Part 4 - Last Sunday's Ride...
It was a blast...in more ways that one!
Dang, is it a little windy out here or what?
Mercy, it's taken all week to get these snaps n scraps posted up, but it's been fun re-living last Sunday, and has def got me itchin to check out some more trails with some of you pro's. I'll be the one wobbling along with a leg stuck out for balance on the corners--laugh all you want at my noob-style but I'm havin' a ball doing it!
OK, OK I w-i-l-l work on my technique, I got a book and am studying other ways to get around a fulla-loose-stuff turn without using the outrigger leg approach...
The ride out really seemed short and sweet compared to the ride in. We came back down off the hills, crossed the river at this Cache Creek bridge [dig your cool "crossing pic" up there -- looks all 'freshmaker'!] and headed for our final shady offroad rest spot.
The posse wisely convening in the shade for the airing up procedure. Noob bike is way up the road, had to look for a less-sandy location, ya know. Ahem, and an area where no domino-action upon other bikers might accidentally transpire.
Had to take a quick time out to grab a shot of the yellow lupine, I don't see much of this around...unusual but not scarce, maybe the blue just stands out more.
Woo-hoo, we had survived and ARRIVED! You guys were all my heroes today, it really felt like a team effort.
What a sweet sandy beach right by the bridge -- just in case anyone wanted to take a dip. We didn't really have time for that today but it sure looked tempting to me.
Apparently rafters put in here at this lovely sandy spot--fabulous, baby!
Another snap of us airing up and preparing to hit the pavement for the last legs of our trip. (Thanks Ray for the air services!)
There were a few hikers near this section of the trail...well yes that's because it's an actual "park" complete with marked trails, a parking lot and the works. Cache Creek Regional Park.
My tall girl taking her last longing look at the dirt...gonna hafta wait til next weekend before we see grit like that again. Rayhouse Rd -- I'm gonna miss you!
But hey, if Carnegie's on the menu...let the Practice In The Dirt Part 2 commence --- yesssss!
We skeetered on up to the parking lot, then headed north on 16, rode the pretty sweepers west on 20 through some burnt-to-a-crisp-last-summer zones and over flower-swathed hills and lush green dales, then south on 53 to Lower Lake.
There, we gassed up and raided the convenience sto' (didn't this call for ice cream?) then headed back west for one more romp down Knoxville-Berryessa, just to see it from the OTHER direction. (Pssst...it's awesome both ways!) The several water crossings were shallow, unslimey, and uneventful, save for this one little turtle we scared up, the little guys was paddling wildly at his fastest go-little-turtle pace to get out of our splashing way...and yes I think his story ended happily.
From there we headed back on the usual routes, enhanced this day with lots and lots of wildly blustery conditions.
Can't recall riding in that much wind --evarrr-- all sorts of debris was flying out of the trees along Lake Berryessa but ya know, maybe we actually got home a lil cleaner -- some of that nice red dirt surely got blown right off our happy buns!
No lie!
I really do need to get my hands on a knobby knife.
