It was a rather tough weekend for me--body, bike and soul. But the weather was great, the riding (until the very end) was great, the participants were great. It all started with a fine group of 9 riders, all over 40 years old--in fact, you could call us the Over Forty Niners (ouch)--showing up at Moorpark Road for the climb up the Los Robles switchbacks. The temperature was cool but it made for a pleasant climb up the hill as our bodies generated heat to keep us cozy. From the top of the switchbacks we continued on to other challenges.

On we travelled until reaching The Bench near the top of Rosewood Trail. Here it was decided that we would continue on the Los Robles Trail until its terminus at Portrero Road. That meant one tough climb and two steep downhills on the way out with the reverse--two steep ups and one down--on the return trip. But those daunting challenges would not stop us, being the manly men we are--no women rode with us today (in fact, when is the last time the fairer sex lowered herself to ride with us?).

But it was also on one of those steep downhills that I got myself into my first trouble of the weekend. As you may recall, those downhills can be rather loose and rutted, and I know of many crashes that our riders have had there in the past. Well, today was my turn. As I rode down one of them, deftly wending my way down, avoiding rain ruts and loose rock, yet gaining speed as I approached the bottom, I rode smack into a rain rut as the hill hit bottom....and so did I. Fortunately, I saw the trouble I was getting myself into as it was happening and was able to decrease my speed a bit, and so as I ever-so-gracefully went over the bars I was able to land relatively softly....albeit on my head. I was able to get right up and I was basically okay. No one at the top saw my crash as it was around a slight corner, but when the others arrived, docs Rod and George and Joe asked such questions as "did you lose consciousness"...."no"....."are you seeing double"...."no no, I I am am not not seeing seeing double double." All I really had was a slight headache for about 10 or 15 minutes (my helmet seemed fine....no cracks I could detect) and thus we continued on our way towards Portrero Road.

At Portrero we crossed the road like the proverbial chicken and proceeded to take the little singletrack that took us to the Wendy Drive entrance to Sycamore Canyon. At that point some of us simply turned around and rode the short trail back to the Los Robles Trail entrance while other riders took the pavement of Portrero Road back. While traversing the singletrack we observed a large contingent of road riders in a pace line on Portrero. Warm thoughts of our fellow BBKings road group filled our minds, foreshadowing events to come.

Back at the cars, only Rod and I decided to grab a bite to eat. Knowing that our fellow BBKings had started their road ride from East Coast Bagels, we headed on over to the place next door--The Sea Casa--for some fine Mexican food and to wait for the road riders to return. But lo and behold, to our utter joy, Reuben showed up, having done his own Kanan 3rd Tunnel ride. So the 3 of us ate and waited until finally the dozen or so road riders returned from their Simi Shuffle ride and joined us on the outdoor patio for good food and camraderie. I think we set a good example....if those questionable road riders and we awesome dirt riders can get along, why can't the rest of the world.

I almost didn't make it to this morning's ride. My soul felt drained after spending most of a depressing Saturday night at the emergency room where my very ill and aged mother-in-law had had to be admitted. I went home at about midnight for a couple of hours of sleep, returned to pick up my wife (who had stayed with her mother) at about 2:30 a.m., then returned home where I got another 2+ hours of sleep. But nevertheless, I awoke early enough to get my bike gear and myself ready for the ride from the top of Reseda knowing that mountain biking with good friends would replenish my weary soul.

And, indeed, we had a good turnout on a blustery, sunny day. Fourteen riders showed up. Since I was in a half-sleep stupor, I did not take many photos, so let's see if I can remember who was there. Let me start with the pleasant surprise of 3 of yesterday's BBKings road riders showing up, riding from, as Uncle Louie put it, their "palatial Calabasas estates"--Steves A&W (the Root Beer Boys?) and a very rare appearance by LarsE. Then there were 3 other riders who ride pretty consistently with both the RCYs and BBKings--Dean, Jamshyd, and Mitch. And finally there were 2 Davids N & R, Nelson, Rod, Joe, Matthew, John and me.

Up to the Hub we pedaled. Then some took the upper Eagle Rock route and some the lower Eagle Springs road. Meeting at the far intersection, we lost 3 riders--Steve, Steve, and Larry--who had to return to their castles before the drawbridges were raised. The rest of us continued on down to the Trippet Ranch turnoff where we lost another half rider--Jamshyd had to get back to his castle. The remaining 10 RCYers continued on the fireroad to Parker Mesa Overlook, although Mitch turned around mid-route to return home. Arriving at the Overlook, I took a panoramic picture overlooking Santa Monica Bay and the Pacific Ocean. I am a little concerned, however, that yesterday's crash is causing me to see double.

This was our turn-around point. We headed back towards Trippet, up and past Eagle Springs to the Hub, and then back to the cars. Oh, if only it were that simple. For the last couple of weeks, a few of us have been having a friendly contest where we coast without pedaling from the Hub down to the lowest point (I call it "The Meadow") on Fireroad 30, and then see how far up we can coast before the bike stops. Well, today I was doing just that (not pedaling but occasionally applying some brake), and, as I came out of the wide left turn at the bottom, somehow my derailleur hanger snapped, and chain and rear derailleur were sucked into my spokes. I didn't crash, but braked to a stop. My derailleur was dangling, spokes were broken or gouged and my chain was firmly trapped between the rear cluster and the spokes. Rod and Matthew were there to help me, but it was only when we called Dean on the walkie-talkie and he returned to the scene that he arrived with a solution that at least allowed me to wheel my bike out. Dean never ceases to amaze as he always has some magic in his bag of tricks and today was no exception. He had a tool called a Hyper-Cracker that allowed me to remove the rear cluster so that we could release the chain. Thus as Matthew and Rod helped me "tie-wrap" my derailleur and chain to the bike, I was able to at least wheel the bike out the last 3/4 of a mile or so--plus I could coast downhill using only my front brake (the rear wheel was too out of true and I had to release my caliper brakes in the rear). My sincere thanx to Matthew, Rod and the always amazing Dean.

Back at the cars I put my injured bike in the back of my Toyota and a half dozen of us headed down for some lunch at Greystoke Grill. I may have had a weekend with a bumped head, little sleep, and a broken bike, but at the end there were good people, tasty food, and fond memories of mountain biking to brighten the day.

P.S. Bike Update: I made some calls and found that Reseda Bikes had the derailleur hanger I needed and thus I took it to them. Besides the derailleur hanger, I needed a new lower pulley wheel (at least the derailleur body appears okay), 9 spokes, re-true the wheel and install the derailleur with a new cable. [I also purchased (Matthew got one too) a hard-to-find Hyper-Cracker tool for only $10 (don't ride without one ;-))--the shop is all out now but if you request one, they may be able to find it]. All seemed okay, but this morning Dean joined me for a ride and my chain was skipping. We discovered that some chain links were slightly twisted and some rear cog teeth were bent or askew. Anyway, at home I did some careful bending, twisting, etc. with high tech pliers, wrenches, and screwdrivers and it seems to be working better. The next trip on the trail should tell the tale. Otherwise, it'll be a new cluster and chain.