I Rode My Bike Today...

scan said:
Was able to ride with the bomber himself, after not seeing him for several months. I was able to ride this week due to working this coming weekend. Worked out for @Tom the Bomb to meet up near the bottom of Loch Leven, climb up to the Oaks restaurant , then go up a little further to the SART as it turns south. Perfect weather and trail conditions, just a little dusty. 5 miles of great ST , SART/ THG, then bomb down the fire road, chasing Tom haulin the mail!! My second time doing this loop after @Cyclotourist showed me about 5 weeks ago.
Tom with a vintage STR shirt!!. Keller peak in the background of the selfie.

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LOVE that STR jersey!
 
Wanted something different yesterday so I drove over to Fullerton to loop da floop. My plan was to cruise a first lap and attack a second. Started slow messing around with music on my phone along the first straight. Just before the first left hand turn a gravel guy came flying past me and flipped me the bird. Maybe he didn’t but it sure looked like one finger was up when he passed me. Well, that threw my cruise lap plan out the window. Dude wanted some, I gave him some chase.

He moved pretty quick so I had a tough time hugging his rear tire on the flat straights. After crossing the first street he of course stayed right to avoid the single track. Well, that’s no fun. I went left and watched him on my right. I saw he kept looking back to see where I was. Did I know this guy? Was he egging me on, on purpose? Who knows.

It took me longer to get through the ST than he did zooming on the flat. When I got to the light before the steep kicker, I didn’t see him. I blew through the street crossing and there he was. I decided to mash up the kicker and grab his rear tire. We were neck and neck at the top. Back on the tarmac, he was gone. I knew he would smoke me on the road so I saved some BPM and waited for my moment to strike. The climbs.

After passing the train tracks, I saw him just ahead in the dirt. Inching closer as we neared the soccer fields, I could smell victory. He reached the street crossing ahead of me without having to stop for cars. Damn. My turn and I had a brief stop but fortunately, not too long. This was my time to reel him in. Closer and closer I came until the turn up to the street. I was two bike lengths behind and decided it was time to stand up. Passing him across the street, down the shoot and across to the long dirt downhill. (Yes I’ve never really paid attn to the street names).

Back on the tarmac I could smell his fear getting closer. I would not let him pass. I must not let him pass. We hit all green lights before getting back in the dirt. Yes. He was five lengths behind me now as we came upon a bevy of electronic motorcycles blocking the path. I have a bell but as my mind was in race mode, something just came out of my mouth. “Yo motorcycles can you please share the trail real bicycles coming through!”. It just came out. I didn’t mean to be aggressive. I looked back and saw them block Mr. Gravel as well. He gave words as well and we continued on.

Circling the water tower, he was nowhere in sight. Did he stop? Did he go for the extra credit? Impossible. I kept moving quickly over the tree roots and up heart attack hill (or so I call it). It’s not a tough climb but it always seems to zap my power after pushing hard to that point. A quick stop at the top revealed his shadow looming behind me. There he was. Looking straight at me sipping my bottle, waiting for him to catch up. I offered a quick wave of my hand saying, “come on I haven’t got all day”.

I stayed just in front of him across the rollers. His ability to ride down the chop on that gravel bike was impressive. He stayed right on me until the street light. At the light, waiting on traffic, we shared a few nice words. I wanted to ask why the bird but I did not. Maybe I saw it wrong, maybe he was saying hey let’s go you’re number one! Maybe.

Green meant go and he was gone. The tarmac is his power zone and I gave a half assed chase. You’ll catch him in the climbs Jordan, you’ll catch him in the climbs. Be patient. At 24% Hill, I could see his struggle. It’s not a good hill to pass on so I stayed behind until it opened up. At the top I knew I’d be way ahead of him before hitting the tarmac again so I gunned it. The more space I could put between he and I, the better. I made the mistake of looking back for him near the bottom in the washboard chop section. Nearly lost control of my bike as the vibrations kept robbing me on hand grip.

He was nowhere in sight as I made my way to the lake. Half way around, still no gravel guru. Crossing the, he was still not there. Maybe he had enough fun for the day? Mechanical? I slowed the pace and jumped into the upper ST. Bobbing through the trees and hopping over the tree roots, THERE HE WAS. Down on the valley floor hauling the mail. He looked up with those devil eyes as he passed my position on the road. SOAB was doing a sneak attack!

Down the S-turn to the train tracks, he was a good bit ahead of me. Time to stand again and get him back into my comfort zone. Coming around the golf course, I could see his dust. All I needed to do was keep him within reach and I knew I could catch him at the Dam. Or so I would hope. The soil was wet coming around Hole 9. This was to my advantage running larger mountain bike tires. It would slow him enough to grab a few more bike lengths before the tunnel.

