Bicycles Unlimited - Coke Plant Beginner Ride 8-25

Coke Plant Beginner Ride 8-25

Written by Bob Perry

Tuesday, 25 August 2009

The weather forecast for Monday was for showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon….what a surprise!!! But as the afternoon wore on the sky’s remained clear and the beginner rides were on. The first ride was the beginner road ride that left the shop with 10 riders to do the Sunderland Sweep. This ride was led by Paul and Doug Pratt and I hope to see a report from them on their trip. My ride was the beginner MTB ride and when I left the shop to go out for the ride there were 14 riders warming up in the parking lot.

I had to make three trips back into the shop before I actually was ready to ride (I forgot my helmet, had two left gloves, and left the water bladder inside as well). But eventually I got it all together and we headed out of the parking lot and up the sidewalk to head for Gill Road. I led the group that included Green’s Matt, Jeffery, Allison and Hammerhead, Huckle May, Behn, Ed H., Jack Rice, Dave’s Lusignan, Puffer, and Hatch, Tyler S., Mitch, and Rich Traus over to Gill Road and after getting everyone across the highway I gave instructions to Matt and he took the lead. We crossed the Stinkhole and headed up the trail to the midpoint of the hill where we took a left. This trail leads us over to the Lillian Street Trails and all went well until Matt missed the first turn (It is hard to notice trailheads when you are going at warp speed). After we crossed the brook the group waited up for Matt, Jeff and Tyler to join us before we all headed off to ride through the swamp. After all the rain we have had recently I fully expected to find a huge pond across the trail but what we found was a small stream and lots of mud. The first couple of riders made it through with no troubles but most of the rest of us had to hoof it over the muck. Once on the drier terrain we headed up the hill to the Cellar Hole Trail and although some of the riders missed the turn we all were back on course in no time. I ended up waiting for Huckle who himself was ahead of Hammerhead and Allison. Huckle told me that he was willing to post up at the stone wall and wait for the Green’s so I headed off down the trail. After everyone arrived at Five Points we headed up the Ridge Trail to Luke. I rode near the back of the pack and followed Jack up the hill to the Water Tank. After a brief stop at the top of the hill we all headed off for the Power Line Trial. The group took several different trails over to the power lines and we re-grouped at the top of the hill. I took the lead here and told the riders to use caution on the rocks as they might get slippery after several sets of muddy tires deposited the slick mud on them. Everyone heeded the caution and we all made it safely down to Red Rock where the group had to wait up for Matt, Jeff and Tyler who had taken another route and arrived a couple of minutes after us. I led the group down Red Rock Road and set what I thought was a good pace down the hill. I was passed by several riders as we neared the bottom of the hill and I thought to myself “Am I the only beginner on this ride?” We paused briefly at the entrance to the Orchard Trail and then we rode over to the Streambed Trail. As we began the climb I began to notice that that most of the trails up to this point were pretty dry and even Jack’s Pond had no water in it. I had thought that there would be a lot more water and mud but the area was pretty dry, which does not bode well if there is ever a drought here again. As I got further up the climb the foliage got pretty thick and it was very hard to even see the trail but once we got into the forest the trail opened up. I rode up the hill behind the group and we stopped briefly at the top of Red Rock Road before riding up the Crossover Trail to head for the Secret Trail. I rode in the middle of the pack to avoid getting run over by the “beginners” in our group and when I got to the end of the trail I then led the group down the hill a short ways. I stopped at the bottom of Stinger and waited for everyone to pass because this is a very confusing junction of several trails and I wanted to make sure everyone ended up at Five Points. I rode over to Five Points behind Allison and once there we all rode the Red Dot Trail to the Coke Plant. I led the group down the hill from the truck turn out and posted up at the turn onto the Stink Hole Trail. I followed Hammerhead and Allison down to the crossing and watched as Allison promptly endo’d into the muck. She was Ok but the perfume that she was now wearing was a pretty smelly “Eau de Poo”. After Allison got going again we crossed the highway and headed down Gill Road. We crossed 2A and rode up the grassy hill to Canada Hill and got onto the Rock Ridge Trail. Matthew took over the lead and I instructed him to just follow the Blue Dot Trail. I rode in the middle of the pack and was heading up the hill towards the long climb behind Lodge Tire when a rider pulled off the trail in front of me. He had gotten a stick in his derailleur and I stopped to help him get going. Once he was back on his bike I told him that I would wait for Hammerhead, Jack and Allison and ride with them. Well I waited and waited and finally I figured that something had happened so I headed back down the trail. I rode to the end of the trail and then realized that they had most likely headed back on the road. So I then turned around and headed up the hill. I was almost to the top of the climb when Huckle appeared at the top of the hill, riding towards me. He told me that the three missing riders had gone on the road and he did not realize that I would be waiting up for them. I thanked Huckle for coming back for me and then we rode off to catch up with the rest of the group. We rode the rest of the trail out to Loomis Road (I took my usual short cut) and then we headed back to the shop. After everyone got back to the shop I did make note of the fact that not once during tonight’s ride did we have to pick Mitch or any of his body parts off the trail. I wondered if there was any correlation to the fact that Knoepfchen was not present…Hmmmm! All in all it was a really nice ride and I think all the riders had a good time.

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Comments (2)

	26-08-2009 10:31
	Thanks Bob You clearly just didn't push Mitch hard enough. I'm sure you'll get it next time, no worries, we were all beginners at one point!

Stefanie Krug

	27-08-2009 12:25
	Thanks For The Ride This was basically my first time riding with the Bob crew. Everyone was great and although there was a wide range of rider skill/speed, everyone pretty much stayed together with no complaints which made the ride really enjoyable. Thanks everyone!

Huckle

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 02 December 2009 )