SNOW, SNOW, GO AWAY ...

At the top of the Wall, which we had the good sense not to ride, we came across Robin Smith and Tjalling Ypma, one of whom (I forget who) took the above pic. Thanks!

Saturday, the Titanium Cowboys headed up to Galby where, guess what, we ran into snow for a change. About 4 to 6 to 8 inches starting at 900 feet. Luckily, someone (or several someones) in a truck (or several trucks) had dug some nice tracks for us (see below) and staying in them as far as we could, we made it just about to the top.

Whoever made the tracks didn't go all the way so I walked the last stretch to get the below photo. The hard, crunchy, fairly-impossible-to-ride-through snow is so deep my bike is standing up on its own.

The way down was Woopsie Whoodle (which we bailed out on halfway down because of snow), the Three Pigs and the back trails at Padden which were mostly snow-free. Nice running into Cathy Crouch who I tried riding all of Galbraith with one day last October. (See below post.) She was making her way up towards the towers, taking avantage of aforementioned truck track.

Sunday, we did something we haven't done together for almost a year--fired up the road bikes for 30-some miles in the county. What larks! First road ride for Johnny Boy Clark since last May when he broke his collarbone. (Ten days after I'd broken mine.) Saw tons of eagles and swans on the way out to Wiser Lake; we rode back on Noon Road which delivers one to the Mount Baker Highway via a series of stinging hills. 

Two great days of riding! 

ALL OF GALBRAITH MOUNTAIN IN ONE DAY (ISH)

Saturday, on a crisp fall day with nary a cloud in all the Northwest, a group of us attempted to do the incredibly stupid: ride all of Galbraith Mountain's trails in a single day. That's like 72 or 78 or, as it felt like, 70 million. The intrepid riders were Cathy Crouch (above, ripping it up on Atomic Dog, or Atomic Dong, one of the two), Steve Hindman (the mastermind behind our evil plan), Steve Vanderstaay, and myself.

Above, is our list of trails and the order in which we'd attack them--Steve H. did an incredible job putting it together. He and Cathy made it the whole way--yay, hurray and huzzah!--riding the last couple hours aided by lights and finishing at 7:45 p.m. under starlight. (We'd gotten underway at 7:30 a.m.) I made it midway through the third column before failing sunlight and lack of lights forced me to abandon. (What looks like a fourth column is actually just notes, not trail names, so I made it pretty far.) Steve Vanderstaay, who knew he'd only be riding as long as his knee would allow, rode with us for about the first six hours. (Great job!)

Below, is the map of what I rode as recorded by my Garmin Edge 500--kooky, huh? In all, I pedaled 35.6 miles of trails with 6,129 feet of elevation gain. Certainly, the most Galbraith I've ever ridden in a day. Basically, I missed the Three Bears-Goldilocks area, a slice of Cabin-2 1/2, to Crazy 8's-Kung Fu, and down to the Bobs. Everything else I rode, including several lower down--Kaya, Bunny Trails, Banjoland, Mole Trap (?)--that I'd never been on before. (So, in my mountain bike career, such as it is, I can honestly say that I've ridden every trail on Galbraith.)

 

Below, it's about noon, and we're getting back at it after lunch and coffee just below the Towers. (I'm serious, coffee! Steve H. brought a stove, water, and Via. How's that for attention to detail?) Stunning views of Lake Whatcom, downtown B'ham and the Sound, as well as Mount Baker. 

Photo credit: Cathy Crouch

Below, our stuff. Lots of stuff. A ride like this requires lots of extra stuff which we stashed in the woods. Looks like a yard sale. 

Below, Steve H. who descends at free-fall speed, is just a blur on Atomic Dong, or Dog, or something. 

Incredible day!