First October Tuesday

B and I pedaled into the Knot Lot to find several riders who had not participated in the HCF Count Off. Also, there were pre-BRs, since it was that time of the month. One third of the pack was SS compliant. Taco Spawn claimed Ride Leader without contest. We started towards the Qualifier and BAM! B dropped his chain. As Newb expertly adjusted the tension, I fished the last PBR out of my jersey pocket, still cold, and passed it around. Up the Qualifier to, uh, somewhere, where we took a little-used forest road to some other little-used forest road that looks like all the other forest roads. Eventually we re-emerged at the big intersection on Park Creek Rd. We rolled the road for a bit and then turned up (“grumble, grumble, what time is it? Grumble, grumble,” said RG) towards Cappy’s Knob. Honestly, I wasn’t paying much attention to the route, but focused on not getting dropped. Eventually we returned to the familiar intersection on Park Creek Road and dropped towards the lake. In a cooking downhill we blazed through numerous unfamiliar intersections. The pack was well aware that Cappy was off the back, but figured he wouldn’t want us to interrupt the thrilling descent. At the bottom we retraced back to Cap and B, who were shivering after having been abandoned in the cold. Most importantly, since I rode back, that bumped my total Tuesday miles a few feet over B’s total. The tight pack raced round the lake to screaming cheers from Spotters in the campground. The Knot Hole was emptied when we bustled in for tacos. New member Cutter got to use his freshly anointed handle, which had been debated for much of the ride.

Discussion:

One subject that was slated for the Taco Table, but never came up, is the use of strava on FT3 rides. Apparently Spawn stravaed a ride in the Silver Lake area that included secret trails. Within days, the buzz about the new trails had spread from Folsom to Tahoe. Every FT3er may have a different opinion about the good or ill that may come from greater exposure. However, I would recommend that, as with all important decisions, authority rests with the Ride Leader. If B was Ride Leading and he didn’t want the trails stravaed then they shouldn’t have been. If Spawn stravaed Tuesday’s ride while he was Ride Leader that’s his decision to make. If Xteric wants to strava anything then he’ll have to learn how to use a computer. If I want to strava then I will have to upgrade from my dumb phone AND participate in Ride Leading (ain’t gonna happen).