
1300 departure from Echo Summit and a 20 mile roll over to Kirkwood via Hawley and Lake Valley Trail. Camp near Kay's Resort on Silver.

Saturday:
40 miles of unbridled adventure riding on a loop of various linked trails near Silver Lake. Elevation and spirits are sure to be high.

Sunday:
25 miles point to point to a planted car in Strawberry from the campsite at Kay's. The route is set to include a newly discovered "secret trail," an unexplored dandy in the Caples Creek/Silverfork drainage area, and a drop down the always exciting Strawberry 4WD road.

Other than that, not much is going on this weekend. Saturday stragglers, if there are any, should show up at Kay's at 0900. XTeric is rolling up as a daaaaaaay tripper, will there be any others? Feel free to join for any other rides. Start time on Sunday will depend on brain swelling.

13 And a Half Weeks

2011-08-16T11:10:00.000-07:00

Considering my recent attendance record and the latest by-law proposal, I've decided to come off the bench tonight and rejoin the fray.
Nothing exciting to report or call out. But there will be hills and dust.

Hope to see you out there tonight.

One,
NoHandle

better than hawaii

2011-08-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

A buzz was palpable as we assembled in the Knott Lott. A new bylaw had been proposed and votes were being cast: if a rider is absent for more than thirteen weeks, then they must re-qualify and are subject to re-taco handling. As of this writing a decisive majority has not been determined.

Stirring things up a bit more, Larz drove in, already spandexed and helmeted, and unloaded his crosser.

Our dear ride leader, in no way compromised the route to suit his skinnier tires. He dexterously hammered through technical portions, and submitted to being passed when fat tires excelled. Needless to say, B frequently snuck to the front to drive a harder pace.

Our outing led me to realize why it took me so long to learn the trails. A classic LOtB route, we started up the qualifier, but cut over to something else, were back on the qualifier, rode through the boy scout camp, then went up 1A and across the Rock Garden and I stopped paying attention to where we were until, some time later, we were dropping, CW, from the top of Fleming. Bambi was behind me riding by braille because he was too lazy to connect his light. We plunged Palin, and aimed for the Knott. Past both dams, I saw a rider drop the earliest trail from the road towards the lake. Wanting to swim, but steer clear of the "day use area" I followed. Before I even knew who I was following, he pitched off his bike into a roll, tumbled down the hillside and thudded off a four foot drop. Fortunately, he landed on his feet, unscathed, and I watched B climb back onto the trail.

At the Knott Hole we were greeted by none other than the Spoke Godfather. He was happy to see that we had had another good night of pounding on our bicycles, guaranteeing him steady employment.
The tacos were quality.

Wanted: UnKWalified Riders

2011-08-09T08:02:00.001-07:00

You know who you are. There are a few of you out there. The epic KWalifier route awaites you. As B so eliquently stated as he played a strategic game of 'trail knowledge poker' with a friendly and talkative hiker somewhere near Silver Fork - "We're riding all those trails." That being said, the KWalifier route is more of a collection of routes ammassed through challenging pre-rides both clockwise and counter clockwise, short rides, long rides and celebratory non-rides. Thanks to all our FT3 forfathers who have gone before us, B, droptail and I were able to set the world record time on that route. I followed through on my commitment to push the pace all day, and indeed, as requested by B, I brought my big boy bibs. It is notable here that the FT3 lass a.k.a. droptail brought her big girl bibs as well, as she was none too far off the back at any point during the ride.

The following segment is spoken in computerized extranormal language:
Will there be Hike-a-Bikes?
There may be hike a bikes. Maybe not. If you cannot ride it - you will have to hike it. If you are wondering why it takes 8 hours to complete this ride in world record time, then you might gather that there are hike a bikes. Dude, you are not a recreational rider. You are an FT3 rider. Do the jersey proud. I hope you brought your big boy bibs.

Back to normal language. It is a ride of epic porportions, complete with just the right amount of climbing, technical climbing, managable climbing, technical decending, regular decending, splendid views, fast decending, certifiably awesome decending and yes, hike-a-bikes (if you cannot ride it). All that being said, I highly recommend that those of you with foot and water fetishes get out there and get KWalified. Your footie fitness will push you through the more mentally challenging sections.

Speaking of alternate forms of fitness and fetishes. Last week, since I was unable to make the FT3 ride, I took a Thursday option and did the "Airport Ride" with our counterpart Greenfro. This is a ride on the flats with 40+ Cat. 1-2-3 road racing cyclists. It wasn't long before we were doing 30 miles an hour, against the wind, when something odd happened. The dudes up front stretched out into a thin 2x2 line and went to the wrong side of the road. The rest of the group followed, and there was a long, long, line of riders adjacent to the shoulder on the wrong side of the road. Me, being the MTB rider I am, was like... what the hell is going on here? My moment of confusion took long enough to allow for the elastic to break and for the group to ride swiftly away from me. Lucky me, I was not alone. I had a bit of conversation with another shelled rider, a Mad Cat guy who has done several MTB and cross races with me. I said "I am not that committed, I am just road curious." He responded "I am not committed enough to ride on the wrong side of the road." GreenFro called this phenomenon an "echelon." I guess the Airport ride roadies think they are in the Tour De France on an open road. Guess what guys. You're not.

Today is Tuesday and it is not likely I will be riding, in fact, this is the start of a long hiatus for me. I am enrolled in a class that will take the next 14 weeks of Tuesdays. The next time I participate in an FT3 it will be raining and I will be among a small group of pithy core riders. It will also be well into cross season. I hope I will have company out there. The Sac Cyclocross Series dates are posted. Make note of them.

For those of you can make it tonight and for the next 14 weeks, I bid you adieu. Just know this.... I am KWalified, I am still the Captain, and I am still riding.

-Cap'n

A good night to be hungry

2011-08-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Fully KWalified Call Out

2011-08-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

While the SB-KW loop is no longer a novel ride for FT3, it was new to this politician. Having achieved a lauded status, what with it's near 40 miles and 6000 ft. of elevation, the loop was calling out to me. When the stars aligned, and I was free of work, domestic or otherwise, I answered the call.

With threats of thunderstorms in the forecast, B, Drop, and I all met at the Strawberry lodge early Friday morning. After a brief backtrack to Track 42, we found a parking area and geared up for the all day event. Once properly attired, and hydrated, we set out to reverse B's last course. Theoretically, we would knock down about 2/3 of the work before lunch, and then enjoy a huge late afternoon descent to the car.

In lieu of giving a more redundant report, please refer to B's post last week, entitled "Open Season". Simply reverse the course, and you know how we proceeded. B will no doubt post a dizzying array of quality photographs.

Highlights included blooming flowers and abundant water in the meadows. We only sustained one mechanical, but a significant one at that. En route to the Inn, Drop broke a seatpost bolt. Without a saddle, and as any FT3 member would do, she HTFU'd and shouldered/rode her bike for at least 1000 vertical and then down to Hwy 88. From there, she hitched a ride to the KW bike shop, and a friendly mechanic loaned her a seat/post. We regrouped at the Inn for a much deserved respite, and then just about a quarter after 4, we headed back to SB.

8 hours to get to our lunch, and 2 hours to get back to Booker and our waiting cars. A final stop at Strawberry Lodge to parch our thirst, and I was officially KWalified. Or at least we discussed the notion of a new qualifier for FT3 members. As B has insisted, everyone should see that area at least once by bike. It just doesn't get much better. It has "just the right amount of climbing".

Thanks to my hosts, B (and might I suggest a new handle for her, No Saddle?) for an epic day in/out of the saddle. Look forward to knocking down an XP adventure soon.

Oh, and it's SSFT3. Ride gears or no gears, but DO ride. I'll be at the 'squito lot at 5:45.

1

There will be flats, the earth is not soft

2011-07-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Councilman and Rock God oversaw the careful packing of five men, five bikes and one dog into their vehicles (ensuring that every rotor was safe) and we headed for the Knott Lot. We met Lars, who bashfully admitted that he wouldn't mind choosing the route. After a short discussion about the current location of SPI logging activities, Our Dear Ride Leader declared that he felt like he had been gone for so long that he needed to requalify -so off we went.
Just past the gate to the boy scout camp, we rolled up on two spotters walking dogs. "It's the Tuesday night bicycle ride," they called us out. "We've been running into you guys for years."

A fast qualifier run left Rock God wondering if he was going to lose his membership. But, all those fish tacos and beers helped pull him downhill, for as soon as we turned down the chopping block he was fighting for the front.
We took the canal frontage road and the steady climb up to Park Creek Road. The steep and rocky descent of Park Creek Road supplied plenty of action. Councilman ricocheted from one side of the road to the other, his rear wheel almost getting ahead of his front.
When we turned down Barnes Back RG burped his tire and we stopped for an air up. Shortly thereafter, C-man had to stop and futz with his tire. After airing and spinning he finally said "let's just roll it," and that did the trick. Not to be outdone, moments later LOtB's tire went flat. He wrestled it off the rim, to reveal a pretty nasty puncture. He used a bar wrapper to boot it and gu for adhesive. Meanwhile the tube was patched. When the tube didn't hold air, B took the tire off the rim to inspect for secondary punctures. His fingers encountered the sticky mess at the boot site and he exclaimed, "You used gu for this? That's food!" We stood around for lord knows how long, swatting at mosquitoes and getting cold, before the flat was repaired. If only expert field mechanic NH could have been there to take charge of the repair. Alas, he was too busy embrocating his hiking boots.
Back on our bikes we rolled the lake CCW, dashing through the busy camp grounds. Tension was high as various tires weren't maintaining pressure. But, we made it back to the Knott Lot without further incident.

T2 joined us at the taco session. Some aces turned up, the tacos left only a slight sheen of grease on the wax paper and Rock offered some tropical sauces to the table.
B and Councilman are planning an all Friday dirt outing for anyone looking for an epic adventure. A repeat of Cap'n's commemorative ride is possible, or exploring around Barrett jeep trail. Who is in?

Open Season

2011-07-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

Though snow fields linger above 8,000' in shady northerly aspects, high country Sierra riding season is here, finally. Many scouting rides went down in the last week, including forays on the XP; up the steep trails above Strawberry; around the Caples Creek drainage; and through Cody Meadow, Buck Pasture & Schneider Cow Camp. Some of those place names should give the spotters something to chew on.

On Wednesday evening of last week, nocar and I put in about 17 miles in the Caples Creek area, where THTH had been camping and hiking with his family recently. That area is beautiful, and the trails are sweet. There is quite a bit of single track to be had down there, with very few people on the trails. Access is only an hour from P-town on Silverfork Rd out of Kyburz. Here are some pictures from that ride:

Here are some more pictures from a scouting ride the next day along the 7500-8500' ridge between Strawberry & Kirkwood:

The following day, Friday, Mr. & Mrs. nocar, Droptail and myself had a go at the upper XP from Echo Summit to Strawberry. It was prime. Instead of rolling the baby bodies below the climbing area, we took an alternate route right over Lover's Leap. That detour leads to a twisty and steep downhill that drops 1000' in a hurry.

Immediately after dropping that, a recon party was formed and the ubiquitous "ridge" was again attempted, this time by looping the Cody Meadow Trail to the very rough Strawberry Creek Trail. It was a success, and all riders happily rejoined at the local.