I knew there was no way he would choose to ride through the jungle section so this time, I also stayed left on the fire road. With the final turn ahead, we were nearly neck and neck again. This was it, time to empty the tank, now or never. Out of the saddle, mashing pedals, I passed him and let the afterburners go. My heart was pounding, sweat pouring, drooling on my bars. “Why am I doing this?”, I kept saying to myself. BECAUSE I LOVE BIKES! Later, my Apple Watch would tell me I hit 198bpm on that Dam Hill. I believe it.

I didn’t stop at the top to wait for him this time. Back in the golf parking lot I decided to give him some time to offer well wishes and thanks for a solid chase. The problem was, he was never to be seen again. I waited a couple minutes then pushed on up the street to the courthouse. Looking back for him the entire way, he was not there.

At my truck, I scanned the lot looking for my new adversary. Nada. Nope. He must have gone another way home. Hopefully, okay and riding strong. Grabbing a cold drink from my cooler, it got me thinking. “Did I imagine him, was I really chasing someone?”. Maybe I was just a little more tired than I thought I was. Needless to say, the second lap was out of order. Not happening. I left almost all of me out there at the Floop of all places. Until next time….

I hope you enjoyed my race report. Yes, I made the Floop a lot more exciting than it is. It probably looked a lot more like two older guys on the struggle bus looking back at each other with GET OFF MY LAWN faces. But hey, I love riding my bike.

Cheers
 
JordanHMay said:
Wanted something different yesterday so I drove over to Fullerton to loop da floop. My plan was to cruise a first lap and attack a second. Started slow messing around with music on my phone along the first straight. Just before the first left hand turn a gravel guy came flying past me and flipped me the bird. Maybe he didn’t but it sure looked like one finger was up when he passed me. Well, that threw my cruise lap plan out the window. Dude wanted some, I gave him some chase.

He moved pretty quick so I had a tough time hugging his rear tire on the flat straights. After crossing the first street he of course stayed right to avoid the single track. Well, that’s no fun. I went left and watched him on my right. I saw he kept looking back to see where I was. Did I know this guy? Was he egging me on, on purpose? Who knows.

It took me longer to get through the ST than he did zooming on the flat. When I got to the light before the steep kicker, I didn’t see him. I blew through the street crossing and there he was. I decided to mash up the kicker and grab his rear tire. We were neck and neck at the top. Back on the tarmac, he was gone. I knew he would smoke me on the road so I saved some BPM and waited for my moment to strike. The climbs.

After passing the train tracks, I saw him just ahead in the dirt. Inching closer as we neared the soccer fields, I could smell victory. He reached the street crossing ahead of me without having to stop for cars. Damn. My turn and I had a brief stop but fortunately, not too long. This was my time to reel him in. Closer and closer I came until the turn up to the street. I was two bike lengths behind and decided it was time to stand up. Passing him across the street, down the shoot and across to the long dirt downhill. (Yes I’ve never really paid attn to the street names).

Back on the tarmac I could smell his fear getting closer. I would not let him pass. I must not let him pass. We hit all green lights before getting back in the dirt. Yes. He was five lengths behind me now as we came upon a bevy of electronic motorcycles blocking the path. I have a bell but as my mind was in race mode, something just came out of my mouth. “Yo motorcycles can you please share the trail real bicycles coming through!”. It just came out. I didn’t mean to be aggressive. I looked back and saw them block Mr. Gravel as well. He gave words as well and we continued on.

Circling the water tower, he was nowhere in sight. Did he stop? Did he go for the extra credit? Impossible. I kept moving quickly over the tree roots and up heart attack hill (or so I call it). It’s not a tough climb but it always seems to zap my power after pushing hard to that point. A quick stop at the top revealed his shadow looming behind me. There he was. Looking straight at me sipping my bottle, waiting for him to catch up. I offered a quick wave of my hand saying, “come on I haven’t got all day”.

I stayed just in front of him across the rollers. His ability to ride down the chop on that gravel bike was impressive. He stayed right on me until the street light. At the light, waiting on traffic, we shared a few nice words. I wanted to ask why the bird but I did not. Maybe I saw it wrong, maybe he was saying hey let’s go you’re number one! Maybe.

