The Doug Ryder Reports

Chapter 7: An Excursion Up Amanita Road In Which We Find Mud, Mud, and More Mud As We Climb Toward Gilmore Trail On Our Way To The Death Ride Course

Could we have a Doug Ride without mud? That is about as likely as Pamela Anderson Lee joining a nunnery. We found mud on this ride. Lots of it, in fact. We gathered at the Steele Creek/CHSR interstection and departed at the usual time (7:30) with a fair turnout for this ride. I think we started with 17 riders or thereabouts. We rode up Chena Hot Springs Road for a couple of miles or so, then turned up on Amanita and began our climb.

The road goes on and on and on and up and up, ascending upwards toward Gilmore Trail like a Stairmaster from Hell. Every mosquito within a ten-mile radius showed up to accompany us on our arduous journey toward the top. I’d guess I lost about three or four pints of blood between the hot springs road and Gilmore Trail.

Once we got up to the top, we found mud. Quite a bit of it, in fact. There was so much mud that we (or at least me) had to walk our bikes for a goodly part of the journey. We also found substantial evidence of land development going on up there, along with quite a bit of mining activity, which does not bode well for the wild nature of this ride. Sheesh, in a couple of years they’ll have the whole thing paved and tamed all the way.

Anyway, we finally got to Gilmore Trail. Once there, Burnside caught up with me and we half-wheeled each other all the way to the pavement, trying to keep up with David James. From there it was a short trip down Gilmore Trail to the Death Ride course and the infamous Rabbit Hole. The trail leading off from same is becoming fairly civilized now. Then a bone-jarring ride down the subdivision roads and up the trail over to Juniper. We also discovered to our chagrin (what the hell is a chagrin anyway and why do people keep discovering to it?) that there is development going on back there too. The kind of development that leaves big piles of dirt and excavations for houses right in the middle of our fine trail.

We finally got back to the cars a little after 10. Total distance: around 16 miles. Amount spent walking/pushing bikes: around 40%. Worst hill: Amanita. Best downhill: Gilmore Trail. Coolest part of the ride: Gilmore Trail. Worst part of the ride: mosquitoes and mud. Amount of time spent having fun: at least 60%.

That’s my report for this week. See ya next week!

Liam Wescott

a/k/a The Doug Ryder

FCC Historian