Okay, enough about the scouting rides, fine as they all were. On Sunday the adventure ride season's first full blown SB-KW loop went down. Having pulled it last year, nocar, THTH, and Xteric can attest that this ride of modest numbers (35ish miles, 6K climbing) belies its true beastly nature. Add Droptail and my Tahoe friend Jay to that list of knowing riders, as they were in on it this time around. It took us about 11 hours, and my GPS listed the total mileage at 39.

We were compelled to mix it up this time and run the loop clockwise, in contrast to both outings last year. We did that mostly because the Strawberry 4WD Rd. is still impassible due to snow through the north side of the top of the ridge it surmounts. With that 4WD road off the table, the options for gaining the ridge shrink to the Cody Meadow Trail and the Strawberry Creek Trail. Strawberry Creek is barely maintained so we chose to climb that impediment riddled trail and drop the rough but ride-able Cody trail at the end of the day.

After climbing 2800' up the SB Creek Trail to start the day, we hung a left and poked along the ridge before dropping the jeep road down to the Caltrans Caples Lake Maintenance Station on 88. A short scoot on the only paved part of the ride took us to the Kirkwood Inn for nourishment. After taking a long lunch, we crossed the highway and jumped onto Kirkwood's trail system and climbed up to The Sentinels on Thunder Mountain, then dropped the trail down to Carson Spur and crossed back to the north side of the highway again.

We checked out the old dump site, though no antique bottles were found this time since Xteric was not there to scale the near vertical walls of loose rock and soil. Next we dropped the trail down to Martin Meadow Campground and poked around until we found the old jeep trail that falls from Martin Meadow down to the Caples Creek area.

There is nearly 3,000 feet of relief from the Two Sentinels atop Kirkwood all the way down to the point on the loop where we crossed Caples creek. Fun, fun, fun.

The trail up to the Negro Flat/Hay Flat was also also fun. Type II fun that is. There was plenty of hike-a-bike, and the brush was thick. It was a bloody sweet 2000' bike-toting investment in potential energy.

Once you get up that trail, it is an easy, short cruise on dirt roads over to Cody Meadow. The meadow is so lush that trails through it tend to disappear, but with some exploring you can connect to the Cody Meadow trail.

It is all down hill from Cody Meadow to Strawberry, and the Cody Meadow Trail is a great way to get there. Though rocky and rough in parts, it is predominantly rideable save about three creek crossings.

Okay, I'm done. There are no more obscure but MTB-accessible locales to describe, the circuit is complete, and I am retiring to bed, finally. I need my rest because it is Tuesday already.

One!

His base is bigger than my peak

2011-07-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

Expecting no compensation other than the gratitude of his fellows, Cap'n invited three more bikes and their riders into his truck. This car pool was met at the bustling Knott Lott by a non-bike-wielding LOtB and a non-handle-wielding rider. Xteric also arrived in due time.
Thus assembled, the pithy six pack rolled out the back, with NoHandle taking the reins.
We took the back trail to the fire station and dropped B's chin trail, back up, and over to Fleming. The pace was nothing short of furious as we cranked our way around to 8B. I enjoyed plenty of quality time off the back. Throughout the night, the peloton was split repeatedly with multiple attacks, breakaways chased by groupettos and me in the back inhaling dust. In spite of the pithy pace, count-offs were largely ceremonial as the gaps were never great.

After out and backing 8B, we rounded the loop to Redneck Rising -the only trail that Councilman had specifically requested not riding. His opinions weren't strong enough to mount a mutiny against rideleader nohandle, though, and up we went. A delicious descent of the lip brought us to the lake.
I finally got close enough to the front to realize that it had been B throwing down the hammer all night. He took front wheel for the lake loop. Which was most fun when he deadended us into a campsite. A chorus of dogs erupted into yips and barks and the owners started yelling at the dogs. Our line unraveled with backtracking and fence hopping, then quickly reformed as we sprinted away to hoots and cheers from the perplexed campers.
Cap'n chose a new swim spot, and the cleansing waters were refreshing. Back at the Knott Lott, the teeming masses had left and we could change without having to worry about showing the spotters too much. Checking the clock, it was 9:45 with, reportedly, 22 miles on the bikes.

Xteric was the first in line for tacos and Mother Rye kindly offered to make his order noonion. It was obviously a ruse to teach him that noonion tacos are for children, because while everyone else was heaping on sauce and digging in (or hiccuping) Xteric sat silently, looking like a kicked dog. At pay time, we learned that Mother Rye was another year older. So, we treated her to a booming Happy Birthday complete with five part harmony.

Now its red hot Wednesday. And while we normally would be despondent, knowing the next tuesday is so far away, this week we have the Friday bonus XP ride to anticipate. B is determined to long ride it. And schemes to minimize shuttle driving are being hatched. Sure would hate to be the rider that misses that one.

Ode to FT3G2

2011-07-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this a few months back, but it was a hectic period. Between naps in the dirt and dirty nappies, I just never found the time. Consider this a tribute/call-out of sorts. It's Tuesday, and ya'll know what that means...

Funny thing, time. For some of us, it's capital; carefully saved and spent in pursuit of one thing or another. It might be a hobby, or a home improvement project, or a well-deserved respite on some far away beach. For others, it's often a battle to carve out the time to spend with our little ones. Between us, we have over a dozen budding members of the next generation of FT3. They are involved in myriad activities, including swimming, soccer, softball and music lessons. One thing they share in common, besides frantic fathers with freewheel (or foot) fetishes, is a love for cycling. Whether it's Nocar's annual race, or a session at the local trail, these boys and girls can send it. More importantly, they share this passion with generations of youth, going back to the early 19th century. For over 150 years, children around the world have suffered/enjoyed the same right of passage as they learn to keep their 2 wheeled contraptions upright.

My eldest is no different, and upon the sage advice of at least one member of FT3, the push bike made all the difference. Evan finally broke free on Bambi's little orange fixie back in early May. As most can attest, it was indeed a proud moment. Primarily, because I saw in him a reflection of my own early discoveries; pedal power, freedom, speed. A close second is the fact I would no longer have to carry him in the bike trailer. Hallelujah!

As a would-be wordsmith, I am partial to anything written in this vein. My in-laws used to read nightly to my wife from a charmingly English collection of stories and poems. We've since inherited it, and this particular tome boasts one or the other for each day of the year. I have been dutifully reading to Evan, and just last week we discovered the following poem. It dates back to the mid part of last century, but is essentially timeless in what it means to folks like us. I dedicate this to the next generation of riders. While it forms a credo of sorts for current members, I pray Gen2 will take it to heart:

When the sun is shining
Or in the pouring rain,
I take my trusty bicycle
And pedal down the lane.

I like to skim round corners,
I like to ring my bell. I strain
And climb the steepest hills
Then freewheel down again.

That's how I like to travel;
It's better than a train,
Or bus or car or motor-boat
Or even aeroplane.

I must admit to a slight alteration or 2 from the original, but the essence is still there. I didn't make up the part about the train. Apologies to the rail folk.

I know there were mid-week mini ride reports, as well as some back-channel hike/recon reports. If there are others, please list. We can't leave it up to the spotters.

1. 5:45 at the 'squito lot.

There may be hills, the earth is not flat

2011-07-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

Happy as a schoolie on the first day of classes, I rushed to the Mosquito Lot for the meet up. Councilman fielded phone calls and counted riders, trying to minimize drivers in spite of Cap'n's threat that he may short taco.

We assembled as 8 at the Knott Lot, and received a send off from NoHandle and Mrs., who were enjoying an evening of childless bliss. Cappy repeated, "where should we ride tonight?" When he heard the suggestion of Cappy's cache, his eyes twinkled eagerly and we headed out the back to the horse trail drop below the dam and up to MET. At this early juncture we had a first incident of Too-far-off-the-back-to-see-the-pack and our ride leader took the necessary precaution of reminding all of proper etiquette.

We followed the trails nearest MET. At the top of the downhiller run (Chiquita banana) we waited for stragglers and B passed around snacks. On to the top of the lips, then we hit the road. Cappy gave a callout to grab a wheel. Those who knew what was following quickly lined up. Others were promptly dropped as the paceline picked up speed. At one point Bambi made a textbook attack, but the ride leader was not to be drawn in to such antics and maintained his pace at the front of the line. Regrouping at the turn-off onto dirt, a couple riders rolled back to check on the last rider and avoid becoming mosquito bait. All-in we sped down the dusty logging road and then churned up the steep gravely pitch on the other side. At the top of this climb Cappy made a clever wrong turn, giving the front of the pack a little out and back as a delay tactic.

The exhilaration of the cache can not be overstated. The trail keeps getting narrower and steeper, and then, around a sudden corner, it drops over an uncompromising rock face. Bambi had to ride the last bit twice. It's that fun. At the end of the trail we burst into a campsite. The campers thought they were at the end of the road, and their eyes just about popped when they saw our whole peleton emerge from the woods.

Bonetti to MET to the top of the lips, where I got to cathartically retrace the route where I performed my non-compliant dismount, so many weeks ago. Not satisfied that all the lessons of that trail had been learned, we then did a full lip loop. Back at the lake, we heard that Peter might show up if we rode too much longer. So back towards tacos, hitting the horse trails for good measure, and pointing out our "ripped calves" as we "danced on the pedals" the whole way.
We picked up the last bit of trail around the lake, and stopped for a refreshing dip. Bambi, dreading the alarm clock, headed for bed. EID patrol rolled up, politely dimming his lights and not exposing the swimmers. We were in a day-use area, and it was no longer day time. With no intention of lingering, we headed for the much anticipated taco session.
The fire crackled, the meat dripped grease, the taco bitties mercilessly teased B, and the scouts (OT and T2) earned Knott Hole t-shirts.

Movie Week

2011-07-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday Gents: Cappy here adding a bit of levity to B's post:

If that isn't enough for you, you'll love this one?

ONE!

I love tacos, they're delicious!

2011-07-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

Our post-holiday SSFT3 was indeed a cause for celebration. With thunderstorms threatening somewhere above, and exceptional conditions carried over from last week's rain, we anticipated a small turn out. Safety and Cap'n were waiting when I, as your councilman, arrived in typically tardy fashion to the 'squito lot. A last minute post from NoCar, and text from B, put them both on injured reserve. So, we three rolled up to the Polly in good spirits.

We were met at the KL by our newly crowned Herr Director NoHandle, who was busy texting his directives to far flung subordinates. As we readied ourselves, and hydrated properly, who but Xteric should pull up. He quickly assembled his gear while we discussed ride leadership. A decision was made to craft a "SS-friendly ride". This was likely THTH's first official decision as Il Capo, and we applauded his effort.

And off we went towards Fleming, via the backdoor, sketchy horse trail. We immediately lost Safety when we turned left towards the spillway bridge and up to MET. Xteric was kind enough to retrace and recover and we commenced with a counterclockwise tour of trail 8. As stated above, the trails were in awesome shape. Little dust, tacky and fast as h311. There was much work related discussion, as well as a recap of Cap's race. We also dissected the training methodologies of various members of FT3. Suggestions were made to incorporate this amount of climbing, that amount of flats, whether SS was a necessary component, and more. In the end, NoHandle summed it up best; Just get out and f'n ride. And that we did.

