Backbone Race Report: Alum Creek Rookie Ride Sunday

Last night was the local trail club's annual nightride fest, COMBOWEEN. No, that's not some strange triple penis thingy from Chernobyl...it's a big organized bike ride at Alum Creek's Phase 1 trail. I was there hanging out with Jim W. under the gaping maw that is the KENDA tent. Lyd showed up late, after a facial and some salon type girlie stuff. Having never ridden a mountain bike, or mountain bike trail, she borrowed a 2008 TREK FUEL and headed out onto the trail. No lights, no water, and little sense of what lies ahead she forged on into the abjectly black Ohio night.

Twenty feet in, she hit the first drop-to-log bridge-transition...and ate s**t. She came back to the tent laughing, and a little humbled. With new found respect for mountain biking, she reloaded her gumption gun and went back out. "I won't be long..be right back!" An hour and a half later, she came back in all bruised and battered, partially blind, kinda itchy, and a little bit smelly. She thought it was only about a mile, so she kept thinking it would be over sooner than later.

Raring to get revenge on Sunday morning, we headed back after breakfast. After modifying the Tomac Ti hardtail (Titus FCR w/ Tomac decals) for her, and modifying her 'cross bike for me, we hit it in daylight. We began with the baby-training loop across the street, and that proved difficult but good for her. The first log bridge she came to, she sized it up and hit it. With four inches to go, she rode off the edge of the bridge and on to her head at the bottom of the crease. Dazed and shaky, she jumped up and hit it seven more times until she owned it. For an elderly woman she's pretty tough!

After working on the basic skills set at the kiddie park, we rolled out to the road and ride the last quarter of phase 1. Charging hard over bridges and roots, narrowly escaping death on off camber ledges, she was rocking a fairly ugly stretch for a beginner. Then she sacked up and hit a bridge really hard. Bad thing was the bridge had a roll to the inside edge, with a climb degree, and an approach that would scare Cedric Gracia. To her credit, she committed! She committed all the way off the end of the bridge, onto her head, then rolled like a sack of poop to the bottom of a 15' ravine. Rushing to my bike to make sure it was o.k., I then quickly helped Lydia out of the hole. That was ugly, but thanks to a great helmet, all she had to show for it was a lazy eye.

We rolled out to the swamp to get some scenery shots, then headed to the car.
Now all charged up (surviving a near death experience will do that) Lyd is now after a real mountain bike of her own. Good thing Haro is across the street, and owned by KENDA! Scared to death in the knowledge that Phase 1 is the asy trail, we may need some more time before getting her out to Phase 2.

*******More wood than a preacher's pants in a Boy-Scout convention**********