OK folks, sorry for the delays. Here we go. Start from the bottom.
So after my latest night to date and a crappy sleep (in the master suite which I dished out $ to have the privilege of using – worth every penny) we awoke and each prepared breakfasts and discussed the day. (Bert and Ernie are sharing a room with 2 twins and Jeepus is on the couch)
Sly and I left our bikes at Poison Spider bike shop to have bearing and axle work done. Fortunately the shop had them ready for us to ride today. We picked them up by noon and returned to load our gear then hit the trails. I wasn't feeling too enthusiastic about riding, and actually considered spending the day reading my "Dummies Guide to Musical Theory" book.
We arrived at the trailhead and began to head up the road. Hmmnn, feeling good. It started with some staircase ledges and drops and then the climb began. We all did our own pace and we climbed away. Today I was feeling better and just flowed along at my own pace at the front of the group, originally with Eric. On a few occasions I'd stop and check and wait for a few minutes, but the pace wasn't particularly fast and I was sick of the whole stop and go type of riding. At one point, immediately after completing a few challenging ledge climbs, there was Jeepus. We poked along and stopped at an intersection. Eventually I opted to keep moving along and headed to the top alone. Total climb time was around 48 minutes with 5-8 minutes of waiting and then another 30 minutes until we were all together. I took the time to explore the views of the canyon and mountains, always a little wary of the edge.
The descent! Jeepus had the helmet cam (an improvised version as the Samsung sh*t the bed this morning). Sly took off and I stayed close so Jeepus could capture us both. We wove through, over, and off of big rocks scattered about on our high speed descent. The new bearings made the Intense feel tight and responsive but the bikes took a major beating and we scampered over the challenging terrain at high speeds. The three of us remained together for the descent, stopping and waiting a couple of times to be sure Eric hadn't fallen to his death. As you select your high speed options (and they quickly narrow) you might find yourself faced with a drop-off or very rough descent but you have to take it to keep going. If you don't have the speed to launch it, there sometimes is a pucker factor as you hope your geometry and fork will absorb the impact. After an exhilarating descent we were back at the van and off to our next site. After being tailed by the cameraman, through some potentially amazing footage, we realized the camera hadn't recorded.
Sovereign Trail - it took a while to find it (and I almost opted to read my book instead) but we were there. It was cool and only about 2 hours of daylight remained. We headed out and found the trail. Despite many recommendations, we couldn't figure out why it was so highly rated. We took the green trail, but sections of rock were joined by sand, which was frequently unrideable. I finally just poked along hanging out with granny. The views, again, incredible. Felt good on the way back and just flowed along helping to ensure the group stayed together. Blue trail was much better and the last 30 minutes was a lot of fun. Today I got used to my 5.5 and its handling characteristics. I felt fine and could ride at whatever pace I chose without the nagging fatigue that I'd felt in previous days. We got back to the van and headed back to the condo.
After a great stretch in the hot tub, the guys did a group stir fry while I cooked a giant T-bone on the bbq. A few cocktails and then finally sitting down to catch up on the blog.
We have a good group. Paul and I are both balanced at the climbs and descents while Eric and Sly have their specialties. On the trail it all works, changing riding orders and just having fun. We all have our personality quarks, but are usually mature enough to recognize and work around them.
So, to date: great riding, lots of fun, some fitness and happy to be away; and back on my bike! I miss my wife and dogs too.
More soon.
Uncle Mike
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