From the upper Fleming parking lot, we opted for Redneck Rising and then over MET for a descent of the right lip. Said descent gave those gravity minded folks a chance to shine, with Xteric leading the charge. We hooted and hollered all the way down to the lake and a regroup. From there, we pursued a traditional lake loop and then a season-opening swim. Despite children and the elderly present, THTH threatened to don his birthday suit for the plunge. The more modest members kept themselves attired and we all enjoyed a refreshing dunk. All except Xteric, who initially refused to join us. After being reminded of his handle, and the fact he had an Xterra event (which ironically includes a swim) looming, he reluctantly jumped in. Like a fish in water, he began swimming for the far shore. We had to reel him back to shore so we could head for tacos.

Our dear ride leader emeritus joined us for the post-ride nosh, and regaled us with tales of Jackson's birthday party/challenge/sleepover. Zip lines, bbq, Star Wars? We all agreed we'd like an invite for next year. As for tacos, round 1 was divine. The shells were exquisite, the meat savory, but not greasy, and the lettuce and onion plentiful. The sauce selections were the best I've seen in some time. We had new bottles of Vidalia and Red Rooster, and a myriad of old favorites. Cappy went with some old-school combinations, and they did not disappoint. With a buddha-like face, X remarked, " I love tacos, they're delicious". Truer words had not been spoken that night. And then round 2 came, and the serene nature was disrupted. These now swam in fat, and had lost their abundance. Mind you, we are the men (and women) of FT3, so no tacos were left on the table. However, we are also connoisseurs of this most elusive food, and as such have more refined tastes. That said, ice creams followed and joy returned.

All in all, it was neither a short nor a long ride. The weather was neither too hot nor too cold. It was an SS-friendly ride, and as Goldilocks so aptly stated, "it was just right".

It was raining last week.

2011-07-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

First off, I would like to welcome London Claire Romney to FT3 Gen 2. After the long and arduous labor mom put in, I think little London is ripe for endurance sports right from the womb. Congratulations to the whole Ghost Rider family.

Secondly, or singly, it is SSFT3 today and it promises to be a great one. With rain last week (did that really happen?) the trails should be primed for S/S ripping. Maybe Bambi will make a guest appearance.

Not sure what riding took place over the weekend, aside from the Leesville Gap Road Race and the riding of rapids that NoHandle and I did. I think NoCar was out worshipping our lady of the skinny tire? Oh, speaking of Leesville, I suppose now is a good time to throw out a race report.

Leesville Gap Road race was something I chose to do based on a recommendation by our acclaimed resident roadie, Rock God with additional pressure and recommendation from Green Fro and Ghost. Rock indicated that this race is one I would enjoy given its rough roads, long climb and my affinity for cross. It is true. What a great race. It should be an FT3 requirement. B nailed it - I gave him a description of the race course and he said "Oh... so its a hard man's race." No truer words have been spoken. FT3 FYI, road racing is very different from MTB or cross. Total game of attrition, especially at this 60 mile distance. Yeah, tactics, smart riding... yeah right! I could hear NoHandle's words as we rode from the start line out about ten miles toward the rough roads and climb, 'they will ride slow, you will get frustrated and go to the front.' So me and one other guy took turns taking pulls until we got to the rough roads where I began to really push the pace. Now you guys have seen rough roads but these roads are, in the words of another local racer, "totally whacked." It is like a continuous series of potholes, filled and unfilled, for miles. Roughest roads I've ever ridden a road bike on, hands down. Totally jarring. The climb was gradual at first and that took its toll on the majority of the group. There were three of us in a tight group up and over the climb and one straggler hanging on behind about 200 yeards. I knew that I needed these guys for the trip home on the flats, so I did not attack on the downhill in spite of my desires to. Once back on the flats, and after riding a bunch more rough and dirt roads, the straggler I mentioned caught up to us! Nice work. One of the four guys in our group was in the 45+ age group, so a top three finish was looking promising. The four of us worked together for a while then the road turned upward again. I started to unravel a bit and had to let two of the guys go. The 'straggler' and I stayed back and suffered together to the water stop, which was around the 45 mile mark. After the water stop was a long and much needed decent, which was the first real rest of the whole race. Me and the straggler worked together well off the decent and into the 15 mile flat strech home. A quick word about flats. As you know we don't ride them. They require an excessive number of pedal rotations, something we are not used to up here in the hills. They also get deep inside your head and torture you. That being said, at some point the straggler and I cane around a couple turns, about 7 miles from the finish and the elastic broke. I became the straggler. I was well into survival mode by now and managed to finish on my own without being passed, taking third in my category. I kept a strong pace, but man was I suffering. I emptied the tank, 100%. Had a cramp during the last 200 meters and needed to sit down immediatly after arriving back at the start area, which... by the way was like 2-3 miles from the finish line! Green Fro was there all dressed and enjoying watermelon, he started like 10-15 minutes ahead of me. He had a great race, finishing 8th in Cat. 4, and looking pretty fresh having done that. Nice work Green Fro! FT3 needs to consider this as an event for next year, it should be a requirement for us as non-road racers. Hairy legs are welcome.

Happy SSFT3!

ONE!

Birthday Bike Ride and a gift it was

2011-06-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

What a night to be had.
While we were initially taken aback by the rain that fell on us during our pre-ride dressing routine, we were quickly treated to some superb conditions (and at least this guy was over dressed)
The night started out w/B, C-Man and me meeting on the Mosquito lot. We had a brief discussion about C-Man’s on-call status at work and decided that instead of taking two cars for 3 riders we would throw in “all for one and one for all” – this meant that if C-Man got a call, B and I would have to leave. The Riding Gods favored us and the only calls and texts to c-man were well wishers for his birthday. Happy B-Day Councilman!
I think some smart ass or two sent him a fake “help, our network just crashed” texts, but we were all quick to point out that such pranks were very sophomoric and belonged in some flat Landers riding group not up here where the air is thin and the egos are big.
So, upon arriving at the Knot Lot we were greeted by The New Scouts, yes, newly dubbed. Said scouts (No Sauce and fill in taco handle here), were ready and seemed unconcerned about the weather. Although T1 (fill in new taco handle here) realized quite quickly that clothing selection is better made trail side than at home and when it come to Tuesday weather, you are best throwing the kitchen sink into the Dodge and make your selection lot side.

We rolled out the back door, crossing Cappy’s Hiccup and headed down the horse trail “towards” the spillway bridge or so T1 (fill in new taco handle here) thought. I say towards, b/c that is where T1 (fill in new taco handle here) rolled off too. The other 4 of us took a hard left at the bottom towards the goat trail that runs across the damn embankment itself. B went in search our newest Scout. We collected ourselves and headed out over the spillway crossing after all and up to the switchers near the spill way ( does this section have a name, spill ride, spill thrill?) crossed the road and took the single track which was in primo conditions towards Fleming. No, Fleming was not in order, just past damn #2 we crossed the road an jumped on the lake loop in counter clock fashion – oh sweet single track. We were headed for the lips. We took them down. The trails were smok’n fast and as good as I can remember seeing them in any month of the year let alone June. What a treat. (although I did complain a fair bit about all the wet branches soaking me w/every turn – price you pay as ride leader I guess).
After the lips we continued counter clockwise around the lake. Conversations were plentiful and spirits were high. The temps were great and even if you were wet it did not matter, the trails were sweet. We took a new secret trail up to the bottom of the Wedding March/Rock Garden-RG1A split, then continued up the Wedding March to the Wedding March-Qualifier cut-off. Cruised over the cut-off and down the qualifier to the Knot lot. Bobby was never seen, but his handler was there to instruct him and protect us in spirit… “Don’t do it Bobby”, “We’ve talked about this Bobby”, “Come on, Bobby, wouldn’t do that”.

Peter, if you are reading this and have read this far, you know by now that the trail conditions were sweet, beyond sweet, they were epic. But still the same, good thing you stayed home b/c the pace was solid and we didn’t stop for mechanicals (real or faked) and we didn’t do a short ride, so you would have been dropped.

Conversations on the trail centered around boy bands, C3 (Classic California Climbs) and comparing Wolf Blitzer to Anderson Cooper and of course the ever present trail conditions. We discussed the merits of Wolf’s beard and name and how they contributed to his fame during the first Gulf War. I reviewed the more important or “classic” qualities of a C3 while we rolled up the newly made over lower half of the qualifier and B was intent on assigning a boy band to each “wave” of scouts. We didn’t put this later idea to vote.

Taco Time. The tacos were greasy, the sauce was plentiful and B revisited the Ghost pepper sauce w/out incident. We mused about our fetish friends and wondered how their endeavors were going and missed their presence. Someone made some comment that had heads spinning and can’t be repeated but we all had a hell of a laugh – straws were involved. C-Man was the man of the hour and was treated to his tacos and Rye, and was gifted an Ace (which whoever picked up his tab actually was the recipient of). He celebrated his 29th birthday and I learned that he edges me out by months, not years but is yet my senior, if only by a few months (I’m still 28). It was quite nice to see our double qualified, hard working and fun loving politician really enjoying what to me seems the best way to spend a birthday evening (leaving room for night time excitement still). As we wrapped up the evening and waited for someone to finish their pay beer, we learned a bit more about the secret live of the Taco Bitches (read: Red Hawk and no, they don’t go to Bird Church), had some great laughs and then rolled on down the hill – some to continue their celebratory efforts at other locals.

NoHandle
PS: This RR stuff is a lot of work, now I know why it takes so long to get one together. A nod to our founding father Lars and all the Wednesdays and Thursdays he did this work solo. You are much better writer than me.

Last Tuesday in Juneuary - Yep, check your forecast

2011-06-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

Hey It is Tuesday right. So that means rain or snow right.

As is expected in Feb, March and April, it is forecast to rain tonight. NO surprises here, except that it is almost July and we never get rain in California in the summer except some wonderful thunderstorms. The forecast is calling for more of a real weather system today and tomorrow however. An excerpt is below.

* PRECIPITATION: UP TO A HALF INCH OR SO OF RAINFALL EXPECTED ACROSS THE NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY WITH LESS THAN A QUARTER INCH OVER THE SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY AND NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH HEAVIER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA MAY SEE UPWARDS OF AN INCH OF RAINFALL WITH THIS SYSTEM.

Last nights National Weather Service forecast for Pollywood actually issued a Winter Weather advisory (which appears to have been downgraded to just a "Special Statement" now). In any case, since the weather is going to be perfect, should we expect more attendance tonight. Last week had us rolling 9 large. How will we shape up tonight. There seems to be a chance that the weather will hold off till late. Hope that doesn't keep people home. One thing is for sure, there will be no dust in next week's SSFT3 outing.

Pulling some winter gear out of the drawers (again) and gearing up.
I'm In.

ONE!

FT3 Grew, B Blew.

2011-06-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

Last night saw many firsts, not the least of which was our newest rider Trevor 1 or T1 (insert taco handle here). He slaughtered the qualifier, and managed to avoid getting lost or hit by any moving objects. Chapeau. But I should back up a bit, so you get the full and somewhat messy details.

The mosquito gathering was light, with only Safety, RG, and Councilman present. Cap'n made a late call stating he had a pre-ride, pre-rollup, mechanical. He misplaced some odd brake part for the 9er, and was frantically swapping pedals around. The Kish got the nod, and after a late retrieval, we made haste for the Knott. In attendance were a slew of familiar faces; Xteric, B (after a P'town rollup on a loaner Wilier), No Sauce, No Handle, and our newest No Name, T1. After a "shut up and get ready" mandate was laid out, Cap'n and I quickly assembled our gear and joined our comrades.