Green meant go and he was gone. The tarmac is his power zone and I gave a half assed chase. You’ll catch him in the climbs Jordan, you’ll catch him in the climbs. Be patient. At 24% Hill, I could see his struggle. It’s not a good hill to pass on so I stayed behind until it opened up. At the top I knew I’d be way ahead of him before hitting the tarmac again so I gunned it. The more space I could put between he and I, the better. I made the mistake of looking back for him near the bottom in the washboard chop section. Nearly lost control of my bike as the vibrations kept robbing me on hand grip.

He was nowhere in sight as I made my way to the lake. Half way around, still no gravel guru. Crossing the, he was still not there. Maybe he had enough fun for the day? Mechanical? I slowed the pace and jumped into the upper ST. Bobbing through the trees and hopping over the tree roots, THERE HE WAS. Down on the valley floor hauling the mail. He looked up with those devil eyes as he passed my position on the road. SOAB was doing a sneak attack!

Down the S-turn to the train tracks, he was a good bit ahead of me. Time to stand again and get him back into my comfort zone. Coming around the golf course, I could see his dust. All I needed to do was keep him within reach and I knew I could catch him at the Dam. Or so I would hope. The soil was wet coming around Hole 9. This was to my advantage running larger mountain bike tires. It would slow him enough to grab a few more bike lengths before the tunnel.

I knew there was no way he would choose to ride through the jungle section so this time, I also stayed left on the fire road. With the final turn ahead, we were nearly neck and neck again. This was it, time to empty the tank, now or never. Out of the saddle, mashing pedals, I passed him and let the afterburners go. My heart was pounding, sweat pouring, drooling on my bars. “Why am I doing this?”, I kept saying to myself. BECAUSE I LOVE BIKES! Later, my Apple Watch would tell me I hit 198bpm on that Dam Hill. I believe it.

I didn’t stop at the top to wait for him this time. Back in the golf parking lot I decided to give him some time to offer well wishes and thanks for a solid chase. The problem was, he was never to be seen again. I waited a couple minutes then pushed on up the street to the courthouse. Looking back for him the entire way, he was not there.

At my truck, I scanned the lot looking for my new adversary. Nada. Nope. He must have gone another way home. Hopefully, okay and riding strong. Grabbing a cold drink from my cooler, it got me thinking. “Did I imagine him, was I really chasing someone?”. Maybe I was just a little more tired than I thought I was. Needless to say, the second lap was out of order. Not happening. I left almost all of me out there at the Floop of all places. Until next time….

I hope you enjoyed my race report. Yes, I made the Floop a lot more exciting than it is. It probably looked a lot more like two older guys on the struggle bus looking back at each other with GET OFF MY LAWN faces. But hey, I love riding my bike.

Cheers
Click to expand...

That was rad. You gotta do something to make the Floop enjoyable.
 
JordanHMay said:
Wanted something different yesterday so I drove over to Fullerton to loop da floop. My plan was to cruise a first lap and attack a second. Started slow messing around with music on my phone along the first straight. Just before the first left hand turn a gravel guy came flying past me and flipped me the bird. Maybe he didn’t but it sure looked like one finger was up when he passed me. Well, that threw my cruise lap plan out the window. Dude wanted some, I gave him some chase.

He moved pretty quick so I had a tough time hugging his rear tire on the flat straights. After crossing the first street he of course stayed right to avoid the single track. Well, that’s no fun. I went left and watched him on my right. I saw he kept looking back to see where I was. Did I know this guy? Was he egging me on, on purpose? Who knows.

It took me longer to get through the ST than he did zooming on the flat. When I got to the light before the steep kicker, I didn’t see him. I blew through the street crossing and there he was. I decided to mash up the kicker and grab his rear tire. We were neck and neck at the top. Back on the tarmac, he was gone. I knew he would smoke me on the road so I saved some BPM and waited for my moment to strike. The climbs.

After passing the train tracks, I saw him just ahead in the dirt. Inching closer as we neared the soccer fields, I could smell victory. He reached the street crossing ahead of me without having to stop for cars. Damn. My turn and I had a brief stop but fortunately, not too long. This was my time to reel him in. Closer and closer I came until the turn up to the street. I was two bike lengths behind and decided it was time to stand up. Passing him across the street, down the shoot and across to the long dirt downhill. (Yes I’ve never really paid attn to the street names).

Back on the tarmac I could smell his fear getting closer. I would not let him pass. I must not let him pass. We hit all green lights before getting back in the dirt. Yes. He was five lengths behind me now as we came upon a bevy of electronic motorcycles blocking the path. I have a bell but as my mind was in race mode, something just came out of my mouth. “Yo motorcycles can you please share the trail real bicycles coming through!”. It just came out. I didn’t mean to be aggressive. I looked back and saw them block Mr. Gravel as well. He gave words as well and we continued on.

