Ride 5 - Return to Hole-in-the-Ground
The original plan was to hit this trail only ONCE on the Tour, but in accordance with our regimen of 'rigid flexibility' (see Mantra), and in need of a bit of a recovery after the previous day's efforts, we elected to invite CRASHETTE (Courtney Swett) our newest Toejammer out for a little fun at HITG. This is one of our favorite rides on the entire North American continent. dB also had unfinished business to attend with a certain rock.
When we packed up and left SAC it was already 110 degrees and as we passed through Auburn it had rocketed to 115. Thankfully this ride is at elevation and above the worst of the heat - it would be about 86 F & 6,600' elevation at start of the ride.
CRASHETTE inspired us with her tenacious attitude and bike handling skills - in only her 6th mtb ride she held her own and showed she too was worthy of the BadMoFo wallet. Many photo ops were had, much playground antics, follow the leader, and wall riding ensued. dB watched Jeffro go aggro over the bars of his rig on 'the Rock' then sucessfully rode it himself (this was where I endoed and slammed my wrist - breaking it - a few days back). CRASH documented this more successful ride with video that is yet to be released to the general public.
No riders were seen on the trail all day till we prepared to leave the lake after our Swim Call, and so HITG was our own private playground. The water felt great! Those riders showed as we were wrapping it up, but they stayed only briefly and attempted to pursue us down the last few miles of trail. After bombing the upper section we lolligagged along the fire road and dB attempted to ford a rushing mountain creek pulling a flying dismount over the handlebars & landing perfectly on his feet after hitting a babyhead in the 3' deep rushing current. Crash was amazed. dB was awarded the wallet for overcoming 'the Rock'.
The pursuit finally caught the gaggle and dB turned on the jets to take back the attacking trio.
--dB - These roadie posers tried to overtake us and feeling bucky as usual I decided to show them we weren't just a bunch of Huckleberries. I closed the gap on the fireroad till I was on the wheel of the last of the riders. As we entered the singletrack I passed the first one in a rockgarden taking him by surprise and immediately jumped on to the wheel of the middle guy over the rocky terrain . The pressure was too much for him and he popped on a short steep grunt.
Then I promptly grabbed a gear and attacked the small gap to the leader who now knew his group was dropping like flies. He was the better rider of the three and managed to keep his composure as I sat on his wheel being sure not to breathe audibly. We popped out into the P-lot and I rolled on up to the truck as they re-grouped to continue their jaunt. I felt triumphant. The pride of the Toejam had been protected.
There were no tickets awaiting us this time and we pulled chairs out and enjoyed some refreshing beverages and laughs about the day's adventure. The light dimmed as the sun began to lower to the Pacific.
Our numbers for the day were a pedestrian 17.5 miles, and 2,500' of elevation gain.
When we packed up and left SAC it was already 110 degrees and as we passed through Auburn it had rocketed to 115. Thankfully this ride is at elevation and above the worst of the heat - it would be about 86 F & 6,600' elevation at start of the ride.
CRASHETTE inspired us with her tenacious attitude and bike handling skills - in only her 6th mtb ride she held her own and showed she too was worthy of the BadMoFo wallet. Many photo ops were had, much playground antics, follow the leader, and wall riding ensued. dB watched Jeffro go aggro over the bars of his rig on 'the Rock' then sucessfully rode it himself (this was where I endoed and slammed my wrist - breaking it - a few days back). CRASH documented this more successful ride with video that is yet to be released to the general public.
No riders were seen on the trail all day till we prepared to leave the lake after our Swim Call, and so HITG was our own private playground. The water felt great! Those riders showed as we were wrapping it up, but they stayed only briefly and attempted to pursue us down the last few miles of trail. After bombing the upper section we lolligagged along the fire road and dB attempted to ford a rushing mountain creek pulling a flying dismount over the handlebars & landing perfectly on his feet after hitting a babyhead in the 3' deep rushing current. Crash was amazed. dB was awarded the wallet for overcoming 'the Rock'.
The pursuit finally caught the gaggle and dB turned on the jets to take back the attacking trio.
--dB - These roadie posers tried to overtake us and feeling bucky as usual I decided to show them we weren't just a bunch of Huckleberries. I closed the gap on the fireroad till I was on the wheel of the last of the riders. As we entered the singletrack I passed the first one in a rockgarden taking him by surprise and immediately jumped on to the wheel of the middle guy over the rocky terrain . The pressure was too much for him and he popped on a short steep grunt.
Then I promptly grabbed a gear and attacked the small gap to the leader who now knew his group was dropping like flies. He was the better rider of the three and managed to keep his composure as I sat on his wheel being sure not to breathe audibly. We popped out into the P-lot and I rolled on up to the truck as they re-grouped to continue their jaunt. I felt triumphant. The pride of the Toejam had been protected.
There were no tickets awaiting us this time and we pulled chairs out and enjoyed some refreshing beverages and laughs about the day's adventure. The light dimmed as the sun began to lower to the Pacific.
Our numbers for the day were a pedestrian 17.5 miles, and 2,500' of elevation gain.
posted by doubleB at 2:31 PM
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