I’ve been a bit remiss in my duties, but the Alliance has been getting out on a semi regular basis. With the heat and my work schedule it has been less than I would like.
We’ve done three night rides in the last month which is our way of beating the summer heat. It’s still hotter than hell at 9 p.m. anyways, but at least we get out and pedal. This past week, Newby and myself did a quick run up Sidewinder and then around the Barrel Roll. I had Moco in tow and she gave out on us just as we peaked out on the Barrel Roll. We stopped before the technical section for water and what not, and after we left she just kind of stayed there. This put a little bit of a damper on the speed of the ride, but we finished. Watch for a post to let you know where we will be meating this Wednesday.
This morning was the first morning ride that I’ve done in a long time. Of course this is due to the heat, but since it was supposed to top out in the mid 90’s today we thought we might be able to stand it till 9 or 10. We met at 7 and due to navigational errors, had to wait for Newby. We didn’t get on the bikes until 7:25 ish.
We headed over to the Rim Loops, which of consist of what seems like 90 subloops on the mesa adjacent to the Barrel Roll. We spun on the dirt road on the way over and grunted up the side of the wash to get to the top. Once on the singletrack everything went wonderfully. I sware these trails are built for single speeds. There isn’t any super steep, long ups and the majority of the trails are just kind of rolling, fun stuff. We rocked out the Rims and headed back over to the Barrel Roll.
We had to twist Bryce’s arm but he did follow us up the Sidewinder (also known as the bus stop due to the fact that it goes no where and there is a rock that looks like a bus stop) and then back down again. We finished out the Barrel Roll just as KB was about to melt because it was soooooooo hot. I sware she goes from cold to hot within 4 degrees, and that’s giving her an extra degree.
Anyways, we had a good time.
Out.
Man, I miss riding Barrel Roll 🙁 I had to sell my mtn. bike in a hurry for tuition. College kids do anything for money these days…
That area of the ‘Santa Clara’ BLM is special to me. The sense of isolation in such proximity to the city limits brings a feeling of escape–but home is nearby! The west view is vast and open with distant silhouettes.
What’s not to like about this ride? I’ll join you on soon, Lukas! How shall I hit it? Single speeder or ‘I-can’t-commit’ bike?