Cap'n took the reins as ride leader, and with newby T1 (insert taco handle here) in attendance we headed for the qualifier. A quick check of the bylaws confirmed B's suspicion that, as a survivor of a "lights out" incident in pursuit of our craft, yours truly had to re-qualify. Soooo, off we went in our usual ascent to the qualifer from the park entrance. Not 20 yards up the first bit of singletrack and this politician busted his chain, shearing off a cleat bolt in the process. T1 was at the ready with a spare master link, and after straightening out the cleat, and regrouping, we were off again.

It just so happens this is the same stretch of road where we first met our good friend Bobby. It would prove cathartic and somewhat creepy with No Handle's spot on impersonation of the bossman. After some dispute, the actual scene of the crime was identified, and we paused for a moment of reflection. To be honest, it didn't look very familiar to me, but then again I got my bell rung, and I've managed to repress the rest of it.

At the top, we veered right and headed down for the XP drop to the river. It was a lightening fast descent, with top speed records shattered by many. After a short break at the old bridge, we started what would be a long and steady climb out. We looped under the freeway, over to Freshpond, and on up to Park Creek. From there, we attempted to find the wedding march, but it was Fugly. B led the bushwacking charge, and eventually we found our trail. We followed it down, ducking the headaches, stayed right at the switchback and made our way back to the Knott lot on buffed trails.

Tacos were busy but efficient affair. The bar was crowded, and some Frenchies took over our usual bike parking area (aka horseshoe pit). After orders were placed, and mood lighting set, we were treated to a top shelf, boutique sauce offering from Mother. Replete with it's own decorative wooden storage box, and explicit instructions for safe use, it definitely peaked our interest. Cappy was the first to sauce his tacos, and with a healthy dose of both courage and Jolokia pepper, he dove in. The usual hickups ensued, but we were assured it was no where near as hot as Possible Side Effects. Your truly dropped a few tears of terror on one taco, after neatly staging the rest with Vidalia, Pepper Plant and others. Our resident hot sauce hedonist, B, took the next plunge. Despite the package's warning of "only apply by small drops", B pounded on the bottom of the bottle and emptied a catchup like amount of sauce on his taco. As usual, he expressed little concern and proceeded to devour the entire taco (and a 3rd of the bottle of sauce) in 1 or 2 bites. Some slight gasping was detected, maybe a drop or 2 of sweat, but nothing unusual. We went about our discussions, and after several minutes B simply disappeared.

RG, in search of an It's It, soon found B in front of the Knott, doubled over and voiding himself of all stomach contents. Shortly thereafter, Mother, who had to convince a family who was fueling up the minivan that "it's not alcohol, it's hot sauce!", promptly handed B a mop and a bucket of water.

After a thorough cleanup, and inspection by the Knott Health Dept, we were dismissed. We went in different directions, back to our respective homes, all warmed by the glow on B's forehead and the knowledge that we wouldn't suffer as much in the next 6 months as he did with one taco.

As long nights go, SS*FT3 was stellar. Our ranks grew by one, and our reputations were cemented with B's resurfacing of the Knott front driveway. Can't wait till the next Solstice!!

*legal disclaimer - author has mild brain trauma and an otherwise poor sense of direction. Not responsible for any misquotes, or other errors in geographical reference.

Worst Call Out Ever!

2011-06-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday FT3.

I hope you mother-fathers had a good father's day.

ONE!

RESERVED (no longer) Button/Clover/Etch-a-sketch RR

2011-06-15T10:37:00.001-07:00

This just in from DRLE LOTB:

A gathering of the elite brethren, minus a few, convened at the normal spot and time on Tuesday. Notable in this gathering was the mode of transport selected by group hardman B. It appears that B has procured a Burly Flat Bed. Not to be outdone by the Rubicon bound enthusiasts, B showed them a thing or two about a thing or two by creating a bike rack within the Burly. Yes, my friends, the more nibble, lighter, street worthy bike was hooked up to the trailer in order to tow the best dirt option up the hill for recreational purposes. “May” may have been bike month, but June is straight up dedicated to bike efficiency! After proper re-hydration and fueling, we were ready for some recreational/competitive (we will get to that later) riding. Cap’n did put out the request if anyone wanted to be ride leader? I took that as a personal affront and knew that the cogged gauntlet and been ceremoniously thrown. Hell ya, I was up to the task of “ride leader”. Shoot, I hadn’t been gone that long, and the foot fetish only gives me better trail knowledge…bring it! Well aware that all eyes were watching, off we went! I lead the way with Cap’n, RG, B , C-man, Drop Tail, Safety and T2 following.

Oh yeah, in a very nonchalant kinda way, with no fanfare or major announcement, Safety grabs his bike to roll and “OH SNAP” Safety got himself a 9er! “Yeah, just something I picked up the other day”…The FT3 stimulus rolls on!

What type of ride would merit the challenge thrown in the parking lot? Anyone can go for a long ride, but on a Tuesday night, you are really limited in exactly how long you can go? Seeing how the “sea to summit” type adventures have really set the bar on “going long” that clearly wasn’t an option. A short ride is followed by endless ridicule for, well, for short riding the group. So a short ride was out. Park Creek? Yeah, not yet… Hmmmm what would it be. It takes a true master ride leader to set a route for the unprecedented “long ride –short loop”! And with that the Button or Clover or Etch-a-sketch ride was on. If B’s bike hauling contraption didn’t leave you dizzy, to ride route was bound to.

En mass we headed towards Road Kill via the sneaker trail atop the old parking area. On the short section of road leading up to the next trail, RG showed he was feeling fit and jumped out in front. I must say that Road Kill did not disappoint with great conditions and just enough roll to make it fast and fun. From Road Kill, he headed to Backdoor through a controlled burn area that had all of us wondering if we had landed on the moon. Dropping Backdoor is always a quality decision, if I don’t say so myself. I have become more and more comfortable with the last technical section and was ready to roll through. RG, again proving that to brake is to admit defeat, got out in front well before the technical bit and railed through fast and loose. Cap’n decided that it was a competitive ride at the moment when you drop over the edge of the abyss and put and elbow in my back and me into a tree and thus Over the Bars I went. Now initially I was frustrated with the move, but riding is riding and I have been known to launch an attack at any moment, especially going downhill, so all is fair on Tuesday, it was a fine move and kept me rooted in my identity, happy to do my name proud. From Backdoor we headed up the Horse Trail zig zags and then took an unprecedented left on MET and shot up the super steep trail at the first dam. From there, we were back down the rocky technical drop. We lost Safety for a bit, but soon re-gathered and headed out the second dam access road. We were out on the Lake Loop at the second dam, then took a hard right and doubled back on the adjacent horse trail. From the new parking lot we started up Rufus’ Rage and then, again looping back, dropped a quick access trail to the new lot, back down the horse trail, hard left to the Lake Loop and out to MET! During the little escapade, Drop Tail won her rightful spot as a good trail steward by waiting for two riders and then won her rightful spot with FT3 by running over C-man when he wasn’t going fast enough…spot on! So know we are on MET and the ride is taking some interesting twists. We headed out for Fleming in a traditional manner, and then banked a hard left at the first access to the #8 Trail. We rode this to the Fleming Lot where B usurped some ride leader authority and directed us down the single track toward the last section of #8. Here we cut off some good sections of #8 and left some folks curious of the next step. B saw it coming as soon as I told him to check his speed, as we all made the hard right down 8B. “I love trails that end in a letter” was all I heard as we screamed down 8B. 8A offers some interesting recreational opportunities at the river with root balls and caves and such, but it is hard to beat the pure joy and beauty of 8B! The climb up got us spread out a bit. Upon regrouping we retraced our Fleming and #8 steps and about a quarter of a mile out, B exclaimed, “I can smell it from here”! He knew his trails well as we were all rewarded by a well manicured Palin’s followed by Blair Witch down to the bottom of the second dam. Dirt road and horse trail got us back to MET and then the simple roll back concluded the long/short loop!

Tacos took a leisurely pace coming out, but that only allowed more time for festive conversations to be had. We did some high country route planning, sauce critiquing and general revelry. A new Vadalia Onion was produced and made for some superior saucing as evident by the hiccups and sweating. C-man guaranteed re-election with a kind and generous offering of thanks. “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” we road hard and enjoyed all the summer trails had to offer.

Until we ride

Awaiting a ride reporting contribution from our Dear Ride Leader Emeritus. Don't let that stop you from initiating a preemptive HCF explosion though.

Who needs Springtime, anyway....?

2011-06-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

April showers bring May flowers. That is the old addage. So what do June showers bring? I'm sure at some elevation, B will enjoy another run of 12 consecutive months of sliding. For the rest of us, it will be time to weedwhack the yard (again), and scrub the pollen from our windows.

Not sure what happened, but Summer has arrived and the temps are climbing. I must have been asleep, or in a medically induced fog, but I don't remember Spring. If this is the pattern going forward (enter your own theories on climate change here), what will become of our pasttimes and habits? When will we clean out the closets and our overly stuffed garages/shops/man caves? When will our beloved baseball heroes begin their pre-season training? What of the cycling classics leading up to the big events in Europe? When, for god's sake, am I supposed to plant my garden?

Spring is a time of renewal/rebirth and a preparation for the long months of Summer and Fall. New critters crawl out from their winter dens, and get their first taste of a much larger world. Hope springs eternal in the Spring. For those who missed it, I've provided a few images as a reminder of what once was.

However, even as we lament the loss of our good friend Spring, we all know it will only serve to harden the members of FT3. If Old Man Winter is a little longer in the tooth, it won't prevent Tuesdays, Sundays, and racing. In fact, a longer 'cross season will probably suit Team 1 just fine. If the Summer kicks in full blast, then we will shed our accoutrements, and brave the elements as always.

Tonight will be much warmer than usual. Perhaps, as the mercury soars, and the conditions become intolerable, we'll see the turn-out of old. What will we be tonight, 6, 7, 8 strong? Leave your arm warmers at home and bring some extra water. I'll see ya at Mosquito at 5:45.

Rider Appreciation Night!

2011-06-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

It was Rider Appreciation Night at the Knott Hole last evening, and those in attendance were treated to unprecedented hospitality within the warming glow of a crackling fire. All this after a roll of epic proportions centered around the discovery of a marquee new section of trail that has been hiding right under our nose-wheelies all along. And there were caverns and root balls, root balls like you’ve never seen.

This was no night to be engaging in risky unprotected ride behaviors with anonymous partners, there was too much at stake up in our Pollywood homeland. Speaking of stakes, I may hear back from the assayer as early as this afternoon regarding the value of the “little” nug that I quietly harvested from the depths of the dank cavern across the way from the bottom of 8A.

Last night our very own Councilman made his milestone return to dirt riding in the June 2011 version of SSFT3 in fine style, rolling his fully compliant and recently rebuilt sweet steel Bianchi M.U.S.S. He was joined by six other riders and our count tallied a respectable 7! C-man is engaging in settlement negotiations right now; securing a cycling land trust set to potentially add miles of non-motorized single-track to the already copiously endowed greater Pollywood riding megaplex. In a move that is nothing short of financial wizardry, the initial construction settlement and subsequent maintenance funding are slated to be kushioned by the conversion of an 80-acre plot of private timber lands into more profitable agricultural endeavors. Initial design submittals are being accepted now for the FT3 decal scheme set to be applied to our new Sweco trail dozer.