Circling the water tower, he was nowhere in sight. Did he stop? Did he go for the extra credit? Impossible. I kept moving quickly over the tree roots and up heart attack hill (or so I call it). It’s not a tough climb but it always seems to zap my power after pushing hard to that point. A quick stop at the top revealed his shadow looming behind me. There he was. Looking straight at me sipping my bottle, waiting for him to catch up. I offered a quick wave of my hand saying, “come on I haven’t got all day”.

I stayed just in front of him across the rollers. His ability to ride down the chop on that gravel bike was impressive. He stayed right on me until the street light. At the light, waiting on traffic, we shared a few nice words. I wanted to ask why the bird but I did not. Maybe I saw it wrong, maybe he was saying hey let’s go you’re number one! Maybe.

Green meant go and he was gone. The tarmac is his power zone and I gave a half assed chase. You’ll catch him in the climbs Jordan, you’ll catch him in the climbs. Be patient. At 24% Hill, I could see his struggle. It’s not a good hill to pass on so I stayed behind until it opened up. At the top I knew I’d be way ahead of him before hitting the tarmac again so I gunned it. The more space I could put between he and I, the better. I made the mistake of looking back for him near the bottom in the washboard chop section. Nearly lost control of my bike as the vibrations kept robbing me on hand grip.

He was nowhere in sight as I made my way to the lake. Half way around, still no gravel guru. Crossing the, he was still not there. Maybe he had enough fun for the day? Mechanical? I slowed the pace and jumped into the upper ST. Bobbing through the trees and hopping over the tree roots, THERE HE WAS. Down on the valley floor hauling the mail. He looked up with those devil eyes as he passed my position on the road. SOAB was doing a sneak attack!

Down the S-turn to the train tracks, he was a good bit ahead of me. Time to stand again and get him back into my comfort zone. Coming around the golf course, I could see his dust. All I needed to do was keep him within reach and I knew I could catch him at the Dam. Or so I would hope. The soil was wet coming around Hole 9. This was to my advantage running larger mountain bike tires. It would slow him enough to grab a few more bike lengths before the tunnel.

I knew there was no way he would choose to ride through the jungle section so this time, I also stayed left on the fire road. With the final turn ahead, we were nearly neck and neck again. This was it, time to empty the tank, now or never. Out of the saddle, mashing pedals, I passed him and let the afterburners go. My heart was pounding, sweat pouring, drooling on my bars. “Why am I doing this?”, I kept saying to myself. BECAUSE I LOVE BIKES! Later, my Apple Watch would tell me I hit 198bpm on that Dam Hill. I believe it.

I didn’t stop at the top to wait for him this time. Back in the golf parking lot I decided to give him some time to offer well wishes and thanks for a solid chase. The problem was, he was never to be seen again. I waited a couple minutes then pushed on up the street to the courthouse. Looking back for him the entire way, he was not there.

At my truck, I scanned the lot looking for my new adversary. Nada. Nope. He must have gone another way home. Hopefully, okay and riding strong. Grabbing a cold drink from my cooler, it got me thinking. “Did I imagine him, was I really chasing someone?”. Maybe I was just a little more tired than I thought I was. Needless to say, the second lap was out of order. Not happening. I left almost all of me out there at the Floop of all places. Until next time….

I hope you enjoyed my race report. Yes, I made the Floop a lot more exciting than it is. It probably looked a lot more like two older guys on the struggle bus looking back at each other with GET OFF MY LAWN faces. But hey, I love riding my bike.

Cheers
Click to expand...
Highly enjoyable read! That sounds like a ride @redwoods and I had on Wednesday afternoon.
 
That was a cool loop Fran. You picked a great day.I will do that one again. You Got the Moves like Jagger!
BALLLLLLLZ BABY!
scan said:
Was able to ride with the bomber himself, after not seeing him for several months. I was able to ride this week due to working this coming weekend. Worked out for @Tom the Bomb to meet up near the bottom of Loch Leven, climb up to the Oaks restaurant , then go up a little further to the SART as it turns south. Perfect weather and trail conditions, just a little dusty, 5 miles of great ST , SART/ THG, then bomb down the fire road, chasing Tom haulin the mail!! My second time doing this loop after @Cyclotourist showed me about 5 weeks ago.
Tom with a vintage STR shirt!!. Keller peak in the background in the selfie.

