Friday, October 24, 2014

Excited to do our part in maintaining our local trails!



Sunday, September 14, 2014

2014 Mid-Season Team Update

The team just finished up the last mountain bike race of the season with the Knobby Tire Series World Cup format Avimor XC race.  A huge thank you to Broken Spoke Cycling for all they do locally for the mountain bike racing scene.

The team was very busy this year accumulating 86 race starts across 27 events and 6 states.  We had a lot podiums and even more personal bests.  In addition, to racing and riding a ton, the team also had 80+ community service hours, which consisted of several trail maintenance projects and hosting of a beginner/intermediate mountain bike ride as part of Boise Bike Week.

Next up, Cyclo-cross!  The team is just as active (or more active) during cyclo-cross season as it is during mountain bike season.  The team will once again be co-promoting the Idaho Waffle Cross Series for the 4th year in a row, while raising money each weekend for local charities.

Thank you to all of our sponsors for helping us do what we love, riding our bikes and encouraging others to do the same!  Please support those companies that support local cycling.  Thank you Eastside Cycles, Trailhead Chiropractic, Matt Green Photo, Habitat Veterinary Hospital, Boise Fry Co., Bar Fly, Polar Bottle, Rocky Mountain Bicycles and Pactimo.




Wednesday, August 13, 2014

" We should ride bikes to the cabin, ok let's ride bikes to the cabin! "

 
*Who-  Mark Schafer aka " Markzilla " , Gabe Keck , Patrick Nagler and myself...
*What- Bike ride to the cabin!
*When- Saturday, August 2nd, 2014
*Where- Donnelly, ID
*Why- Because it would be AWESOME! we love riding our bikes!
*How- 8hr's of pedaling along great dirt/gravel & little pavement of beautiful Idaho back roads!


*Cabin ride break down* 
-Time- 8 hours & some change ...
-Miles- 122
-Elevation Gain- 10,300-10,800 feet
-Avg. Speed - 15mph
- Almost 90% dirt roads

-Route-  The FUN!... all started right from Patrick's house (Military Reserve)-->Up Bogus Basin road-->Cat track to Schafer Camp ground-->* Best single track in Boise trail* -->Boise Ridge road 374-->Harris Creek/Star Ranch Road-->Placerville Rd 615-->Alder Creek Rd 615--> 17 Banks/Lowman Rd to Garden Valley-->Crouch-->Middlefork Rd-->Scriver Creek Rd/693/ 670,-->Deer Valley Rd--> 6 Mile rd , Bacon! Rd,--> Gatfield Rd--Sixty Ln--> Skunk Creek Rd-->Clear Creek Rd (across 55 ) -->Cabarton Rd-->W Mountain Rd--> Tamarack Falls Rd--> W Roseberry Rd-->Highway 55--> Old State Rd-->Loomis Ln--> Spring Valley Rd-->Lake Trail Dr-->Cascade Dr-->Wildwood Dr-->Hereford Rd--->*PATRICK'S CABIN* Wowerzzzz, what a ride/adventure, we made it!  BEER! & FOOD! time ...


*Worthy ride for a few High 5's! *
*One of the best rides/adventures I have been on with some great friends*

It seems like a while since I have written on our blog page.  It's probably because every race I have done this season has been a BUST! in my eyes ( except 9-5!, 2nd in team duo category with my good buddy, Gabe Keck).  So when my friends and I were about half way through this epic ride, I thought to myself this is for sure a worthy ride/adventure to write about, as well as an afterthought of a small memory of the BIG Loop road ride back in May.

"We should ride bikes to the cabin. "
"Ok, let's ride bikes to the cabin! "

About a month back while at Patrick's having some beers and catching up about our 4th of July weekend events we both did, the awesome idea of riding cylcocross bikes in one day from his house to his cabin, 5 miles past Donnelly, was discussed. It sounded like a awesome idea for a super fun mostly dirt/gravel road route adventure, so I was on board with it from the get-go.  Not only was it a awesome idea just to do it for a fun weekend day ride, but also a good reason to get in one last big ride before the Pierre's Hole 100 race over at Grand Targhee on Saturday, August 16th.  The same for Patrick as he is getting primed and ready for Lotoja come September.  We ended up recruiting two more friends Gabe and Mark, who we knew would be very interested and down to join us in this awesome adventure  ( also racing Pierre's Hole 100 ).  We got a great ride planned and also weekend plan dialed and set out with nothing but pure excitement and high hopes for a good, hard, long, safe, and memorable ride.  Something about getting super stoked on a big ride like this and not knowing the turn by turn route or where we were really going was a really fun part of this adventure for me.  Luckily, Patrick had already done this route before, so we were fortunate to have him as a great guide.