In a night chock-a-block with firsts and surprises, FT3 teamwork was on full display when a power sharing agreement was hatched in the Knott Lott. I was to be the initial Ride Leader, but agreed to hand over the reins without conflict or struggle to THTH mid-ride at a pre-determined location, the bottom of the Lips. Through this model display of diplomacy, Sunni and Shia divides were bridged, and progress was made in bringing the Zionists and Palestinians closer to a workable solution.

From the lot we left out the “backdoor” and made our way to the equestrian campground via the section of trail (the one with the short, steep drop to the drainage ditch along the highway) named by the prodigal son of FT3. We dropped below the first dam from there via the newly discovered trail. Bambi cleaned it first and any scraps left on that plate were quickly picked away by THTH. Got any trail names in mind yet Bambino? We progressed up from there into Flemming, where we did a partial CW roll to the top of 8A, which we dropped down swiftly and silently, thereby avoiding any discussion and resultant petering. An off-bike field trip took place as we did some spelunking in the Blue Gouge Mine across Camp Creek from the bottom of 8A. Though the waters were raging, a fortuitously fallen old-growth specimen bridged the river and provided us access to the far side. To this grand tree was attached a root ball that must be seen to be fully appreciated. This mine is no pain cave; in fact it is just the opposite. Untold riches await the brave in there. My interest was piqued when upon entry when I spotted some tell-tale hornblende, and the nearby thin vein of quartz led me straight to paydirt, as will likely be evidenced by assayer’s report.

Starting out again from the subterranean depths of the mine we acquired a handsome amount of elevation all at once by linking the climb back up everyone’s favorite spur trail to Redleck Rising. From there we dropped the crowd-pleasing Lip and the reigns were seamlessly passed into the capable hands of THTH. He took us around the lake CCW and we progressed via the horse trail to a few of the finest trails El Dorado County has to offer, Rock Garden & Rock Garden 1A. After that, the group was beginning to clamor for tacos, and rightly so. This was no short ride, as we were over three hours out from departure at that point.

We returned to a warmly welcoming Knott Hole where we were the surprise guests of honor for the first annual Rider Appreciation Night where seemingly endless free PBR’s were granted and not a nickel was charged for all of the rye consumed. Even though the wood was wet at the fire pit, it did not dampen our spirits one bit, the least of which mine, as I managed to shake no less than 4 free ribbon winners from Mother.

Though the first FT3 ride of June may be Rider Appreciation Night, it is also a time for the riders themselves to appreciate right back the community that loves them so.

2011-06-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

First Tuesday

2011-06-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

This week's ride will be the first of the month, which makes it SSFT3, of course. Roll your SS, or your CX if preferred. Or not, as none will be turned away for lack of lack of gears. The rain should subside by the evening ride, which may or may not be good for attendance.

One!

A fine Sunday crosser ride went down over the weekend in case you missed it. We had a pack of 7 (8 if you count Peter) that rolled from the bagel shop to Cronin where we took down some dirt to the bridge at Salmon Falls before returning to P-town on the road. It was about a 4-hour mixed ride that must have reached well past the 40-mile mark.

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Below is all stale re-post from the Sea-Shasta ride report, I just couldn't bear to see it drop off the front page just yet. Nothing new to see here, move along ...

A few weeks ago the idea was hatched; to climb and ski Mt. Shasta starting from the Pacific Ocean, all under human power. It came to fruition last week, 5/22-5/24, 2011.

Why? Shasta is the third most prominent peak in the continental US, behind only Rainier and Whitney, and there is some fine cycling terrain between the North Coast and Shasta. It also happens to be the ultra-prominent nearest to my house.

We departed the beach at lunchtime on Sunday and topped out on Shasta in the early afternoon on Tuesday, some 50 hours later. The GPS logged 250 motor-less miles during the adventure. We'd likely have stretched the trip time out a bit more, but the weather window for climbing dictated otherwise.

^^We left from the airport, because that is where we rented and returned the shuttle car. By this point we had done lots of driving over the past day or so to set ourselves up well for the journey. Our car, complete with ski gear, was awaiting us at the trailhead on Shasta, a double-century and then some away.

^^On the beach just south of the Mad River in Arcata.

^^The starting point and the general direction of the target.

^^Heading out along scenic CA 299 and the Trinity River.

^^Or is it Jeff-State 299?

^^110 miles after leaving the sea, we parked our bikes in the garage, grabbed dinner at La Grange, and then got some rest at the Red Hill Cabins in Weaverville. The owners of both establishments are to be commended for helping us out with valuable local information.

^^The second day in the saddle would involve crossing over this beautiful range.

^^We did so via Highway 3 which snakes through the Trinity Alps over Scott Mountain.

^^Though it felt like a weekend, it was actually a Monday.

^^Aflac!

^^Riding the Trinities

^^After dropping down out of the expansive and rugged Klamath Mountains we passed through Gazelle then went by Weed and caught this glimpse of our cloud-shrouded target. The trailhead was 2K above the snowline in the day's forecast, which called for precipitation.

^^These wee entrepreneurs helped us out tremendously by selling us fist-fulls of Red Vines at the base of Everitt Memorial Highway.

^^We rode through some flurries to get to the Bunny Flat TH, 7K' above sea level. By the time we reached it we had put in another 120 miles in the saddle.

^^After a few hours of rest in the car we awoke for the alpine start requisite for nabbing Shasta in a day.

^^There was ample coverage right from the TH.

^^First light over the Trinity Alps

^^Movin' on up below the Trinity Chutes

^^Looking over Casaval Ridge

^^The TH is down below at the base of the wide, white snow finger.

^^More waves, this time in the Red Banks.

^^Though the weather was relatively calm for much of the climb the wind was its typically strong and relentless self on Misery Hill.

^^Mission accomplished, time for the 7K slide back to the car door

^^Velvety Shasta corn was had below the high wind.

^^A look back up

^^Here's the track going through Humboldt, Trinity, Siskiyou and Shasta County as well as the Six Rivers, Klamath, and Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

^^After reaching the car again we ate, drank, then crashed. This is what we awoke to in the morning, and the reason why we compressed our schedule so we could climb in fair weather.

Sea to Shasta

2011-06-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago the idea was hatched; to climb and ski Mt. Shasta starting from the Pacific Ocean, all under human power. It came to fruition last week, 5/22-5/24, 2011.

Why? Shasta is the third most prominent peak in the continental US, behind only Rainier and Whitney, and there is some fine cycling terrain between the North Coast and Shasta. It also happens to be the ultra-prominent nearest to my house.

We departed the beach at lunchtime on Sunday and topped out on Shasta in the early afternoon on Tuesday, some 50 hours later. The GPS logged 250 motor-less miles during the adventure. We'd likely have stretched the trip time out a bit more, but the weather window for climbing dictated otherwise.

^^We left from the airport, because that is where we rented and returned the shuttle car. By this point we had done lots of driving over the past day or so to set ourselves up well for the journey. Our car, complete with ski gear, was awaiting us at the trailhead on Shasta, a double-century and then some away.

Tacky and Misty

2011-06-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

No, those are not the names of two new taco wench/burlesque queens serving up good times at the Knott. Actually, there almost was no taco session last night - almost.

Tacky were the trails and misty was the weather. Save some scant muddy sections, the static μ values were high last night. They were probably around .8, maybe even a bit higher, and rarely did things slip down into a kinetic μ situation. Complimenting the fine trail conditions was the very pleasant weather; the rain held off and the temps were comfortably cool.

Joe, from Cool, made an inaugural appearance and kindly drove me up from Mosquito to meet T2/NoSauce up in Pollock. And thus we were three.

In keeping with tradition we embarked up Qualifier. It suffices to say that Joe (handle pending) had no trouble making the cut. We then weaved up the newish single-track (recently explored by XT, Bambi and myself - not sure of the name yet) toward the vicinity of the old picnic table graveyard. There we found a rough, brushed-over descent that dropped down toward the lake and then we rode the LL CW to the second dam. We then went into Flemming for a CCW loop with an 8B down-n-up thrown in for good measure before retreating for "tacos." It ended up being about a tree-hour ride, not too shabby for a weekday.

Tacos were an abbreviated affair. Basically I scarfed a 6-2 while my ride up was filled with Knott-gas. I did NOT have a warm lasagna waiting for me at home. Sensing that an extended hang was Knott to be, T2 went straight home with plans to eat two presumably sauce-less chicken breasts. FTCBT? FTLT?

Though it was a fine evening of riding, expect some flak from the Bitches next week over FT3's brusque Knott showing.

No it is still not the first tuesday of the month

2011-05-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

The five weeks of May have given the FT3 riders plenty of opportunity to log miles on the May is Bike Month web page. So those of you who have gears can bring them tonight, 'cause it is still May. The cool weather should provide for more excellent riding conditions tonight. Too bad I am not going to be there. A new rider, a Team Rev's rider of Sac CX fame (insert taco handle) has indicated that he will be making a showing this evening. I am quite confident he will qualify, but I can't be certain he will sauce his tacos. Please make him feel welcome, as he will be looking for a carpool at the Mosquito lot at 5:45.

Ride like the wind,
Cap'n

Perfect Conditions, Great Riding, Tainted FT3

2011-05-25T10:41:00.001-07:00

In perfect spring riding conditions, the riders assembled in the Knott Lot. Trev1 (insert taco handle) showed for a Knott Lot send off. The group of NoCar, who ride up on his CX, NoSauce, NoHandle, Xteric, Cap'n and Rock God assembled their gear and rigs in anticipation of another quality FT3 outing. The only thing missing at this point was Paul. The route took us along the Cap'ns fenceline trail, safely across Sly Park Road to the rocky horse decent. Rock, in typical rock fashion was railing the rock section with his rock prowess. He was all pumped to be out on the dirt. We crossed the spillway and took our typical trails over to fleming for a standard fleming loop. Trails were tacky and rock was railing. We then took Redneck Rising, where NoSauce was challenged to say the name of the trail, and crossed MET for an awesome drop of the right lip. All were having a great time. At the bottom things took a turn for the worse. The group assembled there and a bit of time passed before we were met by a white faced NoCar who reported he went down and landed on his shoulder. I already know he is tough as nails, so it was no surprise that he did not let on to how much pain he was in. NoHandle was the first to offer an escort back to the lot. Xteric followed that up with a kind offer of his MTB for a more plush ride out. NoCar accepted and made a very efficient roll back to the Knott. When we arrived at the Knott lot we were met by C-man who made the late roll up on his crosser. And then Trev1 arrived for the taco part. NoHandle provided NoCar with a ride home, at which point he was to be headed to Kaiser for evaluation by a medical professional. The rest of us stayed for Tacos and were later joined by NoHandle. The fire pit was nice, tacos were good. Discussions were fun but our focus was distracted by the recent tainted events of FT3.

Hi is Edgar Allan Poe There

2011-05-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Apparently, if you are calling your connect to get an EPO hookup, this is the guy you ask for. I have this information on reliable basis but I can't quote the source.
Last I called however, he was not home.

