Report by Glenn
We had 7 show up for this ride. Ben squared, Dave, Matt, Kurt (on a new bike) Mike and myself. This was an updated ride from the last few years and our fearless ride leader was not able to make it. So I took over. Luckily I had preloaded the ride in my Garmin ahead of time.
Without Eric we thought we wouldn’t have a reading from the book of Dad jokes, luckily someone else stepped in with a reading. After admiring Kurt’s new full-suspension bike we headed out.
For the most part the ride was pretty uneventful. We did have a little confusion on turns a couple of times, but between the Garmin, Dave and Ben B. It all got figured out. There was quite a bit of hike a bike on parts of the ride. We ended up going up a trail we normally go down. We all agreed that down was much more fun on that.
As we hit Ester Dome Road we stopped to fix Kurt’s bike. He had lost his granny gear. It’s not a ride without Kurt having at least one mechanical. Turns out his thru axel hadn’t been tightened all the way. Thru axels, 29ers and 1x drivetrains are all new to Kurt after years on a 3x 26 inch bike. Once we got that fixed and a quick check of the limit screws, off we went up Ester Dome Road.
As we headed down Ester Dome back to Ester, Kurt really started to fall in love with his new full suspension bike. Ben B. decided to try swimming while biking in one of the larger puddles as we headed down the pit and back. Luckily no significant injuries from the fall. Ben G. broke a single spoke and had to stop to wrap it around other spikes to keep it out of the way. We found a little swamp, but as Dave pointed out it was smaller than usual, it must have known Eric wasn’t riding with us.
The last few miles were all road, and Dave and Ben B. insisted there was a trail we missed. I stuck to the GPS and reminded them that Eric would only have us on the road if the trail no longer exists. They agreed. We got back to Ester Community park and went our ways. .
Oh and my Bat Boy socks from the World Weekly News were appreciated by several.
