Ride Report STR Invasion of Marshall Canyon

Good seeing you out there Henry! Nice OTB by Tina... Well it was kinda sideways but she was all smiles.:bang:

 

missed the ride, but can't wait for the photos!

 

M.,

Thanks so much for stopping me on the trail and checking on me when I was on my way up and you were on your way out with the newbies. Appreciate your concern for my safety. Went to T. Philips with "the boyz" (and a few girls) and boy, did we have fun. Haven't been entertained in that manner since college!!! They are a riot! I suppose the pics will speak for themselves.

:beer:

 

Happy Birthday Mike! sorry I missed the ride and chance to embarrass you!:wave:

 

Thanks a lot!

For the great ride photos....nice way to make me feel jealous for missing the ride rotest: Looks like it was a great day.

Guess that is what I get for making previous plans #-o

Looking forward to the next ride...will be up there soon :bang:

Oh...and happy birthday Mike!

 

What a great day for a ride, and an appropriately massive turnout for such a nice day. Thanks to everyone for coming out to my neck of the woods. Even though I had to turn out at the top of Marshall to get downhill to Little League riding with the STR group made the climb up even more fun than usual. Here are a few pix:

 

Hats of to all of those who made this fun ride possible!!!!!!!:beer:

 

Sorry I had to miss this ride but had another one scheduled a long time ago. Looks like a lot of good times were had :bang:

And what ton of photos that are already put up! It's almost like I was there!

Gene: See, I told you you wouldn't need to bring your camera :lol:

 

A- Group

Thanks to Carl (pho'd up), I ended up riding with the A group instead of the B group as I originally intended. Man, I have to stop caving in to peer pressure. It was a great ride but my legs are pretty sore, despite deciding not to climb all the way up to Potato.

We actually ended up with a little more climbing due to a wrong turn, but were lucky enough to meet up with the A group just as they headed back down the trail. We ended up joining them for some nice singletrack down to Baseline and back to the park.

Huge turnout, sunny weather, Pain Freak's B-day, riding with STR bubbs. Good times.

Everyone arriving to Oak Park


Lots of STR folk ready to ride


Mike and Jose


The "A" group


Heading up to Potato


A minus group burnt before Potato

 

AWESOME day on the trail

First and fore most I'd like to thank ALL of you in the B and C group for waiting for me to get there this morning. I admit it...I detoured, went about 12 miles PAST the 57.....so, all in all about 24 miles out of my way. Thank you all.... :clap:

Second, it was an incredible day to ride some new dirt and meet a bunch new friends. I had an awesome time. The single track out was pretty and green even though most of it was poisen oak...it was still pretty. The water crossings were all managable with no huge boulders to manuver past. And the climbs, the climbs were such that you could easily manage the entire length in your middle ring. I loved it!

Sherry, I was really glad to see you out there today - you need to come out more often. Beth, it was great to finally ride with you....don't be a stranger.

Finally, lunch after was really, really fun! :drunk:
Tim (jasonmason), Gene, Andy, Gregg (OMR), Un-cola, Hugh, Jessie and the others of you that were playing..."JUDGE" in the window, funny stuff. Oh, and the Hugh stories....PRICELESS...especially the wet beach towel story!!! Love you guys! :clap:

To all the new people I met, it was a pleasure!
See you all on the trails!

 

Great ride!! Justin and I took off with the A group early on. Had a great ride. Jason led the group really well, and Mike was a good sweeper. Thanks to those guys!

Gene - success as always.

Thanks to everyone who was out there! Great to see everybody again. Am I the only one with sore legs??

CC taking pics



The hair is perfect early in the morning



Staging



Carlton rocking the SS



Steppie



Support



STR ez-up tent sighting!!



Marshall and Carla



The Godfather and I



Lots o' people



JasonMason



Linda and Brewmaster



Shuga and the 'rents



A group regroup





Are we there yet?



Looking for shade





Not there yet...





Short break before the final push



Continued...

 

Well done Grasshopper Gene....

