Group Hug!

Group Ride/Hug!

The past week or so has seen a variety of riders show up for a ride with #33. They all brought their own personalities, much to my benefit.

It was a fun filled and entertaining week for me with such a wide variation of riders. Guys ranging from 40 yrs to 72 yrs of age.

The young group (the 40 and 50ish riders) rode at a much quicker pace than you would expect from a bunch of aspiring Geezers.  Rod, Mark and Kevin made up the group and rode their normal trails at what was probably their normal pace which makes a card carrying Geezer like me have to huff and puff to chase them around the trails all day. But they did take me on some of the coolest single track trails this side of Idaho. It was my good fortune to be allowed into their local playground and be shown the way around because I could have ridden the same area for a month or more and maybe not stumbled onto some of their best stuff. It is not exactly marked or on the map. Kind of gives you an idea of how much fun it was doesn’t it? Thanks guys!

The next group had a couple of qualifying Geezers at 65 and 72 years old. Doug (aka Senor Kirby) and Kerry (aka El Guapo) both of Baja fame. Since they were visiting and riding somewhere they had never seen before with me now becoming the guide, the pace took on a more ooh and aah pace to be able to take it all in. Of course there was the occasional pick up the bike after a tip over break built in. One time the bike did go down an embankment and had to be hauled back up onto the trail and since I was leading the ride and out in front I didn’t see the carnage. When they failed to show up a little ways down the trail I went back to see what was holding them up. I obviously had waited just long enough before I went to check on them because they had JUST gotten the bike back up on the trail and were exhausted. So they sat down on the side of the trail in the shade to catch their breath and have a drink. I wasn’t really tired but I sat down anyway. Hee Hee.

When we continued on we had a great time and took in some awesome views from a couple of fire lookouts. The photos just don’t do it justice. By the end of the day we had covered 82 miles with single track, fire roads that the boys just loved sliding the corners and views that allowed us to see all the way to Mt. Lassen from Red Rock Look Out. As Senor Kirby and El Guapo rolled up to the truck and put their bikes on the side stands I was to witness one final act of bike handling. Or mishandling, if you prefer. I watched as Senor Kirby attempted to dismount his KTM 500 exc. He apparently forgets on occasion about the fender pack on the rear of the bike. As his leg snags on the pack the bike tips and down he goes in a heap! I am cracking up because he still had all his protective gear on and is completely dressed for the occasion. I ask him if he is alright and he mutters something I can’t quite make out, so he may have been cussing me out. That is when I burst out laughing and bust out the camera at the same time!  After I snapped a couple of pictures I did pick his bike up for him. I am not a completely heartless guy! El Guapo just stood there and chuckled.

The other group ride was just me and my buddy Ed. Now Ed does things a little different, he likes to be prepared. FOR ANYTHING. So that means Ed carries as much crap on his body and bike as I do. I do it because I am often out for several hours and sometimes 30 to 50 miles from any kind of help. To give you an idea of his preparedness, everything is wrapped up and stored in a separate container with labels as to what is inside. It takes about 5 minutes to go through and read all the labels to find what you actually need when we do have an issue on the trail. If he ever breaks those reading glasses he uses to find the tools and parts needed he is in deep trouble unless he has a spare pair of those too. I wouldn’t put it past him. His wife calls him O.K.  Sterken (his last name) if that is any indication. The OK stands for Over Kill. Ha! She cracked me up.

I think I will start calling him ‘Puncture’ since our last few rides have resulted in him getting a flat front tire. Of course this one was caused by the tire iron we found inside the tire after breaking it down. Maybe he should have had a label on the tire irons. Just an idea. I watched as he fixed his flat but was secretly putting the clock on him. It took a bit over and hour for the repair. After all he had to break out the reading glasses to be able to read all the labels so he could find the correct equipment container to fix the flat. Luckily he was able to patch it because when I asked him if he had a spare tube to change it out he got real quiet just before he used a cuss word directed at me.

Hey, OK/Puncture you may want to throw a spare tube in if you think you could find a container for it, oh and maybe another container to account for the tire irons used………….I’m just sayin’.

#33

“We don’t stop riding because we grow old, we grow old because we stop riding”