If any of you are up to date on the latest Tyler Hamilton 60 Minutes article, you saw his claim that E.A.Poe was Mr. Armstrong's secrete name for asking about EPO. I am saddened yet not surprised at al the accusations about doping. My own personal belief is that way too many professional athelets (in cycling or otherwise) do too much performance enhancing drugs. It is a shame and something that needs to be cleaned up. That is all.

On a more pressing topic, I can’t help but notice the beautiful weather and thus quiet nature of the BLOG today. It would almost seem as if it was Wednesday and it was only a RR that was missing, not a call out. So, while I’m not calling nor am I asking you if Edgar is there, I’m calling you out for tonight’s horrible conditions.

One

Whatever doesn't kill you...

2011-05-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

A lesson learned from the AToC:
According to eyewitnesses, after Stage One was canceled, Teams Sky and Liquigas stayed on their bikes and rode to Squaw. The rest of the peleton hopped daintily into their luxury RVs and spent the afternoon in hotel rooms, spinning trainers and watching Jersey Shore. It comes as no surprise, that the next day, Sky and Liquigas got their sprinters to the front on the rain slicked roads of Sacramento.

So, Ft3 embraced the wintry mix, rolling through some beautiful spring snow and getting really drenched.

WE assembled in the swelling storm. Cappy, being the last ready darted out into Ride Leader. He turned away from the EID kiosk secretary and headed out Cappy's backdoor trail to the FS fire station; and dropped to B's chin crossing, which was at an exciting but easy high water. Around there B and NoHandle switched bikes. Almost immediately following, B blew apart NH's chain, the pin pulling out a chunk of the plate. Sportingly, NH allowed B to remain on his ride, after a quick link was installed. We climbed out past the dams and headed up Chiquita.

We headed for the Lip, with Xteric grumbling about subtleties in route selection. The lip gripped well and rolled fast. The new ladder gave NH a bit of a scare and lesser riders carried their bikes over. There were also greater riders. At some point Bambi and Cap'n started singing Sex Pistols. We rolled the lake, laughing at the wind. We finished with a hard sprint up the entrance road. Everyone's two or three layers, were well saturated and temps were dropping.

They were happy to see us at the Knothole, had the place to ourselves -table for seven and crank up the heater. Tacos were delicious and the TB remembered everyone's handles.
Important discussions batted around the table. BMX on thursday nights, Happy Valley Cross ASAP, first over night adventure ride by the end of july.

The name Drop Tail (i had to have it explained, and it's pretty good) was proposed for the new rider who earned her man card last night. New handles were also proposed for a few riders earning Peter cards.

Not Cancelled Due to Weather

2011-05-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

While the FT3 riders are still in disbelief by what occured on the trails last week, not to mention the cancellation of Stage 1 of the Tour of California due to weather... We will, as we do every tuesday, regardless of weather conditions, go for a Tuesday ride. I am not attempting to start a debate about the cancellation of Stage 1 of the TOC, rather, in typical FT3 fashion, I am merely stating that we will go for a ride this week, regardless of weather conditions. I expect we will debate the TOC cancellation either way. Clearly one of our riders will not be making tonight's ride and it is dissapointing to say the least that he is not 'out' due to DTI, or other acceptable conflicting matters.

Some of you will have noticed that the pro roadie, Alex Candelario, who showed up at the Sac Cyclocross series is in the TOC peleton, and holding his own I might add. He finished 12th yesterday. I would like to say it is due to the fact that Bambi, NoHandle, Lars and I gave him a run for his money back in Ione and at Lange Twins last November and December... but I won't.

NoCar's epic bike-themed party was a hit. The junk pile baby sitter was super effective, good call setting that up NoCar. I am impressed by his child awareness and insight, since he doesn't have kids and all. NoCar took the top honors on the day, with Cap'n in a close 2nd, and I believe Bambi came in third, this time with real shoes, but no helmet (recall last year he did the loop in flip flops). Hopefully someone will post the actual times later today.

This is 'yer call out.

One.

Rider down, but NOT out

2011-05-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

Flush with a full crew and fine weather we rolled out of the Deluxe Knot Lot. Being joined by the first ever FT3 woman rider, we headed for the qualifier. The guard at the Sly Park entrance gate ominously requested that we begin checking in and checking out; for our own safety. Sounded to me like when the mob asks for money to make sure you don't get hurt.
Near the top of the qualifier, in fact 3/10ths of a mile from Park Creek Road, we experienced an incident that has been so well documented by the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department that it needn't be repeated here.
In summary:
One rider was the victim of assault with a deadly weapon and transported to Marshall Hospital where he received care from the FT3 Team Nurse. He has been released and is recovering.
One expletive went to jail.
Eight eye witnesses gave statements, then took Sly Park back to the Knot. Tacos were a brief and somber affair.
One dog got to ride shotgun in a police car.

The Art of Wheeling

2011-05-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

I was reading another blog recently, and the discussion steered briefly towards the notion of cycling as art. Certainly, one can capture images of wheels in motion, or reproduce them with a brush, but the act of turning pedals in and of itself was decried as less than art. Comparisons were made to various masters of French Impressionism, and that their work truly defined high art.

Naturally, the conversation turned to Coppi, Merckx, Hinault and other grandmasters of cycling, their vast talent and accomplishments on two wheels. Yet, the detractors could not be swayed. They refused to acknowledge the poetry in motion on a bicycle; the nearly indescribable feeling of becoming one with your machine, carving turns as a sculptor his clay or a painter his brushstroke.

It would appear these critics are either ignorant, or know something we don't. For me, and perhaps all of the FT3 cognoscenti, cycling IS art. It is the practice of meditation, the expression of our talents, fears and desires. It's a communal process as well as a solo endeavor.

Anyone watching Bambi and Xteric vie for pole position on a steep, rocky decent can see that. Those of us dropped by Cap'n and Rock God on a long climb have witnessed it. The survivors among us who've followed NoCar and B on their epic adventures has experienced it. And to the neophyte rider who mistimes his sprint for the town sign, Lars and NoHandle will give you lessons. I could go on, but I think you get the point. For the riders of FT3, all artisans in their own right, the act of maintaining, prepping, and throwing a leg over your steed is no less sacred than the artist standing up his easel, rolling out his canvas, mixing his oils, and laying down that first brushstroke. Cycling is art, and we are lifelong students, practitioners, teachers, mentors, and enthusiasts.

With that overture, I invite you to come practice your art tomorrow night. Mother Nature has dampened the ground a bit, and conditions will be exceptional (read, small turnout).

While I don't know one end of my road bike from the other, I can say watching the Giro is inspiring. Having lived and traveled in the mountains of Italy, I can say, some of those @#$%* hills are legit. Check out the ragazzo in the yellow jersey, could that be our Bambi, sans capelli?

I for ONE am IN!!

Roasted Nuts

2011-05-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

Even with B rolling his new fat tire SS, we made it up to Pollockstan before the motorcade. He hadn't seen EID's new rock work, and as we inspected it we noticed that the wooden gate into the back Knot lot was open. And so we entered the new Knot Lot. Lars was the first to drive in, truck lumbering over virginal grass. Soon to follow was NoSauce, Councilman, Bambi, NoHandle, and Xteric. We celebrated the luxury and privacy of our new digs, sipping Belgian sports beverages and admiring two spanking new bicycles.

Lars maintained that he was too tired after satuday's herculean run and differed the ride leader role. Xteric was nominated, but he was reluctant to take the reins while in the presence of our dear ride leader. Rebuffing Xteric's timidity Lars declared "to Barnes back."
We dashed to the opposite side of the lake and began the climb. Downed trees repeatedly crossed the path, but we mostly rode around them. Reaching Park Creek we turned left and anyone on a cross bike relished their steed choice for the evening. At the big intersection we were treated to a new route that dropped us to the flume. After the steep climb out, we made for the power line descent, to the Qualifier. As we rolled past the gate to the road, Johnny Law was sitting in an idling SUV. We passed close by his hood and made the steep short burst up to the trail that started the evening's adventure. No accusations of short riding were made.

An animated taco session was held around the camp fire. Service was underwhelming, as Tacos were slow to arrive and Rye was forgotten completely. Xteric was getting edgy waiting for his order. He eyed each tray with the shameless longing of a dog hoping for scraps. When our newest recruit tucked into his basket, Xteric jumped out of his seat and exclaimed "he didn't sauce his tacos!" An eruption of disapproval ensued and NoSauce was handled.

Then Paul Stopped By

2011-05-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

So, there I was last Wednesday, regretting my missed FT3 outings of late and all in a pissy mood. Peter and I had made no progress on the tree house project and neither of us were riding. So, who should show up carrying two large cups of coffee (he grew, roasted and ground the beans himself), but P Paul himself – Peter had given up and left by then. It wasn’t long before Paul not only got me back on track w/my non-cycling-tree-house-project, but also found time to finish my private trail
network as well.

Inspired by NoCar’s upcoming May 14th Throwdown and Pauls drive to do anything and everything, we quickly linked up all the disparate sections, cleaned a few others and even did some manicuring of yet others. Yesterday I was able to put together a 14 min loop that was over 2 miles long and included 350 feet of climbing.

I’d like to thank Paul for his enthusiasm and effort. If it were not for him, I wouldn’t be able to or be fired up for tomorrow’s ride up in Pollywood.
Weekend Ride reports? I hear Cappy and Xterric were heading out early yesterday for Cronan?

One!

Sac-Cronin FT3 Spotting CX Adventure

2011-04-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

I was going to put this in the Wed. RR Hidden comment field, but since a quorum of FT3 riders were involved I felt it was worthy of it's own special post. When the call of duty to ride comes, there are always FT3 riders who are game. As ridiculous as some adventures may sound, there is always an FT3 rider or two who are down. Yesterday was one of those days. I floated a concept to ride from a meeting Sac to Salmon Falls to Cronin and Xteric and NoCar made the push to get involved. I departed downtown Sac just after 4:00pm, made a quick call to XTeric and NoCar who were planning the meet-up. Since they were already in route to Cronin via automobile, and I was in downtown Sac on a bike, I had some work to do to ensure my bro's weren't sitting around waiting on me, or worse riding the road to meet me on their MTBikes. Fortunately or unfortunately, I met up with 'David,' who was training for the Race Across America and 'humbly' offered that he was going to do 'about 20' (mph...clearly he has not read the rules) to Folsom. Of course, in spite of the fact that I was riding a CX bike, wearing baggies and toting a mighty bag, I was not to be dropped by 'humble David.' He had no mercy on me and I think we did about 28 mph for about 5 miles of the approximate 20 mile jaunt to Folsom. Right around Hazel, coming in the other direction, who could it be, but Rock God out secret training on his brand new power meter equipped full-carbon BMC. Yes, he really does have another brand new bike. Clearly he needed a bike with a power meter, I mean, who doesn't? He made the quick turnaround, boosted the watts, and bridged up to David and I. A bit later David bailed to ride with a real friend and RG and I continued our journey to Folsom. RG had to bail out for a yoga session and I had friends to meet to knock down some dirt trail! Once I made it to Green Valley Road I endured mental torture and anguish as I rode during rush hour alongside a roadway with one of the highest ADT's in the County (average daily traffic). At 6:00pm I dropped Salmon Falls Road, made a quick call to my bro's and they were making an excursion up the Salmon Falls trail. I then boosted my own watts yet again to make the meet up. At 6:30pm I met the FT3 kitted bros at the Salmon Falls Bridge. I busted out the super caffienated Italian coffee soda that B had given me, shared it with NoCar and we busted up the trail in route to Cronin. The new trail section is totally awesome, especially this time of year. Xteric was nice enough to take my heavy pack about a quarter of the way in and the ride become much more enjoyable (for me) from there. We rode straight out to the Pedro Hill lot where XTeric was parked and I wisely opted for the automobile ride home. Parking lot arrival time, 7:34pm. A nice commute indeed. Thanks to FT3 for helping make it epic.

