Yes Bob, It Didn't Rain and We Rode(Tue May 25)

Finally got a decent evening to ride. After missing two nights last week due to winter weather, we got a ride in and it was really good. Nine of us took a strange route up Red and rode down a combination of Red Head and Red Top. The trail was in excellent shape, only a couple muddy spots to get some of us dirty. Great ride.

We had the first deck fire of the season at Greener's (thanks Rick) and even managed a couple of beers. Ahh good to be back in the groove. Next ride is going to be the first car drop of the season. We are going to ride up Malde and do Tamarac to Dukabor to Paterson with transportation waiting. If you want in make sure you RSVP to Dave N. so that we can make sure that there is room for everyone.

See you Thursday.

Tuesday Night Ride(May 18)

When: Tuesday May 18 @ 6:00PM

Where: Rick Greene's House

Ride: KC to Pale Ale to Green Door to Roger's to Cemetary to Old Cemetary to Happy Valley to Greener's

Thursday Night on Tamarac

A fantastic night for a mountain bike ride. Nine riders turned out for the first ride of the season on the Tamarac trail. Malde was Malde but the Tamarac trail was in excellent shape. The trail crew is already doing a great job. Check out the action.

A small album of photos is available at the right. Guess who we ran into on the trail? None other than old time Holy Wower Jerry Bella, out walking the dogs. Jerry invited us to his place for a refreshment and we accepted. Spent an hour sitting outside and talking about the past, present and future and there were plenty of laughs. Jerry says he is going to ride with us again. Hope he does.

It was a cold ride home.

Thursday Night Ride(May 13)

When: Thursday May 13 @ 6:00PM

Where: Rick Greene's House

Ride: Definitely the first circle ride of the season. Start thinking about some routes.

Biggest Turn Out Of the Season

I am sure it was the weather because we had a large bunch (11 riders) show up for the Tuesday night ride. About time the weather sharpened up. We rode Pale Ale to Milky Way to the Water Hole across the field and up the never ending Wagon Road.

The trail conditions were excellent and a good time was had by all. Pale Ale was in great shape although we did have to remove one tree that was laying across the trail. The trails society has been working on Milky Way and has added some new single track which is very good and makes for a very enjoyable ride.

No pictures yet but I will rectify the situation on Thursday.

There was no social gathering after the ride, in fact by the time we got back to upper Rossland we were down to just a few, as the riders peeled off and rode home. Hopefully we will get the post ride festivities going soon.

Tuesday Night Ride(May 11)

The trails are starting to open up again after Thursday's snow storm, so let's get riding. After my extreme riding in Vancouver(see blog entry below) I am ready for something a little safer.

When: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 @ 6:00 PM

Where: Rick Greene's Place

Ride: I suggest Milky Way to the Water Hole and up the Wagon Road. I think the snow should be gone by now.

We do not have the beer fund going as yet but it will be on tap soon. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Extreme Riding in Vancouver

I have never done any riding in Vancouver so while on a trip to see the Eagles in concert(they were excellent, played for 2.5 hours) I decided to try out some of Van's finest riding. I joined up with an old time Holy Wower, Jerry Bella, and we took on the steeps and gnarls of the Stanley Park bike path.

Notice the fine steeds that we rented at the Reckless Bike shop. These babies were made from the finest aluminum that money could buy and would prove to be just the ticket for the extreme riding the park had to offer.

So off we went to test our skills on some urban extreme, riding the first rental bike I have ever ridden. The seat was like a couch(very comfy) the shock was purely cosmetic but the bike had a nice cushy feel to it even though it creaked a little and the stem was a touch loose. Ahh a set of stairs, this thing should be able to handle a 4 stair drop, and it did without a whimper. A nice friendly cruiser. The scenery was fetching, aided by a sunny day in Vancouver and the kilometers flew by without much effort.

As we approached the Royal Vancouver yacht club(nice boats) and about as far away from the rental shop as we were going to get, Jerry says "Hey try and ride along that curb ". Feeling quite confident I rolled up onto the curb and continued along for about 50 feet (my usual) when I decided I should hop down to the lower level(8 inch drop, glad it wasn't more). Upon landing the Budwieserish ditch tube on this beach cruising baby snapped and left

me standing(thank goodness I was moving at my usual slow pace) with two pieces of bike held together by shift and brake cable.

WOW never had a catastrophic failure like this before. I thought I had lost weight. Observation of the break revealed a previous crack( oxidation was evident). Remember those stairs? Things could have been a lot worse.

Lesson, beware of rental beach bikes and extreme riding in Vancouver.

5 Showed- Nobody Rode

Five hardy souls showed up at Greener's but so did a May snow storm and 0°. Needless to say nobody was too interested in riding, so we retired to Greener's basement to watch the hockey game and wait for the storm to pass. Storm seemed to be getting worse, so off we went to our warm little homes. Hopefully the weather will warm up and dry up just a little.

Thursday Night Ride(May 6, 2010)

The trails are starting to open up so let's get riding. I do not know where the gang rode on Tuesday night because I was working late and went back to work after dinner. Computer software development is a time consuming operation but it really gets the blood flowing.

When: Thursday, May 6, 2010 @ 6:00 PM

Where: Rick Greene's Place

Ride: I suggest Milky Way to the Water Hole and up the Wagon Road. I think the snow should be gone by now.

We do not have the beer fund going as yet but it will be on tap soon.

The Blogger is Back

Well this retirement gig is cutting into my blog time and my riding time. Must readjust my priorities. I have been out on 4 rides one on pavement and the others on dirt. Mother nature does not want to let go of winter but the Holy Wow Gang will prevail. The next post will be for the Thursday night ride.