What a crappy, rainy weekend we had and the week ahead does not look much better. This darkness and nasty weather makes the rides I took last summer seem so darn good and now I am even more impatient for the summer ahead.
To bridge the winter gap, it might be a good thing to post up a few of our Great Rides from last summer. Here are the guidelines:
1. Pick a ride, any ride from anywhere that you took last summer
2. Write a short description of the ride and include what made it a great ride.
3. Post a single photo that best represents the ride.
I'll start:
In early September my wife and I rode the classic Ape Canyon/Plains of Abraham out and back to Windy Ridge. It was a spectacular late summer day, temps in the low 80's, the Cascade Volcanos were out, and it was my wife's first time across the Plains of Abraham. She still talks about the ride two months later.
I hear you loud & clear: "During our hour of darkness, please share any stoke possible"
By no means the only best rides from summer, but some shame-inducing, stoke-sharing pictures regardless! Lots of great rides I didn't photograph this year, I'll leave that to others....
G-Froh, eWa:
First Tracks on Tronson Ridge (rip?):
debaucherous hipster tomfoolery:
High Country:
Lots of solo exploring:
Overnighter, Angels Staircase on Sept. 8th, night of the thunderstorms that started the table mountain fire etc:
I had such high hopes for this season, what with the first 'real summer' we'd had in a couple years. Turns out a wildfire tearing through your property has a way of screwing plans up for a few weeks even if nothing valuable is burned up. Then of course Table Mtn decided to do it's best fekking Mt St Helens impression and that plus all the rest filled the state with smoke for more weeks....
But probably the highlight was the July overnight bikepacking trip we did with our 7 yo into Manastash lake while the drainage was still blocked off to all but off road 4wd rigs. And like FM, I'm going to flagrantly disregard the 'one photo only' rule.
P.S. I'm currently treating my post-crappy-season-depression by collecting more/better bikepacking gear. Revelate seat bag, steripen, Warbonnet hammock, tyvek tarp, etc etc etc sit on top of my dresser where I can stare at The Preciouses. I even told husby he should be tickled that I spent $11 on 2 pairs of jeans at St Vinnies one Sat. and $150 on the new/used hammock the next since it so clearly demonstrated excellent priorities... but he just rolls his eyes at my pile, lol.
"...Some local fiend had built it with his own three hands..."
Seems like a rather boring summer here. Even if it extended in to October a little. But, we had a wild a crazy weather week in Bend in June from 84 one day to torrential downpours and Jimba crying to go home, to snow the next and back to sun and warm temps. Wish I had taken pics on the weekend at Watt Canyon though. That was money. It's going to be the next best place.
But, here's a good one courtesy of Happy Trails of the T-way frog pond on another gorgeous central WA day before the fires.
It was a very short summer for me, but still squeezed in a few before the crash. Road trip #1 was a 3-day Cap Forest + Post Canyon & Syncline + Post Canyon again. #2 was a Blewitt Pass campout followed by Tronsen Ridge to Red Hill shuttle... That was the fav. Mostly miles and miles of very fast gentle grade descent, mixed with a few short techy DH sections and a few hike-a-bike climbs. Beautiful views to the east and west from the ridge line! Wild flowers everywhere! Phone cam doesn't do it justice...
Of the many rides I got in last summer, I even took pictures of a few. This is Goat Mtn, north of St Helen's. Goes in and out of the blast zone. The valley below is getting pressure from some mining interests as well as wilderness people. Killer views, flowers, and a downhill run very similar to palisades but with hundreds of old growth trees. Great add on to Helen's Fest.
Rode some trails here some trails there. Not enough backcountry riding though. Did get to ride in Whitehorse. Now I want to go back there for more.
Arrived in town around 5pm and picked up a demo bike and a map from local shop. Got prepped and took off from my downtown hotel riding solo. Rode the Yukon River Trail and fully enjoyed the ride. Had to bail off the river and ride a gravel road back to town due to darkness. I bailed off at a lake recreation area and there were some young kids hanging out probably drinking. One of the girls asks me where I came from??? Uhh...
Have phone pics will have to try and figure out how to get them on the web.
I throw in another one. Early in the year my wife and I went to Asheville, NC for a visit. Rented some Mountain Bikes one day and sampled the local goods. Great trails in the Asheville area - much rockier than what we are used to but really fun to ride. I'd love to get back there someday soon.
I never knew how the rep thing worked. Thought it was automated based on # of posts. I just read this: What is this thing called "Rep Power". Hilarious! ronbo613 called it. After I give Mr Lynch some rep back, I vow to never use that feature again. My favorite ride above was a shuttle, too. Huge thanks to broken ankle Joel for shuttling us. I returned the favor a month later... I was broken, he was healed and turned his crutches over to me.
Morning ride outside of Florence, Italy w/ some new mtb friends. Rode straight from our hotel in the downtown core out into the surrounding countryside.
Best ride that where I actually took pictures was Squamish. Started pissing rain when we headed out, then it cleared up for the last half of the ride. Pedaled for 5 hours until we were totally cooked. Conditions, despite the rain, were amazing.
How on earth have I ridden Whistler for 12 years and this was my first time riding Squamish. How? HOW?
Spent a bunch of time on the bike and behind the lens.
Pro-Grt
Deep Woods
Whistler XC
FM
Mando
Rock Roll
MiddleFork Snoqualmie
Duthie
Rock drop
Ranger/Palisades
Leavenworth
Northfork
Too many??
Here was another great summer ride - Esmeralda with my wife. This ride was probably a little over her head, but she was a trooper and had a great day. Beautiful backcountry ride.
Ezzy holds a special place in many of our hearts. Great shot of Hawkins Mt from the saddle by FM earlier in the thread under his "solo ride". Had a great day there this summer too. (Too bad Happy Trails got a "no pass" ticket back at the TH though...)
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Originally Posted by woodway
Huge thanks to broken ankle Joel for shuttling us. I returned the favor a month later... I was broken, he was healed and turned his crutches over to me.
