Going Camping in Montana

I will be out getting my camping fix for the summer. Might have some photos of Glacier National Park to post when I return. Should be up for a ride on Tuesday Sept 1( first day back to work for me). See you then.

Look Who's Riding

Seven riders showed up for Thursday's ride and guess who was in the mix? None other than Brent Watkinson. It was sure good to see him and even better to see him back on his mountain bike. Welcome back Brent, hope the leg continues to improve.

We perspired our way up Malde Creek road to the NEW start to Tamarac Trail. The trails crew built a great piece of single track that avoids the two rocky fire road climbs that you had to do before. Then we made our way down the trail to the junction of Dukabor Draw. This a fun trail. You can even get the odd bit of air here and there. Take a look at this picture of Al Santano. It looks like I photoshopped him into the picture BUT NO just a cheap camera and a bad photographer and he really did get good air(more than six inches is good for me).

Finished off the ride by going down the old Dukabor Draw up track to the double track and down to Malde Creek road followed by a screaming ramble down the rail grade trying to catch the birthday boy Dave Shannon who was in a hurry to get home to his cake. Check out his grin, sure is happy for a guy getting a year older. That's what being a member of the Holy Wow Gang can do for you.

Thursday Night Ride(Aug 20)

When: Thursday, August 20, 2009 @ 6:00PM

Where: Above Norm's House

Ride: Up Malde to Whiskey on the Rocks and down to Warfield.

Refreshments @ Dave Shannon's to help him celebrate his birthday. We may want to leave a couple of trucks in Warfield to help with the shuttle back to Rossland.

Mystery Weigh-In

Tuesday night's ride. originally billed as a mystery ride turned into just that a mystery. It was a mystery what ride we were going to do.

The ride turned into a magical mystery tour with some guys riding one route and others riding another route. All 8 of us rode up to the top of KC and enjoyed the view of Rossland on a hot August night(see pictures in album at right). Most of us rode down Pale Ale while a couple of rock and rollers tackled the ever rocky KC Ridge Trail. We met at the bottom of Pale Ale and continued down Old Farts Delight until we reached the up track of Green Door.

At this point there was nearly a call put in for a truck to pick us up in Warfield but wiser heads prevailed with the rationale that we should be able to climb this if we hope to be able to survive in Sun Valley, so up we went. There were a few buckets of sweat left on the trail, some of us looked like we had fallen in a creek. When questioned about why we looked so wet the response was that we had fallen in a creek, only problem was that there was no creek, must of been a mystery creek.

With the climb under our belts we headed off to Brett Ferguson's for a little refreshment. Brett and Nancy had put on a spread for us. We had smokies, popcorn, potato salad and of course, cold beers. What a great way to end a mystery ride. Thanks Nancy and Brett.

Just before our feast we decided to use Brett's scale to shed some light on the mystery of whose bike was the lightest or heaviest. After the weigh in I believe (correct me if I am wrong) the Prez won with a weight of 40lbs and the treasurer lost with a weight of 32lbs, everyone else was in between.

All in all a great hot August night.

Tuesday Night Ride(Aug 18)

When: Tuesday August 18,2009 @ 6:00PM

Where: Rick Greene's House

Ride: Mystery Ride, you'll find out when you get there.

Refreshments after the ride @ Bret Ferguson's house.

Unforgetable Thursday Night Ride (Aug 13)

Gee I forgot to post a report for Thursday night. We had 5 riders turn out for a bit of a slip fest. The ride took us up Monte Cristo to the Technogrind to the Top of KC down Pale Ale back up to the Saddle and down Lower Snake. Good work out. We had a beer in my newly reorganized shop, lots of space, Norm should be proud of me, we'll see what he says when he gets back from holidays.

Holy Wow 18 Only 1 Month Away

It is time to start thinking and acting on HW 18. The Prez has booked us some fantastic accommodations in Sun Valley. He needs some cash to cover the bill. So, if you will be attending Holy Wow 18, please get $150 to Kim Mercer(treasurer) as soon as possible, to reserve your spot on the trip. Do it now please!!!

Thursday Night Ride(Aug 13)

When: Thursday August 13 @ 6:00PM

Where: Above Norm's House

Ride: Whiskey on the Rocks

Going to park my truck with the beer fund at Norm's house. We can throw down the tail gate and have one there or move to any destination we want.

Welcome Back Ride (Tue Aug 11)

The rain held off again and we got in a good ride up Red Head. We were joined by Brett Ferguson, Bob Reardon and the Prez (Don Bowie). Welcome back guys, it was good to have you back. We also had Darryl Fry join us, hope it wasn't too much of an "old guy ride" for you Darryl.

After the ride Stewart Burwash put on a fantastic spread and raised the bar for after ride refreshments. Thanks Stewart, great back yard and a great feast.

Tuesday Night Ride(Aug 11)

When: Tuesday, Aug 11, @ 6:00PM

Where: Dave Nutini's House

Ride: Classic Circle Ride(we will decide when the riders get there)

Refreshments from the fund @ Dave's house after the ride.

Check out this bike. It is very old(1898 vintage). Even with all the technology some things have withstood the test of time. Thanks for the pictures Brett. Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday night.

Forbidden Fruit Trail With Funny Signs

On Thursday 10 riders took on the trail with funny signs. These signs seemed to be written in a different language as you can see by the picture. The riding was nostalgic (haven't we been here before) and the huckleberries were fantastic. Norm strayed off the trail and then he picked up a stray but even the stray got scared and left. The riding was superb.

Just when we thought the evening couldn't get any better Kim guided us to his deck where cold beer and barbequed sausages awaited us. Double thank you Kim. Perfect EDO eve.

Thursday Night Ride(Aug 6)

When: Thursday, Aug 6, 6:00PM

Where: Kim Mercer's House

Ride: Miner's via Larry's to Gas Line and up Red Head to Sally's then down Red Head.

After ride: at Kim's for sausage and beer. See you there.

A Dusty Affair

This has been a fantastic season of riding and Tuesday Night (Aug 4) just upped the level of goodness by a notch. Six of the gang turned out for the climb up Malde Creek in the heat, but no sun. The smoke from forest fires and perhaps thin cloud cover blocked the sun but trapped the heat. Malde was a as fun as ever. We crested the summit and worked our way up rock crush road to the Tamarack trail head. The Tamarack trail is an awesome addition to our trail network and we have enjoyed it numerous times. The trail is quite new and the surface is not settled so it provided a fair amount of dust(still cleaning it out of my eyes and nose this morning). After riding Tamarack to Drake's intersection we decided to ride Drake's in reverse. We did not realize how much up hill that trail has when you are going the other way. Quite the workout. We even got to sample the go around that the trail crew has put in to counter the blockage created by an irate land owner. It was pretty rough and dusty but after a little more work and a winter it should be good. On to Al Santano's for a well earned beer. All in all a superb night of single track. Rolling single track is kind of fun.

Tue Night Ride (Aug 4)

When: Tuesday Aug 4 6:00PM

Where: Road above Norm's house

Ride: Malde to Tamarac to Drake's to Earl Street

Refreshments @ Al Santano's after the ride. Thanks Al.