FIRST EPIC IN A WHILE

Epic ride today, first one in a while. Stopped to shoot a quick vid wherein we recreate the scene of da' Assaulting Alder incident and shortly thereafter came across Laura Todd and Val Thompson who were so helpful that day.

Then it was on to the ride: down Interurban, up Fragrance Lake Road, Lost Lake Trail to the Dictionary, down So Easy (which isn't) and around like we're doing the Samish Loop. Then up the helatious climb to the Pine and Cedar Lakes end of the world, down Hemlock and on toward home.
The lovely Glenn Gervais was with us, rockin' his new Motobecane 29er with flat pedals. That's burly. (I'm digging the way I'm hunched over in the below pic; that's Glenn in the middle and the Clark man on the right.) The ride has two mega climbs, probably totally about 3,500 feet, but the Hemlock Trail descent from Pine and Cedar is so cussing fun. That one, and the Alternate Incline Trail over on Blanchard might be this cross-country rider's favorites. So great to get out today!

TEAM UNATTACKED TAKES BACK THE TRAIL

I've been feeling surprisingly good the last couple days so today Mellow Johnny Boy and I headed down the Interurban to revisit the scene of Saturday's clobbering. Beautiful sunny day, the trail couldn't have seemed more peaceful and harmless. Caught myself looking treeward a lot, thinkin' OK, next big wind, that one's coming down. And that one. And that one. And so on.

As you can see, the tree-slash-guillotine has already been cut and removed to the side of the trail. Looks like it was about 25 year old, maybe 30 feet high and plenty heavy enough to have caused serious damage, if not death, if it'd been a direct head or neck smacker. I know I'm lucky as hell and am extremely thankful for my family and friends and just everything and everybody, dammit. But apparently no smarter. We ran into Charlie Heggem and guess who takes off after him on the sprint up the Taylor Dock. And of course John and I got into our usual tete-e-tete up out of that "hole" on the Interurban by Cleator Road.

That's John and me with the fallen tree behind us. We cut off a slice for--I'm not sure why, make a coaster out of it?--then peed on the tree to show it who's boss. (Or who's a tasteless boor.) All I can say is that it felt great to be back on the trails!

                                  

CHECK OUT THE FRICKIN' TREE

Here's Mellow Johnny Clark today standing by the tree that yesterday made like a guillotine blade and landed us on our arses. Might not look like much but she did her damage, that's sure.

We're still trying to figure out what happened: I was slightly ahead of John so it only grazed my face--missing my head by inches--but slammed into my quads with I assume a direct hit--or pretty close to one. But how did it miss my arms completely, unless, in the instant the log passed by my face I quick yanked my hands off the handlebars? I could've had two broken arms with no problem. (Not to mention a crushed skull if I'd been six inches further ahead.) John's front tire bore the brunt of it, and so luckily he shows no ill effects. In fact today, he and Scott "Titanium Cowboy" went for a long run down to where the incident took place, sort of to exorcise the demons. (Thanks, Scott for the photos.)

Thanks to everyone who's e-mailed me and facebooked me (or whatever the verb is); I'm feeling much better. Even went to Clean Green and my improv class today.

AREA BOY FELLED BY FRICKIN' TREE!

That's me this afternoon in the ER sporting a bloody soul patch-goatee thing. This morning, Mellow Johnny Clark, Steve Vanderstaay and I headed out for a quick out-and-back on the Interurban. Quick, because it was pouring rain and windy. About a half-mile before Cleator Road, I heard a loud crack, yelled "Look out, guys!" and was thereupon struck by a falling tree. Clark caught it on his front wheel, flipped over his handlebars, and other than a flat tire, was unhurt.

I, however, got a pretty deep hole in my cheek, bit through my lower lip and had two seriously deep contusions in both quads. A number of chipped teeth too. I look like a frickin' hockey player. Steve, luckily, was unhit. Both Steve and John were amazing in helping me back to Cleator Road--I couldn't really walk on my own so they propped me on my bike and pushed me along--where my wife met me and took me to the ER. What great friends! Four hours later, I left the ER with 30 stictches and a bagfull of drugs that I'm hoping to sell on eBay. (Just kidding! I'll probably do craigslist.)

Thanks too to Val Thompson and Laura Todd who totally interupted their run to help us get John and Steve's bike back to Cleator. The Bellingham endurance sport community is da' bomb!

And of course, thanks to Jen, Baker and me sister Kath, who offer endless emotional support.

Hey kids--if you're doing tomorrow's Padden Mud Run in the forecast rain and wind, be careful!

LANDSLIDE ON INTERURBAN TRAIL

Post-flood mountain biking in Bellingham redux again part II the second.

Today, John Clark and I planned on riding out the Interurban to the top of Cleator Road. No dice, again. (There seems to be a definite lack of dice lately.) A massive slide off Cleator Road has completely closed off the Interurban about a quarter-mile north of Cleator. Kwazy. (Seems to be no lack of weather kwaziness however.)We rode the road (Chuckanut Drive) for a while, then headed up Cleator. Several spots have slumped significantly and/or washed out. We made it to about 1,450 feet before heavy wet snow turned us around.
Still, it was a great ride made even greater by the presence of John's new orange gloves.

MORE MTB

Chris Behee's Galbraith map shows 70 different named trails and Bake's and my goal is to ride them all. Saturday we added eight--Dan's, The Sh*t, Pick Up Sticks (Purple Heart), B.S., Reflux, Meat Grinder, Art's Trail and Old Issues--bringing our total to 54, most of which we've done in the past month. Overall, our Galbraith favorites so far are Mullet, SST, 911, Cheech and Chong's Wild Ride, Wonderland, and Upper and Lower Bob's. Sunday, John Clark and I went on a semi-epic. Out the Interurban, up Cleator, down the Chinscraper, up and down to Lost Lake, then back to town through Arroyo Park. Above, what's with Clark's rock star sneer? Who does he think he is--Kurt Cobain?

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

I promise, this is the second to the last bit I'll put up this year about riding my bike to Artist Point. (Ride 542 is Sept. 7 so next week I'll no doubt write something about it. ) Anyway, two weeks ago it was hot, sticky, and sweaty up at Artist Point. Today, it was foggy and 40s. (See above video.)

Frickin' freezing, it felt. Fall has begun up there at 5,100 feet in this far Northwest corner of the Great Northwest with winter soon to follow. The ride back down was miserable; I was shivering so bad I thought I'd pulled my deltoid right out of my latissimus dorsi.

(By the way, I must hear at least once a month that I look Mike Rowe, the dude who hosts "Dirty Jobs", so if you're thinking it, you're not the first one. Perhaps though, you're instead thinking that in my fetching new birthday-present Quick-Step rainbow jersey I look like Tom Boonen--see below--minus the cool hat.)

Sunday, which felt like Saturday this three-day weekend, the family took a pleasant bike ride down the Interurban Trail to Clayton Beach where there are signs to remind you to keep your clothes on. Ok, fine. We skipped stones, Bake climbed the rocks with a buddy he'd met, and afterwards we enjoyed dinner at Fiamma Burger which has good food, but acoustics that always make me feel like I'm suffering from tinnitus.

So let's the ultra-cool Alejandro Valverde and the above Tom Boonen, who've taken the last two stages of the Vuelta a Espana.