Riders: Glenn, Steve, John Stockford, Jill
I was determined to go to this ride and sort of expected that I would be going solo because it’s kind of far so I was psyched to find out that Glenn, Steve, and John would be riding too. We met up at 8:30 or so and were on the trail by 9am. The riding was reminiscent of west coast riding, very swoopy, hardpacked, and not very technical. I absolutely loved it (my bike loved it too)! The four of us hammered out the first 13 miles then arrived at an intersection and had to decide whether to finish up with 14 miles or head toward the 20 and 28 mile loops. John opted for the 14 miler and we said goodbye. Steve, Glenn and I continued on the longer loop. We intended on staying on the 20 mile loop then making another decision whether to finish up with 20 miles or ride the 27 but the choice never became apparent and the miles ticked away one by one. I didn’t really mind because the riding was so smooth with only a few challenging climbs but Steve had a commitment in the afternoon and Glenn just needed to get off his bike. So we meandered our way back to the parking lot wondering if we would end up with 30+ miles vs. the 20 we anticipated. I ended up riding behind a guy on a Pugsley and I was impressed with how fast he was hauling that bike up the hills. The tires were so fat!!! What a cool looking bike though, he said the bike handled like a dream in the snow. Of course I asked him how much it weighed. 38 lbs, less than I thought it would weigh, but much more than I would want to be hauling around. This was my favorite ride of the year, maybe because I did so much road riding over the summer. It was such a nice day, the trails were incredible, the company was great, and I’m 100% head over heels in love with the Mamasita. – Jill
Nerac Earth Cycling 