Yesterday, Chris and I went on our weekly trail ride. On the surface, this is a very easy thing to say; but then, it is also easy to say "the bomb exploded" or "the car went over the cliff" - simple phrases that, beneath their simplicity, conceal chaos, energy, confusion, and the certainty that someone is gonna shed some blood somewhere along the way...
We started out in high spirits. This was our fourth ride, and we were feeling confident in our knowledge of the trail and our growing capability on our bikes. I was wearing aquasox this time out; no blown sandals for me, and no hours of squishing in soggy shoes after fording Barton Creek. An unorthodox strategy to be sure, but it worked well. Our plan was to bike all the way to the Hill of Life, about 7 miles from the Spyglass trailhead, and then head back, stopping to cool off in the creek at one of the many spots that are available on the trail. A good plan, with concrete goals that would stretch us enough to let us know that we had been working.
The first kink in the plan showed up about 100m down the trail: part of my portside pedal fell off after hitting a rock. Now, I have probably one of the oldest and cheapest bikes on the trail, but it's doing the job until I can afford a new one... however, I have been fighting this crappy pedal problem since we started riding something other than asphalt. I really think that the people that designed this bike had no intention of it ever seeing a rock bigger than the end of your little finger. However, I was determined to press on and not let my crappy ride screw up the day... so, after testing the pedal to ensure I could ride with one piece missing, we pressed on.
From that point, the ride went pretty smoothly; the decision to wear the aquasox (Chris was wearing his also) proved to be fairly sound after we had forded the creek a couple of times, and we made record time to Loop 360, where we had had to turn back last week due to a blown sandal. We also met some cool people on the trail that gave us pointers on which trails to take, since we had never been that far before. There is one point along the trail that, if you take one branch, you are required to walk along a cliff face, carrying your bike in one hand while holding a chain in the other... which didn't sound like a lot of fun to us, but hey, that's why they call it "mountain" biking, right? Heh.
Fortunately for us, before we came to that point, we encountered Dennis, who has been biking these trails for years. He showed us where to cross the creek and avoid the cliffs, plus giving a couple of neophyte riders plenty of tips... then, he led us on the trail to Twin Falls, showing us that there are some really skillful and helpful people out on the trails - in fact, I have not found anyone on the trails, hiking or riding, that was not friendly and helpful - if only everyone could catch on to that vibe :) Dennis continued on from there to Twin Falls, while we pressed on to Sculpture Falls and the Hill of Life beyond.
It was about here that the second kink in the plan showed up: I had planned to bring some energy bars to give me a boost on the trail, and keep me from becoming fatigued too soon. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to write a note to that effect... with me, if it's not written down, it doesn't exist. I realized the error when I started thinking it would be a good time for some energy... and then I remembered that we hadn't stopped to pick anything up on the way. Oh, fun. I was still feeling ok, starting to get a bit tired, but nothing bad. Yet. Onward and upward!
In fairly short order, we reached the intersection at which, had we been feeling brave and macho, would have led us right up the Hill of Life - a long climb that will test the endurance and will of any who would venture onto her slope... but not, for us, today. We turned back and started making plans for our victory lunch... a bit prematurely, as it turned out. I started really feeling the burn, and was finding it hard to focus on the trail. Parts of the trail that were taken easily on the outbound leg were causing me some problems now. All signs were pointing to system failure before we could make it back to the Jeep.
This is where having a buddy is essential to any endeavour such as this. Chris was a great source of encouragement, giving me the will to push farther than I ever would have alone. He also kept tabs on how I was doing physically, whether I was gonna fall or not... we rested often, and I'm very glad he was so patient :) Every time I had to carry my bike over rocks (some that I had confidently ridden over on the outbound leg) was harder than the last. At one point, I was going downhill and a rock diverted my front wheel - and I found that I could no longer control the bike. A few seconds later, I found myself upside down (literally) on the side of the trail, with my bike somewhere behind me (it's all kind of fuzzy) and my right hand and knee hurting like hell. Fortunately, Chris was behind me and helped me up, got my bike, and after a brief rest we were on our way again. We made it to a place where we could get in the creek, and we jumped in to cool off; I cleaned up the best I could and just let the cool water restore some energy to me. It also helped with some of the soreness from the fall. Once we were out of the water, we got back on the trail and I was actually able to ride some rough spots without carrying the bike - but this didn't last very long, and then we came to a fork in the trail - left to continue the trail, right to the Loop 360 trailhead.
At this point, I was really feeling the fatigue, and to top it all off, my camelbak was empty... so, we made the decision that I would climb out at the Loop 360 trailhead, Chris would continue on to Spyglass and recover the Jeep, and then he would come pick me up. I was very bummed that I wasn't going to make it back to the trailhead, but I knew that if I continued down the trail, then I would more than likely have another spill... and possibly a broken bone. I had reached my limit. But at the same time, I had ridden farther than I had ever done on the trails, and I knew that I had given my total effort, and left it all on the trail... so I felt good about that. As Chris took off down the trail, I rode the entire way up the trail to the trailhead... one last effort to cap the day :) Once at the top, I found a picnic table, unloaded my gear and parked my bike, then got comfy and took a cat nap... some time later, Chris called me to find out where I was located; in short order he found me and we started to load my stuff.
Once we got my bike and gear loaded, it was off to Pluckers for a well-earned victory dinner! Let me tell you, beer and buffalo chicken sandwiches have never tasted so good! After dinner, we hit Dairy Queen for a bit of ice cream and then Chris dropped me off at my place... no Saturday night beer drinking for us that night! After a shower, I went in to the bedroom and crashed around 7pm... and woke up Sunday morning at 0730, some 12 hours later! I can't remember the last time I slept that long.
It was the hardest ride I have ever done in my life, I had two pretty hairy spills, and I know Chris was wondering if I would ever come out for another ride - but I had more fun yesterday than I showed; I just had no energy to express it :) I'm an outdoors kinda guy and I have been spending too much time inside (and it shows) but I am determined to get my lazy ass in gear and get in shape -even if it kills me (or not)!
