The Bacon Strip

Sooo, since old man winter has barely risen from his slumber and not given us anything snowboard/ski on. I say F*^k him! I will ride my bike. I’ve done some pretty good rides as of late. Lee, Smithers, J. Walker and I joined Mark The Shark on his quest to conquer both sides of Gieger on his fixie Saturday. Lee & Smithers are still finding their legs so they cut out somewhere on the ride up to the summit. Walker and I paced Mark down the other side(truck route), we all suffered on the way back up the steep way to VC. Mark averaged 30mph on the way back down Gieger and topped out at 35mph. I can’t remember how many gear inches he’s running, but he had ‘em spinning fast.
Today I crested Peavine and looked over the other side and said “what the hell”. I dropped down and headed for Cow Canyon. The top part through the aspens was a little sketchy. I had to tri-pod a couple times over the ice, but came out unscathed. Now this is when things get worrysome. I’m sure everybody knows about Peavine mud, that sticky, nasty shit that will stop you dead in your tracks. To this point the mud was either to wet to stick bad or a little frozen, sometimes both. When I hit the big access road down to the top of the single track I had to pick my lines very carefully. Shoot for the puddles and snow/ice and avoid anything brown at all cost. I got lucky and only had to a short bushwhack to avoid disaster. Plowing through 3”-4″ of slush and goop took up more time and energy than I anticipated, but it was all worth it when I finally made it to the top of Cow Canyon. I hadn’t been there since the burn, but I have to admit it was kind of cool. It’s this black lunerscape with a black twisty ribbon made of tire tracks. The trail was in awsome condition! The moisture and amount of traffic created this high traction loam that was an absolute gas to ride. I don’t know what the normal climb up to the trail is like with the mud, ice and construction, but if you get a chance to do this trail, DO IT! By the time I hit pavement the bike and I were pretty covered in muck and the gears wre making wierd noises. I stopped into Sinclare Imports and tracked down Monty to bum a rag and chain lube. I spun home from Verdi tired and happy!

Gris,