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!

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!

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!

GROUP DOES ENCHANTMENTS IN A DAY

Got an e-mail today from B'ham's Val Thompson who, along with four of her pals, hiked-ran the Enchantments in a day this past weekend. Lucky (and burly) them. That's like 18 to 20 miles with a hefty amount of elevation gain including Aasgard Pass. Here's what she had to say:

"Wow, truly an amazing place...it was sad to be cruising through it so fast, but the thought of having a huge pack on my back made me glad I was a daytripper. I completely understand why they call it 'The Enchantments'."

Looks like the larch are just about to change color. Give it a couple weeks, it'll look like it's on fire up there. Here's the squad (Laura Todd, Christine Bosa, Ruth Sofield, Stephanie Smith, Val Thompson). Great job!