Jon and Mr. Bill
by zach on November 9th, 2007
On our last ride, Rob and I were lucky enough to be joined by Jon Baskin and Mr. Bill Ralph. We hit the Las Virgenes trailhead as it was one of our only options due to the fires.
It was nice and overcast that day and I think we were all feelin pretty good. Apparently Jon and Bill were feeling really good as by the second climb, they were tearing our legs off. While Rob and I cranked away, Jon and Bill were basically racing each other to the top. Damn Roadies! Rob turned to me with a smile and said ” I think these guys are gonna be good for the team”.
We headed over to the “Tower Climb”. This one is a real grinder. It gets steep at certain points and can get kind of loose too. It eventually takes you to a point where you are overlooking Simi Valley. On a clear day there is nothing better!
At one point early in the ride, Bill need to change a tube. As we were waiting, Jon blurts out “Boy it would suck if it started raining right now!” Sure enough it starts to drizzle. By the time we had finished most of the climb it was raining. The rain made the ride a little chilly but it was kinda nice. Jon didn’t hear the end of it for the rest of the ride. It was also at this point where I needed to change a tube as well. Normally this would not be a big deal but now it was cold and rainy and my tube changing skills are lackluster at best. After about 2 minutes of me fumbling around Bill calmly said “do you want me do jump in there buddy?” I put my pride on the shelf and let him give me a hand. When we (yes we) set the wheel back in, there was this helatious rubbing noise coming from the brake pads. Not to worry, master bike tech Rob Blue swooped in and MacGyver’d the shit out of it and we were on our way.
On our way back after the climb, Rob decided to take us on a little adventure down a trail that neither he nor anyone else in the group had ever explored. When a concerned Bill asked Rob “do you know where this trial ends up?” Rob responded “Nope but I guess we’ll find out”. True Mountain biker spirit and I was all for it! This little offshoot turned out to be a total hit. It was a steep rollercoaster ride and the light rain had made the trail just perfect for flyin.
This trail dropped us down into a gully that we’d never been to before. Luckily there were a few signs around so we picked one and went with it. The climb back up was steep ass hell. I hate to admit that I had to get off the bike a couple of times which I despise doing. As I’m pushing my bike up this grade, Bill goes rolling right by me like he is on an escalator. Pretty humbling to say the least.
The rain let up as we made our way back to one of the main trails. It wasn’t until this point that we even saw another rider. As we were gearing up to do yet another climb to get back to the cars, we encountered some red tape and a sign warning us that herbacide had just been sprayed and the trail was closed. We all opted to not contract lung cancer and turned around and hit the asphalt to the cheeseboro lot.
All in all it was a great day of riding and I was good and tore up as well. Rob and I were really impressed with Jon and Bill’s fitness and we look forward to many more rides with them. Welcome to the dirt Jon!!
November 9th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
We only saved face by being faster on the downhill stuff… but not by much.
November 9th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
too bad i missed that ride. sounds like it would have tore my legs off for sure. At least I got to hang with you guys and help out with the drug testing at the UCI race a few weeks ago.
November 9th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
friends I will say that indeed this ride was quite the bitch, although a great way to get acquainted with the riding on the dirt, especially going downhill! looking forward to many more…
November 12th, 2007 at 10:55 am
You cross country guys are friggin crazy, way to much pedal pedal.
staight up gansta.
February 15th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Good times Good times and am looking forward to many more.Riding some of these trails brought back memories. I don’t do enough trail riding anymore but am looking forward to more. Team Evomo Rocks Good times Good Times…….