You could tell by the smiles on the faces at the end of the ride just how successful this ride was... not only for the number of riders, but the fun factor was definitely there today... although, I'm not sure where I had more fun: coming back down Marshall Canyon's sweet swoopy single track .... or sitting with the gang in T-Philip's window watching the people walk by... definitely a high point..... and, I learned things about Hugh's body I never wanted to know!

I do want to take a minute to give props where they are due. Special props to Gene for organizing this +100 rider event. He brings new meaning to "hard working friend"... he is always a delight to ride with.... and, have you ever seen Gene without a smile on his face?

Special props to CC (Cathy)... she mothered and worried about everybody and everything and even managed to help lead the "B & C" groups... great positive attitude.... and she's turned into a darn fine rider too!

Also, Nancy & Roger get special props. They changed their schedules to allow them to ride and lead. Roger ties Gene for the most smiling ... and Nancy, well there's a reason she's called Den Mother (the best kind!)

Point here is that these things don't take place without people sacrificing their time to make sure everyone else is having a good time... that's what these guys & girls did to make it a memorable day for us all.

 

Integradriver & Hugh on the final slog



Jesse loves climbing!!





Paparazzi gets a shot



At the top









Got Guinness?



A+ group heads down the fire break





How many riders on the ridge?



Be honest, you were looking forward to it



Watermelon



Color accent





Dan



Hugh goes big



Fearless leader - jason



A few peeps at TPhillips

 

Is T - phillps the same as roscoes?

 

CLASSIC, absolutely CLASSIC!! :beer:

 

No doubt! Don't ever, I mean EVER cross HUGH and leave your car unlocked, your bike unattended, and especially your helmet lying around. Trust me.

 

Sweepin for "A" was great. I got to use that as an excuse why I was so far back there. We started losing guys here and there and lost 10 before we even got to Potato, but it was a fun ride.

If any of you peeps who want to ride out here again and see some more of the local stuff, hit me up, I'd be glad to show you around

Hey Matt, thanks for the B-day lunch and thanks for the soda Joe!

 

Yeah, that "beginner" was me. I'm now at home recovering. REALLY sucks. My friend ran into me from behind. I have some pictures I took but is there an easier way to upload them? It's hard enough just typing now. :/

And anyone have pictures right after my accident?

 

Oh wow, was today a blast! Showed up around 8:15 and the parking lot was already swarming with bikes and people (just think about the amount of money in bikes we had in the parking lot!). Got to meet Brewmaster and Linda, very cool people.

The beginning of the ride was kind of sketchy for me since my bike handling skills arent the greatest (I'm working on them). That many riders at one time and a nervous beginner who can barely make tight turns through the bridge/walkways on pavement = not good. Big thanks to brewmaster and Linda for sticking with me and especially CC for being so concerned in the very beginning.

Once we started spreading out a bit things became a lot more fun. After the last regroup before leaving the wooded area the group split up and some of us went left and the others went right. Those of us who went left (the easier way) had a long fireroad climb which seemed to go on forever (but was awesome all the same). Then the big group regrouped at the highest point of our journey and although they went down the harder route (from what I hear had switchbacks with soft spots), Linda and I decided to go back the way we came.

OH MAN! THAT's when the REAL fun began!!!! And this is coming from someone who doesn't like downhills. HUUUUUUUUUGE thanks for Loyd for staying with us and giving us great pointers. I'm glad we chose to go back down that way since it was such a blast (and I didnt have to walk any part of it). Thanks to gene for setting this up and it was great meeting/seeing everyone today.

All in all, A BLAST! I was a bit worried about the creek crossings before today but they actually were my favorite part of the day (along with meeting a whole bunch of new people). I can't wait to go back!

 

Grasshopper Curtis....

I'm sure they'll be some pics to remember... I know you really had your bell rung with that crash. I also know you're going to be sore tomorrow... probably even more so. But most of us have been there and left blood on the trail too. Good job in sucking it up and riding out. Heal quick & see you out there again!

:bang: