I had managed to ride with Rusty long enough to learn a major lesson from him. A painful endeavor is made bearable if your buddies are suffering more than you are. I tried to apply this valuable lesson from the very moment we woke up on that last day. I was helped greatly by the weather gods who had blown in a cold front engulfing the mountain we were to climb in thick, dank clouds. It was cold and rainy and Z was not happy. He kept thinking this was one of those times when everybody went along with a joke just to fool him and then in the end we all had a good laugh. As we got out of the van where the vehicle access ended he was starting to think we were serious. As we got on the bikes with all our downhill pads and helmets strapped to our backs and proceeded to crawl uphill he was starting to think we were seriously nuts. Maybe I'm getting soft in my advanced years but I broke down and gave him a warm fleece jersey. I was feeling a little bad for him; but then, I remembered what Rusty taught me and began to revel in his misery. I added a cheery note to my voice that I hoped would further demoralize him and maybe even begin to grate on Nick's nerves. I talked about how much I loved the challenge of a good climb and how much better the reward of the downhill when properly earned. Rusty was right. The more miserable Z became the better I felt. Even Nick was saying that his ass was starting to hurt and I could tell the weather was getting to him. I made sure that every word I uttered conveyed my joy of the moment. Then the strangest thing happened; I actually started to enjoy the climb. Here we were at 9000' nowhere near the top and the temp was in the mid 30's and all the oxygen molecules were on vacation somewhere in Delaware and I was having a great time. Go figure. **** Jerry; thanks Rusty.

All too soon we get to the top and it was time to put on the pads and rip some dh. This was it. I was about to taste the sweet nectar of the gravity gods. Made all the sweeter by having to wait for it and riding four hours thru thin, cold, wet air to get here. I made a solemn vow to make this run for Rusty and sped off after Nick and Z. Bliss was mine. That part of Captain Jack's trail starts off with the biggest, funnest sets of jumps, drops, rollers, whoops and anything else that's fun to do on a bike. Big air was mine and bigger air still was Z's. There's a segment in the Headliners video where a rider with a helmet cam is following his buddy down this trail with lots of jumps and turns. It's my favorite clip of biking and I always want to be in it when I see it. This was better. My man Z was just launching off these jumps and as soon as I see him lift off I'm hitting the jump and he's below me again. W A Y T O O C O O L ! Nick was waiting for us and we giggled and set off for more frolicking. After what seemed like not long enough, the trail leveled off and then started up. No worries, all the more downhill to come. The trail got way fun again but it was different. It was fast, no doubt, but didn't have that killer feel to it. Then it turned uphill again and Nick, my buddy, said we missed the good trail and were on a different one. Actually I think he felt worse about it than we did. As for Z, he was frozen. His hands and feet were numb and he was having trouble keeping control. For me, even tho' I knew I wasn't going to do the same hill that got Rusty so excited, it wasn't a bad run by any standards. This trail had monster switchbacks where you could throw the bike way up on the bank and carve the turn at super high speed and just have time to set up for the next one. The narrow track led along the edge of the mountain and the price for going over the edge was worse than death…it would mean climbing a hundred feet or so back up the hill in loose gravel aboot (eh?) a foot deep. In full body armor that would just plain suck-ass. The only bright side is that all that work might produce enough heat to turn those blue things back to pink. No worries. I had a great ride. It was a good last ride. Lots of fun, no mechanicals and no injuries.

Well, that was it for the rides. I had a blast out there and I found the riding to be more challenging than around home. The ride itself seems a little different as well. Since the uphills are typically so long there is a tendency for the group to hang together and then rip the dh at each riders pace. And as I said before, I do prefer riding in dirt over the skree, as they call it. If there's anyone who has gotten to this point and is still awake I am amazed. If you're curious how I got the van down off the mountain, it will cost you a beer. See you on the trails.

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8