Ladies Hucktoberfest – 3

That was a fun day yesterday.  Just a reminder…

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Always good times at Shreddie’s place.  There might not have been any hot tub hanky panky, but as previously alluded to,  the tub sure got manky.

With a great party comes the late start.  Lenora styled us out with a huge Cariboo breakfast, and after tidying up and getting the girls packed up, we went into town to ride some more snowy trails.

What can I say?  It was cold, grey, and while not great for pics it was sure fun to ride.  Here’s Penny sending asmall road gap.

2012 is going down as a year where I rode with way more of the girls than the guys.  I’ve always enjoyed shredding with the ladies, be it snow or dirt, but I really sense a shift this year.  This trip underlines it in a big way.  Women are riding big, and riding hard.  This group was arguably stronger and tougher as a whole than just about any group I’ve ever had. 

Pretty and badass = Pretty Badass.

Sounds like this crew is going for a rematch at some point.  Here’s hoping I can get ringside seats once again.

The season is nearly done, but I’ve got a few more days of riding left to go yet.

Ladies Hucktoberfest – 2

Oh…my….god.  Looks like winter got here a bit early.

I forgot to mention a little side humour from yesterday.  On my approach into town, I got to thinking about how word had to have gotten out about a vanload of women coming to town to ride.  I was kind of wondering how many of the boys would be at the shop when I got there. 

Short answer?

All of them…

While I’m doing some housekeeping, gotta give a huge thank you to Ryders Eyewear for hooking up some fresh goggles and shades.  I really needed them today.

But back to our story.  With lousy weather in town, there is really only one option, which is to head out to the Chilcotin and see how Farwell Canyon is looking.   You can usually count on things being lots drier and warmer out there.

Oops…

Although, even with it looking a LOT like Christmas, it was still very rideable out there. Much more so than it was back in the Puddle.

While we were drifting around in the snow with some blue skies, it was still coming down in town, and the trails were apparently really slick and slimy.  We made the right call.

Yes, that’s blue sky up there.

I always wondered what the canyon would be like with snow.  Now I know.  Not bad!

A nice little wildlife encounter, with our tracks in the background. 

Much nicer than our other wildlife encounter, when Kaslo (Monica’s dog), decided to roll in some entrails that some irresponsible hunter left to fester in a garbage bag. My van still smells a bit like death. Some people really do suck.

Here’s Penny and Mallory having some fun on some classic spine lines.

And now for a new feature I like to call, “Contrast and Compare.”

First, a little bit of Utah dust, courtesy of Doerflings Rampage bike…

…and now some Chilcotin Gumbo.

Yup, we went for a Fingers run, but it didn’t work out quite the same.  Most rode it like they were all Thumbs.

Actually, I had a decent run down, but I’ve ridden here before.  It was admittedly a bit rough, and the mud was insanely sticky.  Most of the girls went over the falls when the mud jammed their front wheel solid.

Well, the top part went well.

Lunch Break!  Big thanks to our shuttle driver, Sorel.

Now more postcard shots.  Here’s Mallory.

And James.

Tough to make it to the Canyon without doing a Godsmack run.  James has made his career on this line, which is one of the most intense lines I’ve ever ridden.

Penny would agree.

And so would Monica.

Chalk one up for equality, that’s the first time I’ve seen it even on the gender ratio hitting this one.

OK, more postcard shots. Here’s Gretchen:

And Sarah:

Vicky:

And Ady:

Awwww…

They needed that nap.  Hot tub shenanigans went into the wee hours of the next day.  I’ve never seen the tub water so manky after that night, or should I say wo-manky?

Yet another epic Chilcotin ride day.

Ladies Hucktoberfest – 1

And just like that, with a quickness, it was over.  Less than two weeks ago we were in the alpine in shorts and t-shirts, now it’s back to snow.

It seems only appropriate that we started the year with a road trip to Williams Lake, and we hit the last snowstorm of the winter on the passes that time.  This time it’s looking like the first real snow of the season, and I’m back up to the Puddle with another women’s trip.

I did a rare daytime drive to get to the Puddle and managed to miss a lot of the snow, but there was still a little bit of it on Pennask.  Most of the drive was ridiculously pretty, like this…

We had time to get a lap in on the new Snakes and Ladders, and while it was cold and slippery, it’s very impressive how much work has gone into the trail.  Here’s a few shots of the ladies on one huge suspension bridge.

Aja is wondering why there’s guard rails.  It’s wide enough, isn’t it?

Not every move is approved for public consumption though.  This one is kind of gnarly though.  I hear they’re going to recycle the materials into something a bit more suitable for mere mortals.

Unbeknownst to me, it was also the night of the annual Pumpkin Ride.  I wasn’t really prepared to night ride, but I was prepared to crash the after party and chow down on some epic good food with some of the locals.

Alright, we’ve got this party started.  Have to see where we end up tomorrow.  It’s looking a bit ugly out there tonight.