GALBY RIDE PHOTO ESSAY (as it were)

Scott Young, John Clark, Glen Gervais and Steve Vanderstaay at the top of the Wall. (Which we had the good sense not to ride.)

Steve and John make the turn at the blue rock to head up to the towers. (Which we never made it to; we descended Whoopsie Woodle.)

My shadow on Whoopsie Woodle. Damn nice shadow, innit?

The gang before the second half of Whoopsie Woodle, the half where at some point I inevitably damage my manhood failing on this minor drop that's not even all that difficult.

Steve disappearing ahead of me on WW.

Ever the time trialist, Scott even rests in an aero position.

At the bottom of Three Pigs, we say good-bye to Glenn; great to have him along today!

 And there goes Young!

Scott, as usual, stoned on the ride. Actually, that's not true; he's narcoleptic and falls asleep from time to time.

Here my crew is negotiating a peace settlement with Steve Noble's crew which includes Dave Flemming and Val Thompson. Luckily, violence was averted.

 And thus we cruise back to town via the newly opened Pattle Point Bridge. A super duper ride!

McQ's FAVORITE PHOTOS OF '09

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite photos 'n' memories from 2009.

Here's a primo campsite at the foot of Sahale Glacier in the middle of the North Cascades. Jim Robbins (now of Maine, dammit) and I went on an awesome hike there last August. To get there, head to Cascade Pass and just keep going. Up and up and up ...

The lovely Jen McQuaide snapped this photo just after I finished the Padden Mountain Bike duathlon. Perfect composition: she managed to get Team Unattacked's Titanium Cowboy and Mellow Johnny in there as well. (Not to mention my fringed cowboy shirt.)

John Clark (Mellow Johnny) rides the Little Summit Trail near the top of Mount Constitution on Orcas Island.

 

Cool shot taken by Baker McQuaide at the Bellingham Skatepark.

Some really cool guy racing the Padden Mountain Pedal just moments before his dang chain busted. Photo by http://www.adamleahyphotography.com/.

Scott "Titanium Cowboy" Young joined the 29er ranks this past year and, to noone's surprise, proved to be a fat-tire stud right off the bat.

Swans near sunset in the Skagit Valley.

 

Chiropractor nice guy Steve Noble ripping up a descent on Lower Bob's up at Galby, as the kids call it.

And lastly, the McQ family wishin' y'all a Happy 'n' Healty 2010!

SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER

September. Sounds to me like summer's drawing to a close. But what a summer it's been. For me, a summer of mucho mountain biking ridin' and racing.

Above, please note image of studly Steve Noble negotiating one of the jumps/drops/things-I-tend-to-ride-around on Lower Bob's up at Galbraith. That was Sunday. He put the hurt on me big time leading us up trails I only ever ride down. Such as all three of the Three Pigs. Today, I rode with the lovely and talented Steve Vanderstaay, he of the three consecutive vowels, on what, it turns out, was his 50th birthday. For fun we rode down the crazy-fast SST, loosening up most of my fillings in the process. 

Speaking of descending super-fast, last Wednesday evening John Clark (who's birthday is Wednesday, I believe) and I rode up the Pine and Cedar Lakes trail which is perhaps the steepest sustained climb around B'ham. Thirteen hundred feet in 1.6 miles. We sounded like a couple of emphysemics riding side-by-side at a whopping 3 miles-per-hour, but we made it. Had a great ride with screaming descents of the Burninator and the Hemlock Trail. We missed the injured Scott "Titanium Cowboy" Young who's on the DL nursing a sprained wrist, suffered a few weeks ago on Whoopsie Woodle.

This area boy is awaiting his Redline 29er single-speed which should arrive later this week.

GETTIN' FLUID

Had an epic ride today through the clouds stuck in the Chuckanuts with one Steve Noble, who put the hurt on my big time. Climbed Fragrance Lake and Cleator roads to the top, Double Black Diamond down, back up to Lower Ridge, Hush-Hush and back. Video is from near the top of Cleator.

Check out tomorrow's Seattle Times (www.seattletimes.com/) for the story of Bake's and my session with Fluid Ruid (www.fluidride.com/) mountain bike guru Simon Lawton of Seattle. Really a cool guy, and I'd highly recommend his instructional DVD: "Fluid Ride: Like a Pro".