Not A Day Like Any Other Day, at Golden Eagle

What a great ride and a great day! I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it when our AC died just before going to bed Friday night. After getting everything ready so I could get a quick and early start from HB Saturday morning, I thought I might have to cancel and stick around the house to deal with it. Fortunately, my wife said not to worry about it and gave me the green light to go anyway.:thumbsup:

I usually try to avoid riding in the heat at all costs, so I was a little nervous about riding in the heat out there, but there was no way I was going to miss this ride (unless the wife had said no:unsure:). As everyone has said, the plan went off better than we could have imagined, especially with so many people involved. Rolling down the hill with the huge group of imtb riders following Wolfie, riding the clunker with bare metal rims on asphalt, and seeing the look on Mikie's face was priceless! Between that, seeing Mikie's reaction to the gift, and finally meeting Mikie and a bunch of other imtb members in person for the first time, it would have been worth the 2hr drive out there even without the ride! But what a ride it was! It was my first time on Golden Eagle and it was a blast! It was great to get out of OC to ride for a change, and a completely different kind of trail than what I'm used to. Once we tackled the fireroad climb (including a little extra fireroad since some of us apparently missed a singletrack turn-off on the way up), it was just mile after mile of fun, fast, flowy, rolling singletrack. And as long as you found some shade when you stopped, it didn't even seem that hot. There was a good breeze going and our train was flying through that single track fast enough that it was all smiles ... and then remembering to close your mouth as you rode through another cloud of bugs:sick: ... and then more smiles! Once we hit the final downhill, I had an ear to ear grin as I did my best to chase Tom the Bomb and attempt to keep up. We were flying! At least until the exposure towards the end, when I backed off and just cruised. I never would have thought to make the drive out to ride Golden Eagle if it hadn't been for this event, but I'm sure glad I did ... and it probably won't be the last time.

I could only stick around at the post-ride BBQ for a while, but it was great to hang out with everyone! I couldn't imagine hanging out with a better group of people coming from all over the place, with all different backgrounds, jobs, etc., with one common thread - mountain biking, this forum, and an appreciation for Mikie for building this community! Thank you, Mikie for building such a positive, fun, and friendly mountain biking community!

I wish I could have stayed longer, but I timed it just right ... slogged through LA back to OC with just enough time for a quick shower, then back on the road for a family BBQ with an old friend in south OC. Pretty much a perfect day ... at least until we returned to an 86 degree house with no AC at 11PM. Now I just have to wait for a part to arrive on Wed and I get to try to fix it myself before calling in some outside help to bring some relief.
 
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I was there.....
I talked the the wizard....
The reveal was truly emotional....
The ride was awesome (especially considering how hot it was)....
My bike worked so well on flow trail....
The post ride hydration was fun....;-)
(MattB's pineapple was soooo good)





.....the ride to SLO was long. The temp down in the valley was 110.
Lets do it again. When is the next surprise ride?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It was a good day. I suggest making this an annual thingy we can call it...
The Godfather's Gathering. Ride and tailgating.
Note to self... next time put away my sh-tuff. Someone took my fixed blade knife I had on the table. I was using it to cut open the packages of dogs and pop open beers.
Columbia River Knife and Tool 2388 Folts S.P.E.W Fixed Blade Razor Edge Knife https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006SK0SP8/?tag=imtbtrails-20
 
bigringrider101 said:
It was a good day. I suggest making this an annual thingy we can call it...
The Godfather's Gathering. Ride and tailgating.
Note to self... next time put away my sh-tuff. Someone took my fixed blade knife I had on the table. I was using it to cut open the packages of dogs and pop open beers.
Columbia River Knife and Tool 2388 Folts S.P.E.W Fixed Blade Razor Edge Knife https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006SK0SP8/?tag=imtbtrails-20
Click to expand...

Gotta be an accident... It'll turn up!
 
bigringrider101 said:
It was a good day. I suggest making this an annual thingy we can call it...
The Godfather's Gathering. Ride and tailgating.
Note to self... next time put away my sh-tuff. Someone took my fixed blade knife I had on the table. I was using it to cut open the packages of dogs and pop open beers.
Columbia River Knife and Tool 2388 Folts S.P.E.W Fixed Blade Razor Edge Knife https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006SK0SP8/?tag=imtbtrails-20
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was found. I think maybe @Voodoo Tom had it??? It was on top of that cement plaque/monument.
 
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