Friday: warmup lap at Falcon Lake followed by the best campground meal I think I've ever had. Around the campfire, highlights included James's annual hookah-fest and the hopefully not annual hiccup show by the Secretary.
Saturday's ride was, by FGBC standards at least, nothing short of monumental. Armed with three GPS units and some digitized paper maps, we set out with the goal of linking Ingolf to Eagle Head Lake. Thanks to the capable leadership of our guide Gilles, technological assistance was scarcely required. The Eagle Head Lake trail was as good as advertised. Maybe better. Lots of Whiteshell-style granite slickrock, breathtaking vistas, and plenty of technical bits. We will go back there for sure. We didn't have enough time for the usual routine of do-overs. The 20 km gravel grinder back to Ingolf was a bit longer that some would have liked. It didn't help that we got confused at the end and missed the quad trail. But we all made it back safely in the end. And Luke's emergency t-shirt chamois will surely remain a permanent part of Spring Ride lore. 7 hours and 60 kms. Saturday's dogfest was as good as ever. And while many turned in early, a few of us managed to soldier on until nearly 2am.
Sunday: No riding for the FGBC. Instead, we cheered and heckled the racers at the Falcon Lake mud-fest. Those guys were awesome. We have many new heroes.
All in all, it was a slightly different Spring Ride than the one we have come to know and love. Among other things, Juan Eppstein managed to keep himself fully clothed all weekend long. And we didn't manage to complete even one lap of Ingolf. But we expanded the range of riding possibilities enough to keep us coming back for more good times.
Here are a bunch of pictures that capture various moments throughout the weekend. I have also set up a Spring Ride Photo Album where you can find many more. And I will try and embed a slideshow below, taking a page out of the playbook of our good friends in Altona. If you took photos, please email them to me so that they can be added to the archives.
Come out to the Tuesday Night Ride tomorrow night for the official 2009 FGBC Spring Ride debriefing. It's not really over until it has been rehashed ad nauseum.
And in just 360 days we get to do it all over again.
4 comments:
Good times boys. Time to start planning the RRR fall ride.
RRR Fall Ride sounds like a good idea. Just make sure it doesn't conflict with any cx races.
wv: boress
the picture of the president holding Farrah really captures the event.
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