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JordanHMay said:
Wanted something different yesterday so I drove over to Fullerton to loop da floop. My plan was to cruise a first lap and attack a second. Started slow messing around with music on my phone along the first straight. Just before the first left hand turn a gravel guy came flying past me and flipped me the bird. Maybe he didn’t but it sure looked like one finger was up when he passed me. Well, that threw my cruise lap plan out the window. Dude wanted some, I gave him some chase.

He moved pretty quick so I had a tough time hugging his rear tire on the flat straights. After crossing the first street he of course stayed right to avoid the single track. Well, that’s no fun. I went left and watched him on my right. I saw he kept looking back to see where I was. Did I know this guy? Was he egging me on, on purpose? Who knows.

It took me longer to get through the ST than he did zooming on the flat. When I got to the light before the steep kicker, I didn’t see him. I blew through the street crossing and there he was. I decided to mash up the kicker and grab his rear tire. We were neck and neck at the top. Back on the tarmac, he was gone. I knew he would smoke me on the road so I saved some BPM and waited for my moment to strike. The climbs.

After passing the train tracks, I saw him just ahead in the dirt. Inching closer as we neared the soccer fields, I could smell victory. He reached the street crossing ahead of me without having to stop for cars. Damn. My turn and I had a brief stop but fortunately, not too long. This was my time to reel him in. Closer and closer I came until the turn up to the street. I was two bike lengths behind and decided it was time to stand up. Passing him across the street, down the shoot and across to the long dirt downhill. (Yes I’ve never really paid attn to the street names).

Back on the tarmac I could smell his fear getting closer. I would not let him pass. I must not let him pass. We hit all green lights before getting back in the dirt. Yes. He was five lengths behind me now as we came upon a bevy of electronic motorcycles blocking the path. I have a bell but as my mind was in race mode, something just came out of my mouth. “Yo motorcycles can you please share the trail real bicycles coming through!”. It just came out. I didn’t mean to be aggressive. I looked back and saw them block Mr. Gravel as well. He gave words as well and we continued on.

Circling the water tower, he was nowhere in sight. Did he stop? Did he go for the extra credit? Impossible. I kept moving quickly over the tree roots and up heart attack hill (or so I call it). It’s not a tough climb but it always seems to zap my power after pushing hard to that point. A quick stop at the top revealed his shadow looming behind me. There he was. Looking straight at me sipping my bottle, waiting for him to catch up. I offered a quick wave of my hand saying, “come on I haven’t got all day”.

I stayed just in front of him across the rollers. His ability to ride down the chop on that gravel bike was impressive. He stayed right on me until the street light. At the light, waiting on traffic, we shared a few nice words. I wanted to ask why the bird but I did not. Maybe I saw it wrong, maybe he was saying hey let’s go you’re number one! Maybe.

Green meant go and he was gone. The tarmac is his power zone and I gave a half assed chase. You’ll catch him in the climbs Jordan, you’ll catch him in the climbs. Be patient. At 24% Hill, I could see his struggle. It’s not a good hill to pass on so I stayed behind until it opened up. At the top I knew I’d be way ahead of him before hitting the tarmac again so I gunned it. The more space I could put between he and I, the better. I made the mistake of looking back for him near the bottom in the washboard chop section. Nearly lost control of my bike as the vibrations kept robbing me on hand grip.

He was nowhere in sight as I made my way to the lake. Half way around, still no gravel guru. Crossing the, he was still not there. Maybe he had enough fun for the day? Mechanical? I slowed the pace and jumped into the upper ST. Bobbing through the trees and hopping over the tree roots, THERE HE WAS. Down on the valley floor hauling the mail. He looked up with those devil eyes as he passed my position on the road. SOAB was doing a sneak attack!

Down the S-turn to the train tracks, he was a good bit ahead of me. Time to stand again and get him back into my comfort zone. Coming around the golf course, I could see his dust. All I needed to do was keep him within reach and I knew I could catch him at the Dam. Or so I would hope. The soil was wet coming around Hole 9. This was to my advantage running larger mountain bike tires. It would slow him enough to grab a few more bike lengths before the tunnel.

I knew there was no way he would choose to ride through the jungle section so this time, I also stayed left on the fire road. With the final turn ahead, we were nearly neck and neck again. This was it, time to empty the tank, now or never. Out of the saddle, mashing pedals, I passed him and let the afterburners go. My heart was pounding, sweat pouring, drooling on my bars. “Why am I doing this?”, I kept saying to myself. BECAUSE I LOVE BIKES! Later, my Apple Watch would tell me I hit 198bpm on that Dam Hill. I believe it.