Rock Blocked

2011-04-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

Rock God tapped his watch, interrupting Cap'n's new bicycle discussion. We hopped in his truck and left Cap'n and B in the Mosquito Lot, knowing we would see B later at tacos.
Confusion turned to horror as we tried to park at the Knot Lot. EID hasn't blocked the entrance, but they have outlined a 13' wide lane between Sly Park Rd and the gate at the back of the Lot. We parked in the RV sites at the Knot Hole proper. Not so good for changing, hydrating, relieving, etc...
The next surprise was the appearance of a new applicant. [taco handle not confirmed] knew of FT3 from his affiliation with the Spoke.
So, we headed for the Qualifier. [T2?] dug deep to maintain a qualifying pace. Ride Leader Lars rewarded his efforts with additional climbing to the radio tower. (always wily, that ride leader Lars) After angering an old woman who was parked along the side of Park Creek by "scaring away the deer" we made the fast power line descent. Upon Bambi's prompting we picked up the new Boy Scout Camp loop and then dropped to the lake. When questioned if he was ready for a lake loop and more climbing [Spokey?] gave the hard man answer that he isn't one to quit.
Standing at the base of the lip, we couldn't help but notice the piles of downed trees. Stomachs growling and [TB?] showing signs of strain, we just rolled the rest of the lake. Of course, changing in front of the Knot Hole was not as much fun. And rolling on our bikes the thirty feet to the door felt silly.
Without a confirmed Handle, the merciless Taco Bitty dubbed our newest rider "Stinky", and he appeared somewhat nonplussed by the many by-laws involved in ordering food.
A little late (apparently B rides slower with one hand) B, Xteric and Councilman made a colorful entrance. They crushed their tacos as the PBR gods served up a couple aces.
Xteric and B chose to ride back to Placerville. Speculation ensued, "would they be drawn, like moths to a flame, by the glittering lights of the Pine Lodge?"; "Will NoHandle ever abandon the leafy new love nest he's building for Peter and ride with us?"

Good as it gets

2011-04-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Almost tuesday. Almost time to enjoy everyone's favorite past time: ridiculing friends in a public forum for having complex and meaningful lives that preclude them from a weekly mountain bike ride. Since attendance is inversely proportional to riding conditions, and tomorrow night's conditions should be fantastic, there should be ample opportunity for taunting those who have better things to do. Better than a fast decent with tires gripping banked turns, better than a spirited climb, better than savoring tacos and beers after a long ride.

ONE

Roots FT3

2011-04-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

The goods are back. Customary riding rhythms are returning to Pollywood. The snow is subsiding and the trails are coming out of winter hibernation. The preponderance of riding is once again taking place through daylight. Last night we even enjoyed our tacos al fresco, on the lawn out back for the first time this year.

In a nod to career longevity, one-off wet events like FTFT3 and the impromptu XP crawl seem likely to subside in favor of harvesting the increased trail mileage now available again. There is even resurgent talk of 24-hour racing, albeit with a twist. Will FT3 form a corporate team this year; uniting teams 1 & 2, plus the fringe into a true force to be reckoned with? Research into that is being done, and I’m sure the data collected will show up here sometime soon.

Last evening Xterric, Bambi and I rolled the beginning of the Qualifier, then explored some “new” trails, made our way up to Park Creek, dropped the Wedding Lashing, hit 1A, and then returned to the Knott via the Lake Loop. We were joined out back for tacos by Councilman, who had rolled up from town on his crosser.

All is good in the Wood.

One!

2011-04-18T16:05:00.001-07:00

B-Haul

2011-04-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

A crew of five riders assembled in the Knot lot. We all admired the new decorative rock that EID had placed at the entrance. Rock God is back from the Betty Ford clinic, and was ready to, well, rock. He and Cap'n burst from the Lot onto the backdoor trail like two anxious race horses out of the gate; leaving Xteric to finish assembling his lighting and hydration system. Where the backdoor trail drops onto the road, RG executed a graceful drop, staying on the road's shoulder. All the same, an oversized pick-up made a squealing skid, to remind RG that the life of a cyclist is cheap in El Dorado. We descended, crossed the spillway and made for a fast Fleming ascent. Someone had done some log cutting on Fleming and it is in Top form. Up Redneck Rising and down the Lip with several new downed-tree-ride-arounds. At the lake, B flipped over his troubled steed and demonstrated how he could now simultaneously hold the wheel tight and pedal. The working theory being that he had sheered the pawls.We dug through RG's bag of useful things and found his tow strap. We tied one end to my seat post and the other to B's stem. Certainly if NoHandle were present the system would have been improved, but it seemed workable. After a little practice where I learned to modulate power, and B learned to handle the breaking, we started to maintain speed. Communication was key, with B sounding off like a musher for more power or warning of a sudden tension loading. We had a few comic mishaps when rounding tight corners, but made it through the single track without any big spills. Once on the asphalt we organized as a team with Xteric and Rock grabbing the tow strap to help carry the load. As B became more comfortable in the back he demonstrated some of his water skiing skillz, cutting back and forth trying to make himself as much of a burden as possible and laughing all the way.
Mother Rye was worked up when we reached the Knot Hole. She has been engaging attorneys to fight for the preservation of our parking space which EID desperately wants to close. When she finished filling us in on the news she put on the ball game and cooked up some fine tacos. Xteric made the unusual proclamation that Barnes Back should be removed from the FT3 trail lexicon. His proposal met solid opposition.
I'm sure those unfortunate souls who missed the ride are filled with woe. All except NoHandle, who, according to unsubstantiated rumors, enjoyed a delightfully naughty pillow fight with Peter.

And, There I was at the Spoke

2011-04-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking what a quiet weekend it was for the FT3 Brethren as I was driving into town to visit the Golden Spoke Bike Shop for a new BB bearing and was wondering what the broader group of riders did over the weekend.
While I have no details to report on the following incident, it should certainly raise some eyebrows and wonder.

While standing in the back work shop, an odd site kept catching my eye. After the 3rd glance at it I noticed it was a fork that I recognized. Now that in itself is not too odd, but what was odd was why was this fork sitting there with its wheel still attached. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the steer tube was a bit jagged, in fact sheered off is a better word to describe it. I am glad to report (2nd or maybe 3rd hand) that yes, the steer tube did sheer off but that this occurred while going up hill. Now, when I tell you the fork was a rigid one, belonging to a blue cross bike you probably don't need any more info to know who it belongs to. I'll add that few bikes under go more torque than a single speed crosser while being muscled up-hill and who do you know that has a pretty new cross bike, that is a single speed (for that matter a single wheeled one at the moment) and blue.

Ride Report:
In back channel effort, Cappy and Green Fro dragged my tail up Bayne Rd. yesterday for gentleman's afternoon outing. We met up at the bagel shop, dropped 49/Gold Hill/Cold Springs to Coloma, then up Bayne and then UP Shoe Fly then UP another road before going up another road and arriving at Gree Fro's house where we met our wives and family for a family outing and BBQ. We may have watched some of Paris-Roubaix race but have no idea who won.

Bike Shop News: Apparently the spoke has their own B as well. They now have two mechanics there w/the same first name,so it seems they have been name as YouKnowWho "A" and YouKnowWho "B". Spoke B has expressed some interest in riding and has "spotted" us a few times as a local Polly Wood resident. He reports that the trails are in good shape except for the downed trees.

Who is in?
One.

**Names of individuals and detailed directions to anyone's home have bee left out to protect the innocent

Is that a banana in your spandex?

2011-04-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

The most junior FT3 riders heeded the callout last night. Besides myself and Xteric, Safety First joined us in the Mosquito Lot. He noticed that none of the "fast guys" were riding and decided it would be a good night. He was right.
A prompt departure gave us plenty of riding without our lights. We dropped to the lake, turned right and hadn't gotten far before it became clear that downed trees would be a theme for the evening. No sweat for the 29er, of course, just roll over 'em.
Down the switchback trail, then up, uh, something else. After climbing Rufus's rage, whimsical ride leader Xteric found a newly built downhill run. Climbing it and checking out the sweet double jumps and banked turns left no choice but to drop back down what was dubbed Chiquita banana. Across MET to counter clockwise Fleming. Dry, tacky and fast, minimal downed trees, it was a little bit of mountain biking nirvana. We plunged Palin and had to whack through a thick mat of bush. And Palin was wet, gushing.
Down below the dams we headed for B's chin buster and then the roadside trails back to the knot. A familiar crew of spotters were waiting at the bar.
B arrived shortly after we did and he soaked up about a pint of rye while we dug into tacos. Some classic FT3.

FT3 = N+1, Where N = Niner

2011-04-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

Twenty Nine Inches from Brian Park on Vimeo.

So if the rumors are correct, the entire FT3 pithy core is now in posession of at least one 29er bike in their N+1 sum. For all of FT3 the calculation may be FT3 = S-1, where s= FT3 and -1 = the remaining rider who does not currently have a niner (does it count if he used to have one?).

Some quality Sunday riding went off this weekend. A smallish group of Nohandle, Cap'n, GreenFro and the return of Xteric enjoyed nice weather on a classic loop including Forni, Davidson, French Creek, Starbuck, a super fast Deer Valley plus a jaunt through Greenstone. The riders reeped or weeped what they sowed, depending on the rider. Along the ride there was some discussion of 24 hour racing which was met with lackluster enthusiasm. There was a sighting of C-man, taking a young and spry muffin protective Gen 2 member out for some early trail maintenance training. We also understand that there was a sighting of R.G. out secret training on Saturday. He may be training up in anticipation of a strong return to a niner-wielding and spring fresh FT3.

Speaking of Spring Fresh, indeed Spring is in the air and from what I hear the snow is melting. I suppose that mean FT3 will be back to norml riding this week. FT3, Here's 'yer callout. Bring yer niner.

Ride like the wind,

Cap'n

Short ride

2011-03-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

In a stunning display of back channel maneuvering yesterday, a coup displaced Cappy's callout for a trip to auburn. Good natured as always, the Cap'n took this in stride and joined the rest of the crew who had selected bikes and attire more appropriate for the new agenda. Councilman stepped off the injured bench and made his first FT3 since knee surgery. After a send off visit from Safety First we undertook a ride that will become legendary for its abject lack of miles, dirt, bad weather, mechanicals or steeps. We did make it for tacos. Apparently our devoted Spotters had missed us in Pollywood, as several of them called ahead to the Knot to announce our progress.
Many grave conversations were had over dinner. On the topic of a regular replacement ride for Pollywood shut-out nights, NoHandle tried to devise a plan. However, he lost any credence when he placed a single taco order and no one listened.
Also, the 24 hour race was discussed. Sadly, Team One will not be able to field a full team and thus forfeited to Team Two. Instead of racing, enthusiasm is building for several summer adventure rides.
Fortunately, the snow should be sufficiently melted for things to get back to normal next week. But, just to be safe, we should all carry chainsaws.

