2019 Rwanda Ride

It was cool. Saw @UPSed coming back from Caspers as I was headed in. 8 minutes later I saw @mtnbikej and @Faust29 - it appears Ed smoked everybody.

EDIT: @Grego caught me heading out Sonriente Trail. Saw @Vince the Trailslayer at the stop just before Waterworks.

I didn't do the 50. Or the 25. More like the 38.9. Still a fun day.

 

The ride was better this year with cool weather ... had other commitments, so I left after the ride at around noon. Last couple of big water crossings actually cleaned my gears. It got quiet...

 

Rwanda was great this year! Considering the course was mostly full of sand, freshly graded roads and a lot of water crossings I think I did pretty good. There was one water crossing that was just a little too deep so I walked through it both times. Of course my feet got wet but it didn't bother me at all. Drive train got a little noisy but nothing worse than I've had before.

 

Today’s ride was an extra large serving of vanilla ice cream without any toppings.

Why 67 mile rides are called 75?

The 44 miles crew.


I think I’m ready for Koko. We will find out soon enough.

 

The group started really big... @Stkx66 , @Fijirob , @Faust29 , @mtnbikej , @Ebruner , @KiLO , @kingaucho , @HBkites , and @UPSed .

We rolled out 25 minutes early to avoid the stampede at the beginning, and it was the right call... And we weren't the earliest. The group started spreading out on Live Oak, and spread a little more on Bell View. Fun ride... Some of us hung with Ed for the most part until he put the geared hammer down on Bell View. The hamsters had no chance. @HBkites hung with him, but then played international good samaritan at the bottom of Star Rise and loaned out his pump.

WE also saw @Luis , @Runs with Scissors , @BeckTrex , and a few others... I know @Grego and @trailslayer were out there. I forgot my allergy medicine this morning, so I was dying. Watery eyes, and I couldn't tell who was who.

The rest of the ride was me, Jason, Erik and Sharone... Sharone, too, opted for the big boy ride and did another lap in the sand. I cruised to the finish... Donated my raffle tickets to @shewhodoesntdoforums and then pedaled home to get my 50...

As far as the ride being called the 50 and 75? It's new math. They round up the estimate for each loop. The ride hasn't been a true 50 since the start was at Oakley, and we had to climb Live Oak from both sides. It would have been closer this year, but still not 50, without the course deviation in Caspers.

Lots of sand, water, and mud... The single speed held up better than the geared bike the other day. A couple brushings and it made it. A little noisy when I pulled into the garage, but not bad.

I think our group was about 4:30:00, so 30 minutes slower than last year, but better than I expected for the single speed and the course conditions...

 

Yeah, I rode with @Luis for a few minutes also, until he left me in the dust in the clusterf*** that is Arroyo Trabuco.

 

I had a great time yesterday! This was my first ride of this kind. I didn't know what an aid station was for. Emergency only? Now that I have done this for the first time I realize I could have left most of my water (weight) behind and have replenished at the aid stations if need be. We started off as a group of 9 riders and quite quickly @Fijirob and I paired up only to watch @Faust29, @mtnbikej, @UPSed and others speed on away. I've only ridden 1 or 2 sections of this area ever so it was nice to have @Fijirob show me the way. I decided that I didn't need chain lube ( recommended by this group ) on the ride. Boy was I wrong but @Fijirob had some and it made a huge difference with all the water crossings. I'm glad I did this ride and was nice to see familiar faces out on the trail. I felt good when I got home and am not sore today.** Note to self- don't drink two large cups of coffee just before starting a ride like this-

 

My first time I carried 3 liters of water, sandwiches, electrolytes, fruit, trail mix, extra clothes, tools, and just about everything else you can think of... I also wore thermal tights, as it was supposed to be 60 degrees. Yesterday... It was the normal tools on the bike plus chain brush/lube, a single water bottle and 3 packets of Tailwind.

You done good...