I didn’t stop at the top to wait for him this time. Back in the golf parking lot I decided to give him some time to offer well wishes and thanks for a solid chase. The problem was, he was never to be seen again. I waited a couple minutes then pushed on up the street to the courthouse. Looking back for him the entire way, he was not there.

At my truck, I scanned the lot looking for my new adversary. Nada. Nope. He must have gone another way home. Hopefully, okay and riding strong. Grabbing a cold drink from my cooler, it got me thinking. “Did I imagine him, was I really chasing someone?”. Maybe I was just a little more tired than I thought I was. Needless to say, the second lap was out of order. Not happening. I left almost all of me out there at the Floop of all places. Until next time….

I hope you enjoyed my race report. Yes, I made the Floop a lot more exciting than it is. It probably looked a lot more like two older guys on the struggle bus looking back at each other with GET OFF MY LAWN faces. But hey, I love riding my bike.

Cheers
Click to expand...
This was fan-flipping-tastic. At first glance I thought, ugh! Too many words....... then I got sucked in! You sucked me in! I was there to the very finish. When does the movie come out? :thumbsup:
 
JordanHMay said:
Wanted something different yesterday so I drove over to Fullerton to loop da floop. My plan was to cruise a first lap and attack a second. Started slow messing around with music on my phone along the first straight. Just before the first left hand turn a gravel guy came flying past me and flipped me the bird. Maybe he didn’t but it sure looked like one finger was up when he passed me. Well, that threw my cruise lap plan out the window. Dude wanted some, I gave him some chase.

He moved pretty quick so I had a tough time hugging his rear tire on the flat straights. After crossing the first street he of course stayed right to avoid the single track. Well, that’s no fun. I went left and watched him on my right. I saw he kept looking back to see where I was. Did I know this guy? Was he egging me on, on purpose? Who knows.

It took me longer to get through the ST than he did zooming on the flat. When I got to the light before the steep kicker, I didn’t see him. I blew through the street crossing and there he was. I decided to mash up the kicker and grab his rear tire. We were neck and neck at the top. Back on the tarmac, he was gone. I knew he would smoke me on the road so I saved some BPM and waited for my moment to strike. The climbs.

After passing the train tracks, I saw him just ahead in the dirt. Inching closer as we neared the soccer fields, I could smell victory. He reached the street crossing ahead of me without having to stop for cars. Damn. My turn and I had a brief stop but fortunately, not too long. This was my time to reel him in. Closer and closer I came until the turn up to the street. I was two bike lengths behind and decided it was time to stand up. Passing him across the street, down the shoot and across to the long dirt downhill. (Yes I’ve never really paid attn to the street names).

Back on the tarmac I could smell his fear getting closer. I would not let him pass. I must not let him pass. We hit all green lights before getting back in the dirt. Yes. He was five lengths behind me now as we came upon a bevy of electronic motorcycles blocking the path. I have a bell but as my mind was in race mode, something just came out of my mouth. “Yo motorcycles can you please share the trail real bicycles coming through!”. It just came out. I didn’t mean to be aggressive. I looked back and saw them block Mr. Gravel as well. He gave words as well and we continued on.

Circling the water tower, he was nowhere in sight. Did he stop? Did he go for the extra credit? Impossible. I kept moving quickly over the tree roots and up heart attack hill (or so I call it). It’s not a tough climb but it always seems to zap my power after pushing hard to that point. A quick stop at the top revealed his shadow looming behind me. There he was. Looking straight at me sipping my bottle, waiting for him to catch up. I offered a quick wave of my hand saying, “come on I haven’t got all day”.

I stayed just in front of him across the rollers. His ability to ride down the chop on that gravel bike was impressive. He stayed right on me until the street light. At the light, waiting on traffic, we shared a few nice words. I wanted to ask why the bird but I did not. Maybe I saw it wrong, maybe he was saying hey let’s go you’re number one! Maybe.

Green meant go and he was gone. The tarmac is his power zone and I gave a half assed chase. You’ll catch him in the climbs Jordan, you’ll catch him in the climbs. Be patient. At 24% Hill, I could see his struggle. It’s not a good hill to pass on so I stayed behind until it opened up. At the top I knew I’d be way ahead of him before hitting the tarmac again so I gunned it. The more space I could put between he and I, the better. I made the mistake of looking back for him near the bottom in the washboard chop section. Nearly lost control of my bike as the vibrations kept robbing me on hand grip.

He was nowhere in sight as I made my way to the lake. Half way around, still no gravel guru. Crossing the, he was still not there. Maybe he had enough fun for the day? Mechanical? I slowed the pace and jumped into the upper ST. Bobbing through the trees and hopping over the tree roots, THERE HE WAS. Down on the valley floor hauling the mail. He looked up with those devil eyes as he passed my position on the road. SOAB was doing a sneak attack!