FT3 A-Town Excursion

2011-03-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

FT3 brothren. Our trails remain under snow. We are faced with options; stomp (thru snow), slide, or ride. As you all know, I am a big proponent of riding. While the local excursions have come to have a special place in the hearts of some riders, I for one am longing for some good riding. That being said, I am proposing an excursion to Auburn for tomorrow's FT3.

While Fat Tire Taco Tuesday is becoming legendary in the Pollywood area, let's get back to our core this week and make riding a priority. Epic trails await us. Bring a sandwich, or we can bounce up into Auburn for a quick bite to eat after the ride. If we are efficient about our departure (5:15 anyone?), we could be riding right about 6:00, leaving ample time for eating and being home at a reasonable hour. My truck is going to Auburn.

One.

24 Hour Racing

On a side note, it is important for FT3 Team 1 and 2 to know that the date for the Coolest 24 hour cancer fund raiser ride has been moved out a month, from June to July. That being said, there is still a Boggs 24 hour race on the previously held June date. So all is not lost if people want to race in June. While the July 'Coolest' date makes NoCar available for Team 2, it may have initiated problems for Team 1. If the rumors hold true, this date change may sever FT3 Team 1's composition and three year run of Coolest 24 hour same-four-member dominance. Team 1 back channel discussions are ongoing. Team 2, fire away.

Fixie Ft3 sighting

While riding with FT3 Gen 2 member, Colin, there was a fixie sighting on the El Dorado Trail. Ghost, and the long lost VD were out fixieing about on their fixies on the EDT. VD, sporting a dashing beard and sweet "Leader" fixie was reminiscing about the days of FT3 and even asked about "the Keagle." Ghost is still game to ride pff-road but needs to iron out some MTB mechanical issues that are beyond the capabilities of my home shop anyway. Hopefully we will see him or both of them again soon.

Ride like the wind,

Cappy

Local Fluff

2011-03-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

The local Pville diversions have come to have a special place in the hearts of FT3 pithy core members. Whilst we love our beloved Pollywood trails, there are always adventures-a-plenty in the local Pville Hood. Solid advice is to stay on the good side of the local authorities when embarking on rides. Ft3 did, last night anyways. In spite of a check in by a local officer, because clearly three guys in a parking lot dressed in cycling gear with bicycles must be up to no good. Apparently a Pville Mosquito Lot neighbor decided that the guys in the lot must have been up to something bad, because we had our first Mosquito lot po-po roll by. Turned out he was a friend of B's and had interest in head cams, and night riding in general, so it was a nice encounter by the local authorities. We were sent kindly on our way to have a safe ride, and, actually, we did just that.

The route began with some exploration of potential connectors to Gold Bug from points near Mosquito, and, after some extra exploration and "Type II" fun, hauling our bikes around through the bushes, we made it to Gold Bug. We enjoyed riding through wood chips and trails there, then took a route back into town while maximizing all available dirt options. Cappy's knowledge of the local urban 'trails' is worth mentioning here, as riders occasionally suggested they had 'not been here before.'

B took over briefly as ride leader near the post office, and diverted the group into a homeless encampment. There happened to be an excercise bike in this area, so I popped on post-haste while B explored the luxurous homeless digs. The stationary bike has a sweet balance point for wheelies, although it is hard to find.

Shortly thereafter we placed a taco order to Powell's, and embarked on the last portion of our adventure. The route took us over the top of 'cedar ravine hill' and back into town for tacos at Powells. The tacos were good, sauce selection was weak. While there were no frenchies or aliens, there were Pville locals and a woman interested in human -computerism, or something ridiculous like that.

Bikes, Skis, or a Boat

2011-03-21T19:54:00.001-07:00

Man, has it been raining or what. I thought last week's outing with a 70% chance of rain that turned into a torrential down poor (and 4 stitches + machete chop of a beard) was a bit unexpected. Since then I don't think I've seen the sun. Our local trail expert has me informed on the back channel that indeed the trails are gone again - really, shoker. Is this round 3 of 3+ feet of snow in polly wood shutting us out?
While I think canoeing across Sly Park w/our headlights on, or Kayaking down Weber Creek would be cool adventures, I don't think they quite hit the mark for an FT3 outing. I for one, prefer my bikes, any of them. Most of them in fact are a bit sick of the rain and are in dire need of an overhaul but what is one more rain soaked ride. Peter, stay back I say stay back, I'm wearing many layers of clothing and you don't want a piece of me.

So my brethren, I say to you, what will it be. Who is core and who is a bore?
I am down for a ride tomorrow but will leave other options on the table.

My two cents is for some sort of P'Ville ride followed by Powel’s if our resident local can secure the taco orders again.

One - for whatever that entails.
THTH, out.

V.O.G.

2011-03-15T23:52:00.001-07:00

My triage nurse is an avid downhill mountain biker, so we have a nice rapport. He has much respect for night storm riding and us finishing the roll. He put me down as VOG, Victim Of Gravity, on the chart. Sweet. Thanks to THTH and Cappy especially for pointing me in the Marshall direction. Everyone here seems to be in total agreement that some chin stitches are needed. Will update later!

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*Edit*
Okay, here are the pictures(some not for the squeamish) and a little more explanation. I went over the bars on the steep, techy trail that drops down behind the gate near the USFS Sly Guard cabin across from the Sly Park fire station. The trail was in rare condition, as it was actually behaving like a running stream. The rainfall rates that night were something to behold. It was very cool to be riding in that weather. Anyway, after a semi-controlled exit from my bikecycle, I still had a good bit of jogging speed to bleed off and no place to stuff it along that steep, rock-strewn stream of a trail. To my left I saw what appeared to be a steep, soft soil embankment so I made a tack to port and started to run up it. Well, that embankment took away my momentum alright, but there were a few complications. It was actually a tilted rock slab, not the luscious mattress of mossy duff I had been hoping for. Bike shoes don't climb rock so well, so it was over pretty quickly at that point. My feet never gained purchase and I barely got two hands and a beard down before my chin bounced.

Hmmm, I wonder if I got cut, I thought to myself. Doubt cleared when I saw that the stream-trail was running red. After evaluating the flesh wound, THTH, Cappy, and I discussed time windows for medical attention, the core-ness of facial scars, and most importantly, the prospect of continuing the ride. Cappy drew on the knowledge passed down to him through oral tradition by his ER-nurse mum and we reached consensus that for proper healing I needed to be laced within 24-48 hours and that I should do it within 4 if I had any hope of preserving my dream of a career as a Bike-Nashbar bibs model. Once it clotted up and the bleeding subsided, we rode on. Our plans to drop below the dams and check out the spillway were dashed by frequent encounters with downed timber and raging ephemerals that were too dangerous to safely ford. We turned around and took an alternate-alternate route back to Sly Park Road and the lake through some sketchy Polly neighborhood (you know the kind - dirt driveways, collections of internal combustion toys in various states of disrepair, gun safes in the garages, etcetera). Upon reaching the intersection of Sly Park and MET we discussed route options and decided to do a lake out-n-back from there, starting off in a clockwise direction. We commenced to enjoy that long stretch of snow-less and obstacle-free section of trail before returning to the Knott for the usuals plus access to a first aid kit.

Any hopes I had of escaping the evening without stitches were dashed when I saw my dirty mug in the mirror in the loo at the Knott. Though no calcium was shattered, some was exposed plus I saw a glob of chin fat. It did not take Captain nearly as long to reach the same conclusion. Soon after first looking at it back on the trail he declared that I surely needed some thread because in his words, "I can see meat, dude."

After cleansing the wound in the men's room at the Knott Hole, we communed over tacos per usual. Only this week, as if ministering some mysteriously enchanting sacramental rite, a cycling stigmata was anointing my tacos with every drop of blood. It was cool.

Still, I have only cleared the section of facial hair necessary to access the wound. My office mates are looking at me today like I was the last Tutsi out of a Hutu-controlled jungle, having only taken a partial machete blow before narrowly escaping the wretched Final Solution. I just let them all wallow in their silent, polite curiosity.

Anything But Routine

2011-03-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

As we have all come to know, tuesdays, at least the FT3 part, are anything but routine. There is the routine of gathering the gear on Monday night, determining the DTI, and the following night's weather. Will there be a storm? As for tomorrow, forecast calls for rain. At the time of this particular call out, there is a 100% chance. Over the weekend, the weather was fair, and a fair bit of riding took place by a disbanded band of FT3 brotheren. B took down some A-town trails on a saturday outing. Lars summoned the crew for a ridiculously early road call out for the pithy or crazy on Sunday. Cap'n suffered mightly through another Cool Mountain Bike race, finishing 7th in the Single Speed category. NoHandle conquered another Solvang Century. By all accounts, riding is a routine that all FT3 riders agree about. With soreness in my legs and spring on my mind, I present this call out to go ride in a line. The rain will fall, and storms will come, as they occasionally do, but the band of FT3 brothers will get out and do what they do.

Ride like the wind,
Cap'n

lasissez les bons temps rouler

2011-03-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

A few of last night's riders were scratching their heads this morning, wondering over new bruises. The group slowly assembled in the snowy Knott Lot. The air tasted of passion fruit and sugar cane as a tropical storm gained strength, bearing down on FTFT3. Yelling over the high winds we considered ride leaders. B, for instigating the hurricane ride, was given the option, but his proposed route was rejected. By default Cap'n steered us towards the Qualifier. Instead of finding a trail, a snow wall sent riders scurrying like ants for a new start. Someone probably wrecked.

While trudging up the Qualifier, riders were scattered in all directions by the Hurricane. Search parties were dispatched, bikes were ghost ridden, several riders probably wrecked, and, finally, all were assembled and accounted for, except for B's hurricane bottle. Cap'n called for a full surrender. But, the group mustered on, with a few more exciting crashes and bike vs. man confrontations.

While the tropical storm did much to warm the moods of the FT3ers it didn't melt any snow. The lake loop -- more hiking than biking. Pushing the bikes onto asphalt, Cap'n called for a meeting where he planned to order a return to the Knott Hole. It was considered if the Councilman's wisdom may be necessary to decide a dispute. Then, NoHandle declared himself Ride Leader and ordered a return to the Knott Hole. Not that anyone was dissenting.
After a few sprints, a spillway inspection, and a lost dog, we victoriously returned to the Knott Lot. Mother Rye was surprised to see us a little early, hungry and not that thirsty.

Let the good times roll.

A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Rock-n-Roll

2011-03-07T19:18:00.000-08:00

Lars' recently back-channeled trail conditions update is also bewilderingly ambiguous. I don't think there actually is a "right" choice so the runner's advantage goes to wheeled transport.

See yo at Mosquito at 5:45.

One!

Below are some ride shows from recent FT3 activity. I really wish I had a third to add, because it would be brimming with shots of THTH riding his stationary bicycle while taking in Return of the Jedi. I bet you nearly rode the contrived resistance mechanism off that thing during the electrifying rescue of Han Solo from Jabba.

Also of note is Capatin's solo Sunday steeps tour in the rain.

Sunday near Cool:

A few days earlier nocar helped me drop my car off for service in Shingle Springs and we cycled back:

B

*EDIT*

Fresh video of THTH after his trainer ride added below:

FT3