What is old is new again

So……I have ridden Milk creek as an out an back once before with my friend Tauras.

That day we were both time constrained so we cut it short. Dick called me last night to see what I was thinking for today. I told him my back felt great and I was good for 3000′ and 20 miles.

So……this morning while I was filling my hydration pack…holding it out about arms length over the sink  and I get this MASSIVE muscle spasm about mid back right on my spine! Are you kidding me?!! @#$k it!…Susan rubbed on it a little ..some Icy/Hot..I cursed old age and the seemingly continuing DECLINE..loaded the truck and headed to Dicks.

On the way to the ride we talked about getting old, how we are going to try and stay ahead of the wear and tear of a combined 122 years of hard play and work and what we are going to do about it.

My idea for the ride was to try and connect the Milk creek single track UP with a traverse across the face of Cuesta ridge..to the ridge road and then down some single T descents that we were familiar with. The bailout being if we dead ended or got lost we could turn  around and enjoy the awesome Milk creek single down. Jerry had given me some clues but I could not put the track together from my experience so it was going to be ‘exploratory’ for sure. The ultimate goal was the knowledge of the track so we could do it in the reverse direction from today.

There is no way that we old geezers could have done the ride/hikabike we did  on the last mile to the ridge today in the reverse and enjoyed it without a 7″+ travel – 2.5″ tire bike and a load of skilz and confidence. We must have missed the cutoff ‘cuz the last 300′ and 1/4 mile to the ridge were a ‘mountain climb’.  No way it was the ‘route’ Jerry had talked about. At one point I had my bike on my shoulder facing a wash filled with kitchen table size boulders…facing a 15′ step up…and the fear and trepidation started to creep in. We were committed and we went. Thank goodness there was ‘sort’ of a trail not 50 yards farther up! whew!

Even though the solution to the ‘problem’ was not truly discovered it was well worth it. We smoked the descent down S’ers..down E’vators and out Steiner creek. A couple of miles down Highway one to close the loop and it was done.

:-)

All the cars on the other end of the parking lot were….. GOLFERS …..No way we were riding in a golf cart on a gorgeous day like today…..duhhhhhh!…we were goin’……. UP!

There are some trail features on Milk creek that I think even my Front Range heroes and heroins would appreciate      :-)

big fog back at the beach

the antenna towers on the ridge are a goal

looking back the way we came

rest

stepping down from this pic I high centered my cleat, slipped and crashed down on to a boulder smashing my thigh and the LCD screen on my digi cam!..oh well ….the damn thing would not close focus anyway so I guess a new pocket digi cam is in my future!

Finally(!) the entry into the S’ers single down…fast fun from here!

Bottom and end of the single track . A couple miles of gravel and pavement back to the truck from here.

Loaded up and ready to head for BEER!..DONE and FUN! Thank you Dick!