Down the S-turn to the train tracks, he was a good bit ahead of me. Time to stand again and get him back into my comfort zone. Coming around the golf course, I could see his dust. All I needed to do was keep him within reach and I knew I could catch him at the Dam. Or so I would hope. The soil was wet coming around Hole 9. This was to my advantage running larger mountain bike tires. It would slow him enough to grab a few more bike lengths before the tunnel.

I knew there was no way he would choose to ride through the jungle section so this time, I also stayed left on the fire road. With the final turn ahead, we were nearly neck and neck again. This was it, time to empty the tank, now or never. Out of the saddle, mashing pedals, I passed him and let the afterburners go. My heart was pounding, sweat pouring, drooling on my bars. “Why am I doing this?”, I kept saying to myself. BECAUSE I LOVE BIKES! Later, my Apple Watch would tell me I hit 198bpm on that Dam Hill. I believe it.

I didn’t stop at the top to wait for him this time. Back in the golf parking lot I decided to give him some time to offer well wishes and thanks for a solid chase. The problem was, he was never to be seen again. I waited a couple minutes then pushed on up the street to the courthouse. Looking back for him the entire way, he was not there.

At my truck, I scanned the lot looking for my new adversary. Nada. Nope. He must have gone another way home. Hopefully, okay and riding strong. Grabbing a cold drink from my cooler, it got me thinking. “Did I imagine him, was I really chasing someone?”. Maybe I was just a little more tired than I thought I was. Needless to say, the second lap was out of order. Not happening. I left almost all of me out there at the Floop of all places. Until next time….

I hope you enjoyed my race report. Yes, I made the Floop a lot more exciting than it is. It probably looked a lot more like two older guys on the struggle bus looking back at each other with GET OFF MY LAWN faces. But hey, I love riding my bike.

Cheers
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:thumbsup::notworthy: Fabulous, gripping report and, apparently, one hell of an effort, Jordan. Extra points for being sporting! Thanks for taking the time to clack it out. You just made Strava seem boring and lame as fuk. Not that I'd really know...
 
Ok... I waited a day to post my little ride. I wanted some space after @JordanHMay 's masterpiece. :laugh:

I headed over to Cherry Canyon for a quick ride yesterday morning. Cherry really is a fun little park... fast and twisty with the occasional rocky section. If you add in the off-menu trails, it's even more fun.

And like Jordan, I did see some gravel guys. My encounter was more comical than anything, though. After exiting the Catalina-Verdugo loop, there is a short steep section of fire road. It's really rutted, and I've only cleaned it going uphill on the single speed once. As I was plugging along in the granny gear, about 15 gravel guys came down it completely out of control. Some in my line, some wadded up in the ruts, some with feet off the pedals... Roadie carnage. :Roflmao

12/2300

Danger, Will Robinson
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Oaks today.. love this place... Not too crowded for post covid...sat am.. Peralta is back on the menu..
Finished w grasshopper.. getting back to normal... Clearing things again but promised wife no chunky so no waterfall..
No waterfall.. no waterfall... Just don't do it!!!
Remember u had dust for broken wrist bones...
I need intervention...floop not like crack..
 
No big report today sadly. But a good ride was had. South county loop into Casper’s. Pretty empty today just two other riders spotted all day. Made my way over to Skink, back to Tijeras, up to Bell and out.

Did try out some new tires and so far so good. Very grippy and controlled. Similar to the Rekon but rolls faster. Time will tell the tale. Specialized Ground Control 29x2.35 f/r.

35/5100.

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JordanHMay said:
No big report today sadly. But a good ride was had. South county loop into Casper’s. Pretty empty today just two other riders spotted all day. Made my way over to Skink, back to Tijeras, up to Bell and out.

Did try out some new tires and so far so good. Very grippy and controlled. Similar to the Rekon but rolls faster. Time will tell the tale. Specialized Ground Control 29x2.35 f/r.

35/5100.

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I find the Rekon are not controlled and even less grippy.
 
DangerDirtyD said:
I find the Rekon are not controlled and even less grippy.
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I can’t argue that. The Rekon is really good in a flat line. Good on fire roads. Coming down loose rock though is not it’s strong suit. I’ve adapted to them as they’ve been my most consistent tire. I’m hoping the GC is better at the loose stuff. I do like the more rounded knob profile. Tall side knobs don’t agree with me. I always find the edge which ends up trying to wash out.
 