 

First time for me riding a singlespeed on the 50. Picked up the packets and didn't even recognize @horsebikerider . Boy I need to get my eyes checked. Said a quick hello to @Runs with Scissors and @mtnbikej at the starting grid. Then found parked next to me was @Luis and David Cho getting ready. As planned I started in the back of the pack. Just going to cruise. Vince would go to the front. Got stuck in the mob at the first stream crossing. Guess starting at the back wasn't such a good idea. Saw a lady fall right into the stream trying to get across. On to the first climb saw @BeckTrex and I would start passing people left and right. The TiWWSS loves to climb. So much for cruising. Down the first singletrack a guy would crash right in front of me. Stopped to help him out. Said hi to @Derek13 as he would pass. Later on Bell I caught up to @Runs with Scissors Rode with him for a time where we saw @UPSed and the others pass going the other way. Mark would cut it short before dropping Star Rise. At the bottom I found Vince going the other way Smile on his face, he even said "Hi" to me. The sand was not as bad as I expected. Pedaled through. Around and back up Star Rise. I finally did some walking. Lubed the chain here too. Overcast skies kept the weather cool. Pedaled on and on no problems through the rest of the course. The stream crossing were deep. Brakes sounded like a foghorn when wet. Was easier than expected on the SS. Will do again.

 

I missed you, @Derek13 and the trail slayer... I'll blame the watery eyes. I couldn't see much of anything all day.

Single Speed was better than I thought, also...

 

Yeah, I've used the "allergies" excuse for my watery eyes before, too...

 

I fight watery eyes all the time as well-

 

Most "highly" doubt it is the truth but I blame my red eyes on allergies.

 

Great riding and seeing you guys out there! Really glad we started a little early this year. Solid group of riders and good people all around - my buddy @Fijirob, @UPSed, @Faust29, @mtnbikej, Sharone, Eric and a few others (sorry can’t remember the names). Was feeling great until we dropped down from East Ridge and that’s the last I saw of @Faust29 an @mtnbikej. I started cramping up - quads, hamstrings... Had to stop and stretch a few times and that slowed me down quite a bit. Caspers was an energy suck for the most part with all of the deep sand, freshly graded fire roads and water crossings. I had signed up for the 75 (aka 66+ miles) and was determined to do it even if I had to take my time. My goal was to finish before 2pm... crosses the Finish Line at 1:59! Mission accomplished!

As always, my wife and daughters were there to support me! Love this part!

Bike was not that bad. I brushed and lubed the chain 3 times and walked the deeper creek crossings. At least ones with semi walkable “bridges”.

All in all glad to have Rwanda Ride #7 in the bag and looking forward to next year... and a 100 mile option? Haha!

Congrats on all of you who came out and did this! Look forward to riding more with you this year!

 

Another Rwanda ride.....

It was different this year...I wasn't the last rider on the course. No sweep for me this year.

Met up with @Faust29 , @Ebruner , @KiLO , @kingaucho , @Fijirob , @HBkites , @Stkx66 , @UPSed for a 6:30 roll....which turned into 6:35. We got out in front of the main pack. Tried to keep the pace...social. That worked for about the first 3-4 miles...or once we started climbing in O'Neil. Got hung up behind some seriously slow riders on Vista DH. By the time we were climbing Twisty Tire, we had already lost a couple riders.

Uneventful push over to Dove Canyon. A few in our group stopped at the aid station. Ed and Sharone pushed the pace....I tried to hang on, but the geared guys just pulled away. Steve, Lubo and I continued on at a more social pace. Did see some rather large paw prints in the powdery dirt....didn't look like a dog to me. The fast guys that left on time caught us as we rolled through the gate into Caspers.

Down Star Rise, into the water and sand. It wasn't as bad as it was earlier in the week, but it still wasn't good. Erik caught back up to us at this point. Quick stop at the aid station for water and a chain brush. The climb up East Ridge was nice in the cooler temps. Still had to walk the loose steep spot. Sun Rise DH....a waste of a descent. Too short, too loose....just meh. Back through the sand and water to head up Star Rise. Now the conga line of riders was heading through. Was able to climb Star Rise on this day. It was a little more packed down, but a geared bike in front of me threw a chain and off was. So walked the middle section. Back on Bell View, still a ton of riders heading towards Caspers.

Another quick stop at the Dove Canyon aid station. At this point I was pretty sure I wasn't going to do the 75. It was down to 4 of us....Steve, Sharone and Erik. The pace heading out to the Arroyo was slow on the climbs.....thanks to the conga line. On the flats it was quick. I tried to hang as long as i could....Steve had already ejected, I did the same a ways down. After Waterworks, it was just a matter of mostly flat miles back to the finish line. OK, not really. This was the section that had the most water and sand/silt/gravel/mud/sand. Wash, agitate, spin and repeat.

Made it back to the finish about 11:30. Was home by 12:30.

