October 16, 2006
Rumble at the Ranch
With two mountain bikes on the back and little Sarah strapped in a car seat, Drew, Beth and I headed out to Yamhill yesterday for the Rumble at the Ranch put on by X-Dog Events. The event is an off-road duathlon with the emphasis on "off". On the six-mile run we encountered everything from a nice gravel road to steep single-track uphills to slip and slide downhills and of course plenty of fun stream crossing; and I don't mean ones that you can leap across with a giant stride and keep going. You have to plow through the water and then scramble up through the briars on the other side.
I was expecting all this since I've done two previous scrambles by the X-Dog folks, most recently up at Mt. Hood. However the rude awakening occurred on the 11-mile mountain bike. I hadn't been on my mountain bike in forever, maybe one ride a year and half ago and then I can't remember so I was expecting to be a little rusty. However the course just plain kicked my butt. The biggest challenge was this ungodly mud that gunked up your tires quickly causing them to stop spinning as the space between your tire and brakes filled in to where you could probably plant a nice patch of vegetables there. So either you lift your bike on your shoulders and walk or you roll your bike but stop every ten feet to clean out your tires.
Despite and partly because of all the obstacles the ride was a blast and a terrific challenge. I am definitely pumped up to do some more riding although I hope on firmer trails but that might be wishful thinking this time of year in Oregon. Drew rocked the course, we think coming in third but the results aren't out yet. He had a solid run then passed most of the rest of us on the bike.
Posted by Dave at October 16, 2006 11:01 AM