Yep. We did the patented Super Berry. It was glorious! And then there were tacos.

The entire route is in incredible shape. :inlove:

24.5/3000

Exposure? What exposure?
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Go see it for yourself...
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Snake Man draining the pond.
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Bottom of the switchbacks...
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Everyone smiles on this route...
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Mixed it up a little today. And by mixed it up, I simply mean I did the same old trails, but in a different order. Well, actually, I hadn't ridden 5-Oaks in a while, but @Obsidian or maybe it was @sir crashalot said it was pretty good, so I gave it a cautious shot. Top is hammered with braking bumps, but the Rail kinda likes those. The chute is a bit loose and rutted, but doable at pace. The bottom is about as good as I've seen it, save for the two outsloped berms - but even those have been smoothed a bit. The rock armoring in places is nice - not pavers. I went slow because I didn't know what to expect. My caution was unnecessary.

Then up Cholla and up Lynx extra credit, turn around and drop Lynx from above. Definitely fun. Definitely teeth rattling.

From there I went "down" Coyote and climbed Mathis, then headed back for Rock-It. R-I is always fun. I had to pass a bike or two, but they didn't hold me up. No hikers. Fast run. Bike was awesome!

That's it. About 12 miles, 2050' 1/2 a water bottle and a metric Sh!t-ton of smiles! Bikes are fun! :thumbsup: :cool: :)
 
Santiago Oaks this afternoon. I really do not like riding after I eat, but the F1 race this morning took forever and I don't like riding in fog anyway, so I ate lunch and waited for the sun.

I started about 1 PM and it was an eBike fest out there. I must have seen 15 of them. That battle is over. My favorite was a lady on an Orbea who was walking up Chutes and later walking up Barham. How bad do you have to suck to not get an eBike up easy hills?

Anyway, Barham X2, Yucca, Peralta, Fenceline & Ridgeline for the downs. Mostly clean runs except Barham (where both times people were walking up the fun side bits instead of the fire road part) and Peralta where I had to dodge hikers with little children and little dogs scattered all over the first steep rocky part, because where else would they be? LOL.).

I really did not feel that great with belly full of food and first ride in two weeks, plus the fact that I did a workout this morning. However, my bike felt great. My lower link service seems to have done wonders. I set a Google reminder to do one every six months from now on. :thumbsup:

Weather was nice. Sun was out, 62ish and super hazy. I am hoping to get another ride in Tuesday or Wednesday as it looks like some rain might be coming Thursday. Let's go! :laugh:

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I rode my bike today and it sucked.
Temps near 40° and thick fog that made the dirt stick to the tires and everything else as slippery as a catfish butt.

I skipped the 3 mile road ride that I use for the warm up. Hey, Maxis DH's arn't cheap . So I took the car and bike to the trailhead.

My plan was to do 2 runs. Both to the top of the mountain, flip a U, and cruze to the bottom. I took the GoPro and thought if I didn't haul hay you could see the true fun of this trail.

The first part of the ride is 600' climb in about 1 mile. I didn't get 1/4 mile in and had to dismount and walk. It usually takes me a mile or so to warm up. Didn't have enough warm up. This was the theme of the ride. Made it to the top after a long fight. The bike must have been 40# by now with all the mud stuck everywhere.........Suck #1

Hit the record on the GoPro and off I went. Cruzed the downhill singletrack fighting to keep a line. No traction and everything slippery. Got to the nemesis section and said if I am going to eat a rock salad, atleast it will be recorded......
I was slow going, but I made it. Victory#1

Made it to the DH and that where the suck meter was redlining. Remember, I wanted to go slow on this part for the recording. My timing was off, parts of the trail were overgrown, got stuck in a few ruts, and everything was slippery as cow snot the entire way. Suck #2

The 2nd section of the DH was interesting to say the least. This has a section that will take a while before I give it a try. I need to study the options. I couldn't hold a line if my life depended on it. No rythm whatsoever. I felt like it was my first time riding a bike. I even got stuck in a rut and ended up in the shrub. This section ends on the street. Suck# 3

Did I mention the street back is maybe 1/4 mile and ends up at the top of Mt. Everest???? My bike, my body, and my mind were not ready for this. Chug,chug,chug this old train made it to the top. Suck# 4

Didn't do the 2nd loop. Suck# 5

I need to review the recording and see if it came out. It will take a few days, but if it did, I won't edit out all the near misses, so you can agree, this ride sucked.

In the end, even if this was not a fun ride, I'm glad I did it. Next, hanging out with the pups next to the warm fire.

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