OW!

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Smoke

I fell on my bum.

Manfest! – 3

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Smoke

Yep, that’s one broken arm alright. Good thing you’re a dentist. Imagine if you needed your hands for work…

So, the deluge continues. Unlike the North Shore, this area is not really built around wet weather. The wood and rock here is deadly slick, which makes the riding in these pics doubly impressive.

We’re at Gillard this morning. A few quick laps to see if we can get the stoke flowing today.

The crew seems to be enjoying themselves. In case you didn’t figure it out, I’m one of the younger guys in this bunch. There’s a couple of 20-ish year olds, but most of these guys are in the their 40’s or even 50’s.

And they’re sending this stuff blind…in the rain.

Makes ya think, eh whippersnappers?

Dr. No is rad enough in the dry.

In the wet?

Well, not everyone was nailing it.

Check it out, you can even see the raindrops in this one.

Hey cuz. Those BMX skills never quite go away, do they?

This was one of the best sessions I’ve seen here. Lots of the crew stepping up on Boss Hog.

I also didn’t even consider this rockface in the rain, but then again I can just come back when it’s dry. Most of these guys won’t get back here again.

Sick drop.

Slicker wall. Actually, it was the mucky bit after the wall that was taking guys out.

Traditional passed out in the van shot.

That was it for a lot of the crew. The weather was just too much. I have a feeling that the early departures will be regretting their choice, though. This seems to be a group that knows how to hold a grudge.

The afternoon laps were just a handful of survivors. We went back over to Powers to hit some of the older trails and some stuff we didn’t get to see yesterday.

Shiny wet. With leaves.

And then, when you thought it just might clear up, the skies darken and the heavens open up:

Yeah, that really was the end of it. Awesome couple of days riding with this bunch, and it’s hard to award a Princess when over half the crew splits early, but there ya are.

And I’m out. Make up yer own story for this.

Salad Doggers – 9

Posted on September 12, 2010 by Smoke

Last day, and summer has once again given up the ghost. We had a good run…

Yeah, we’re off to Kobau again today. At least it’s only high overcast, so we can still benefit from a bit of a view. Also, the wood was mostly dry ( a few retardedly slick sections, but overall not too bad), so we could hit up a few choice lines.

A few locals came with us today too, like Jason, Sheila, Andrew, and French Johnny. Here’s Jason on one of the big log rides. Ewan blew a few fuses on this one. Not only was it big, but it was still wet enough to be very exciting.

The foresty part only lasts a little while, and then we’re out in the sage for the rest of the descent.

Conditions were, as usual on Cawston Ck., prime. Only a little bit of dust, and very fast and very grippy.

Then Andrew got a little too excited. Don’t worry, it’s only a flesh wound. Actually, it was not a big deal. We covered it up with some bandages, but it’s really only a scratch. Nice and clean, cause it was his top cap.

Proof for the boys that we really are in a desert.

Little tiny riders.

More little tiny riders. I like how the sage messes with digital cameras. They seem to struggle with the detail, giving you this cool texture in the pics.

Yay Chevy! Our shuttle driver in training.

Round two and … DOH! OK, there goes the perfect season. We’ve gone all year without going to the hospital (well, I did, but it was on a day off so I don’t count it), and then Steve wrecked it.

Bummer. It’s not even that big, but it went deep. He caught a random stick on a flat part of the trail at the very beginning, and it wedged one end into the ground and the other end into his shin. The worst luck.

Oh well, we were close enough to the top that we were able to send him back with Barb and bundle him off to the hospital. See? There’s Steve…way down there.