RR: Whiting Ranch, one cruiser lap

[guero]

This morning I met up with a lady friend of mine who wanted to get back on the dirt. We had ridden in the past together so she isn't a stranger to the mtb world. She rode my SuperLight and I was on my Dawg. After adjusting the psi in the fork and rear shock, and swapping out my egg beaters for some flats, we were on our way. In case you didnt notice, it was insanely windy today out there! The lower half of the loop wasnt affected too bad since it sits in between the housing tracts. She did really well and even charged that small rock 'up' after the sandy wash, she fell over, but who cares, at least she charged it! We skipped the Upper Cattle Pond extra credit and headed up Mustard. The wind was swirling, I was hoping we would get a tail wind, but no such luck. Again I was impressed with how well she was climbing. We only stopped twice, and she hiked the last little uphill section. Due to the slower pace of the ride, I finally middle-ringed mustard, sweet! We took a little breather at 4-Corners and head down to Cactus. Since she wasn't a complete newbie, and she likes to charge stuff (is a bodyboarder and snowboarder) I figured she could hang on Cactus. Before heading down I explained to her how to use her front brake and keep her weight back on the steeper sections as well as having faith in the bike and letting it do what it is designed to do. One slight mishap occurred and a short 'up', a really strong gust that nearly knocked me over got the best of her. Thank goodness she did not land in any cactus!!! She drew a little blood but did not whine or whimper about it an ounce. We continued down and she walked the tight righthand turn towards the end, but then got back on. Cruised the rest of Cactus to the short hike-a-bike section. Once up there we waited as a few riders passed by, all saying "hello" as they cruised by. (i love the mtb community!). As you know if you ride Whiting the next section is kinda tricky if you aren't familiar with the trail, studderbump filled chutes make up the next 1/8th of a mile or so. She didnt like for me to watch her (said it makes her nervous) so I went ahead and made sure I was out of site (behind a bush) and listened intently to hear her inching her way down, she cleaned it with no dabs, same with the next couple of switchbacks (which arent as loose since the rains). We made our way back to the fireroad and headed through the 'sleepy hollow' portion. Upon entering it, we saw a group of three mule deer, and actually saw a buck in the group! We chatted with a family of hikers who said they had seen about 5 deer total on their hike. After watching the deer for a few, we were on our way and sure enough we saw two more deer about 3 minutes later. I could have sat there all day and watched them, and im sure they could have done the same. This time it was another buck and a female (i think). A few minutes went by before we headed out. The rest of the ride was a breeze and we headed to Cooks for a beer and some food. What would a ride be with out a......yup, you guessed it, an ocrider siting at Cooks. This time he wasn't in his riding gear, rather he was on his lunch break, nice seeing ya Matt!

Today's ride while short on the mileage was high on the stoke factor. Riding with her and seeing her smile on the downhills and on the flowy singletrack made my day. She was all ears when it came to my advice and as I was telling her things I thought to myself "gosh I have come a long way in the mt. bike world". Explaining to her when to flip the pro-pedal switch on the rear shock, dialing down the travel on the fork for the climbs, braking techniques, etc... This really was a refreshing ride. It opened my eyes back up to the stoke of the little things that I often overlook when out hammering through the same 'ol dirt.

[OMR]

Originally Posted by guero

. Riding with her and seeing her smile on the downhills and on the flowy singletrack made my day.

Now you are begining to understand why some of us enjoy the newbie rides so much... all those smiles make our day.

Good job reaching beyound yourself......You have grown in wisdom...

[Wrecker]

Riding with newbies truly is invigorating and refreshing. It's great to see the trails you've come to know through a new perspective and appreciate the lengths you've come with your own riding. And, it's always nice to help out fellow mtb'ers whether new or old

Thanks for sharing your story and reminding us all of those important little things!!

**Not that I'm an oldie, but I can now get up Mustard**

[surlygal]

Originally Posted by Wrecker

**Not that I'm an oldie, but I can now get up Mustard**

Hey now, don't rub it in

Brett - I'm glad you had fun today, I know you were really looking forward to it.

[tkblazer]

good stuff B, i was gonna call you around 9 to see if you were riding... i was in the area, but working on a car. the wind was nuts in foothill dood..

[ambraaah]

Originally Posted by guero

Today's ride while short on the mileage was high on the stoke factor. Riding with her and seeing her smile on the downhills and on the flowy singletrack made my day.

Thank you! It was good to get out there again. Sad to watch it go up in flames only a day later.

[ocrider]

always great seeing you Bret. Glad you guys got a ride in out there before it burned.

[project_d]

Even without pics, this is a pretty sweet RR, Brett.