Saw @Grego , @Runs with Scissors , @Luis but didn't get a chance to chat.

Still not a fan of this ride. I just don't get entertained by it.

Fun riding with friends. Great to meet a few of the other members.

 

A few pic's of the mob.

 

That first water crossing was the whole reason I knew we had to start early... I saw the crooked S shaped entry, and knew it was going to be backed up. Glad I didn't see it in person!

 

That is insane! I got stuck behind a couple of conga lines for a few minutes on my second lap of the 25 but was able to squeeze past with minimal effort.

 

YIKES!!

 

Great event. I left my phone in the car so no photos from me. Awesome to ride with folks I haven't ridden with before.

The ride was pretty un-eventful for me. I had taken a week off of riding before hand because my left foot has been acting up. I limped all week right up until I pulled my shimano shoes on and then my foot felt fine. Odd. At any rate, @KiLO and I mostly hung with the group until he peeled off at mile 17. I upped the pace and quickly caught back up to @mtnbikej and @Faust29 at the first creek crossing. We spent the rest of the day picking away at the ride. Nothing interesting to report until about mile 38 where my left knee started to get angry. No signs of cramps, but by the time we got done with the ride, I had no choice on being done or not... my knee was toast. Hung around and said hello to other path folks and left just before noon.

Spent the rest of the weekend icing my knee and tearing my bike down. Overall my bike made it through mostly un-scathed but the last 8 miles did toast both bearings on my eagle derailleur jockey wheels. All in all a small price to pay for so much drivetrain abuse.

Fun day on 2 wheels.

 

Shoulda, woulda, coulda... I was very comfortable on the Hightower with some squish under my butt. However, the miles and miles of sitting and spinning may have been better served on the Chameleon. Still a great day on a bike and I feel pretty good afterward. I really liked some of the trail we saw. All of the course was new to me and I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the scenery was so close to all the development.

 

We crossed each other when you had come up out of Caspers and where hauling the mail just after the white gate. I saw @Ebruner and you quickly pass and yelled "STEVE..."! Doppler effect and you're terrible eyesight. Haha. You guys had a good little train going down hill quick. With all the soft sand everywhere with two-way traffic we had to stay alert. Good ride you guys.

 

Well then... Next time you make it down this way, I'll show you all of the fun stuff that the Rwanda ride skips. There's actually quite a bit of single track that the ride doesn't use. Some of it is unofficial, but most is just not fit for that many riders.

Ahhh... I didn't see you on the Bell Trail. Where we passed was my hardest part of the day. Trying to keep up with the guys headed back to the waterfall was nuts. Spinning like a freaking hamster and still losing ground! My PR on that stretch is 15 minutes faster with gears...

 

I had at least 10 people call out my name during the ride. I think I only recognized a couple of them. It's time for another meet and greet and or reacquaintance ride.

I was on such a high after the ride that I don't think I got a chance to tell everyone how much fun it was to ride with them. I really enjoy riding as a group but I had a mindset to push that day. Next time let's make it more social.

 

@mtnbikej summed up the day pretty good. Looking at the pics of the conga line above, I am soooo glad we started early. I hated the sand and the water crossings. The bike shops will reap the rewards of this ride with a sudden uptick in drivetrain replacements.

It was nice seeing everyone at the start, and for the first 4 miles, until we hit the Live Oak climb where Steve and I were dropped. Right there I knew I didn't have it for the day and was stoked that @Stkx66 and I were able to ride together for the remainder of the day...40 miles ;-) It was great riding with Steve and I am glad we stuck together since he was not familiar with the area. Didn't realize he was also riding Kokopelli so we chatted about a little of everything at a nice casual pace for the day. We finished exactly at noon and I was pretty spent. I wasn't feeling great on Thursday but thought by hydrating a lot on Friday I would be good. I just felt blah all day, so the pace with Steve was perfect. I had an event to attend that evening so I had to bail shortly after we finished.

Glad I did it merely to have one last long training ride before Kokopelli. I'm HOPING that a slower pace and lot's of photo stops at Kokopelli will allow me to have enough energy to make it the entire 150 miles. 10 days away for the epic adventure!

 

That is one good looking family!

 

Glad everyone had fun!
That's does not look fun...

 

Especially 50+ miles in!

 

Team IMTB missed that completely with a 25 minute head start...

I'm going to have to get in a lot better shape to do your social pace!

 

I thought the same thing Mikie!!! You're a lucky man @kingaucho !!!