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A Freak Ride Report - 11/12/99 Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 18:13:01 -0800 To:
For one of the best riding days of the year, the Freaks showed their foolish side by basically not coming out to ride! The East Bay contingent had sustained yet another terrible injury, when Danny, two weeks ago, fell into an erosion rut, landing on a boulder on his back, while climbing Diaz Ridge from Muir Beach. (Those who keep track of this type of data will note that this, too, is another foolish way to approach trans-Marin bike travel) Anyhow, Danny is home, off the bike, miserable, hurting, and trying to aim for perhaps a shorter hiatus than his last 5-week kidney whacked, hockey injury. Send him your best herbal remedies.
Mtn. Val stayed home to pack for her upcoming 5-week trip to India. Rumors that she is joining the lowest caste of untouchables to clear animal carcasses and dead bodies from the typhoon ravaged Ganges delta are completely unfounded. My theory is that she is planning to mountain bike to the Himalaya and then decide if she feels like climbing Mt. Everest. (On her bike) She's the only person I know who could possibly pull it off.
So there we were at Deer Park, Michael and I, and in rides the Professor, no Shredly, no Dictator Juan, no Barbita, no Vernon, no nobody. Without much more than a hand shake we were off for Alchemist and" the route" which Jim said he hadn't ridden in a month! Things progressed in a normal manner until we reached Horseshoe Junction. There Jim announced, after my query, that we couldn't play horseshoes because Juan wasn't there to dictate that it was the official season yet, muddy conditions notwithstanding!
Here, Jim decided, seeing that he was going home and wouldn't have to ride any of his own crazed ideas, that he would join Michael and my ongoing route deliberations and suggest some truly foolish freak festivities. "Why don't you go down to Woodacre, (or San Geronimo, or one of those valley towns) and climb Roy's Redwoods?" he queried. Immediately El Mule-o knew this to be folly! "Has anybody ever cleaned Roy's uphill?" I asked. Neither Jim nor Michael gave a definitive answer, but Jim threw in that "This will be the one time of the year that you have a chance of cleaning the bottom section. The rain has cleaned it and you'll have great traction." Great traction was the least of my worries. Destroyed thighs, cramps, and a whole lot of bike pushin' was more of what I was envisioning.
At the bottom of the Roy's fire road, Michael gave me a foolish grin and said "It's been a long time since I've tried something this dumb!" Not wanting to argue with him at a critical psychological moment, I grinned back and we climbed. Jim was right about the traction. Some of his other claims about the ease of the upper portions of the ride ("Once you make the first part to Dr. Dope's you just pedal up the rest...") weren't so accurate. But the gist of this story is that El Mule-o has joined whatever other Foolish Freakwheelers who want to claim dubious distinction, and I have climbed the entire Roy's climb dab-free and without a rest. Michael did almost the entire thing himself! He walked the last hill up to Dr. Dope's fence, but rode the whole thing otherwise.
We lunched on a high knoll overlooking many beautiful sights as well as the SG Valley sewage treatment plant. We tended to focus high over it and watched swarms of calico clouds closinbg in on us with mottled sunlight breaking through the many seams. We came along the ridge and dropped down Loma Alta but took Gunsight, (Gunbarrel, Gunshot, Gunbullet, Bulletblast, Blastoff, Offtop, Downthe side, Rocketride, Whooeee) or whatever its called and then took the Railroad Grade back to Glen St. and pavement to Deer Park.
For me this was three new trails (down from San Geronimo, Gun?, and RR Grade) and one old trail in a new direction. And I was just complaining this morning about feeling like a rut slut always coming to Deer Park on Fridays!
STATS: 22.35 miles 3590 feet elevation gain Three Freaks Three new trails for El Mule-o One new personal best for the Vizier Great traction Big ass climb Jim back at home laughing
Eric Muhler
The Grand Vizier
ericmuhler@btceastbay.org
http://www.btceastbay.org