The skinny knobby tires started rolling out from Patrick's house at 7am through town and up Bogus Basin road to the lower lodge.  This was a pretty fun start to the day because BB road was just packed with cars going up to the resort for the Dirty Dash event.  We didn't know that event was going on when we planned the cabin ride but it all worked out. The vibe and atmosphere was great to see and have before a long hard day on the bikes. Once we got to the lower lodge and refilled bottles,  it was full on party mode up there and it was hard to leave and not join in on the fun; however, we had our own ride party to get on with. We made our way up to the Schafer campground where we climbed some extra to get to what we call " Boise finest/best single track ".  It made the start of the ride that much sweeter, as we got to ride some very fun single track with some of the best views of the ride, I would say.  Along with the gorgeous views from the Boise Ridge road all the way down and into Placerville.  Making it all good into Placerville, after some super fun and really fast dirt road downhills, we fueled up on calories at a small general store and refilled our bottles.  We also chatted it up with some interesting locals that just happened to have some extra chain lube in their RV.  A funny quote that stuck with me for most of the ride was " is that a big stick of butter you're eating, " said Patrick as he asked a friendly local.  It turned out it was just ice cream....1/2 of the "stick" was in the dudes beard... Gotta love the friendly, humorous hill folks.

We headed out excited for the next stop few hours away which was going to be Crouch.  Along the way some really fast flat's mixed with some stiff rolling climbs and super fun, fast fire road descents.  We encountered two flat tires but got them changed super fast and we were charging hard towards Garden Valley and Crouch. A fun memory ( in a weird twisted way ) of another great " rainy" ride I did back in May ( the BIG Loop ) came into mind as we turned left onto Banks/Lowman road heading towards Crouch.  I pretty much smiled and laughed to myself a little and said to the guy's , " the last time I was on this road it was a total monsoon of a down pour " The BIG Loop day,  a darn good day/ride ...
(BIG Loop ride/memory I had along the "Cabin Ride" )
*Steaming ahead along Banks/Lowman rd just before the flood gates opened on us!*
BIG Loop day was one of the gnarliest rides I been on to survive, not the ride itself but the weather we encountered while on it. It was sure nice to be on Banks/Lowman road on a beautiful, sunny, warm day in August for the " Cabin Ride ".  Ok, there may have been a few hours where " warm " is a pure understatement.... more of like melting HOT! Anyway the thoughts of the BIG loop's weather just made it easier while on this ride, riding through the dead of the day's heat at times.

We then had a comfortable stop at the grocery store in Crouch to again re fuel on food and re fill bottles and we were off for a LONG! part of the ride and with super long, endless seeming climbs.  Scriver Creek road and then  the climb " Markzilla's climb " seemed to go on just forever and luckily for us it was really hot.  As Markzilla, was way ahead almost near the top getting some pictures, it sounded like some crazy echo's as I thought I was hearing things. Oh but it was just Markzilla already near the top cheering us on. I just thought " yep, time to stay steady, I'll get him on a TNR! "  We regrouped at the top and thankfully Patrick said that was mostly the end of the big climbs. Some decent sized rollers but as for climbs we were done with them!  Unfortunately, Gabe and myself were out of water and it was super hot and we still had, I think, a solid 2 hrs to go to the next for sure stop being at Clear Creek grill/bar/shop right on Highway 55.  We were hoping for a random camp ground along the route, but luckily while on a good rolling climb a very nice lady offered some water! So a quick refill of one water bottle.  This was all it took to get us to Clear Creek grill/bar/shop right next to 55.  It was time for one last real food if you will ( Markzilla stuffing Twinkies down, and us other much calorie deprived people eating beef jerky, peanut butter M&M's and drinking Coke -mmm tasty! )  Knowing the end may be near, across 55 we went and started onto the long Carbarton gravel road and Mountain Rd...a great deep gravel road and deep wash-boarded grind of almost there!?!? bike riding fun!...

Riding parallel of Tamarack Resort and Cascade Lake knowing pavement into Donnelly and the cabin would be coming soon.  Oh but wait now bike riding adventurers,  we were then greeted with the last of the ride's dirt roads with miles and miles of beat up gravel sections and deep wash boarded sections that jarred every muscle in the body as well as the tired mind! It was worth every mile.....

We finally hit pavement , filled up a few bottles one last time at a nearby camp site for home stretch into Donnelly and cabin. We had a great pace line going all the way into town at about 22mph which we all felt pretty comfortable with for being that late into the ride. " SWEET! This is RAD! "
As we turned off the main road onto the side roads to get to the cabin, having no idea of how much further we had, I knew we were very close as Patrick went off the front and I looked down at my Garmin and we were flying down Cascade and Wildwood Dr.  at 25mph. There it was!  Patrick put his hands up as if he won an imaginary sprint and we turned one last turn into the cabin where we were greeted by some very friendly faces of Sean Donovon, Sheila , and Margret. They were there ahead of time to prepare some great food and party late into the night with us 4 tired, super-stoked, bike riders of the day's adventure.  A ride I will remember for a long time to come and can't wait to do again!

Big thanks to Patrick, Gabe and Markzilla for one heck of a fun day doing what we love in a simple way.

" Let's go ride our bikes to the cabin! "  again....

*The endlessly fun Scriver Creek rd climb!* aka Markzilla's climb

* A series of fun,fast,flat,turn's & rollers into Clear Creek lodge/bar*

 

 *A shot ski in August!? OH! I think so...*

Cheers!
 









Tuesday, July 15, 2014

My Crusher experience

I've had a few cycling obsessions in my past that keep drawing me back to certain rides/races like Tour de Tucson, Butte 50 and now Crusher in the Tushar.  I would return to Tour of Battenkill but getting to upstate NY in April has it's challenges. 

The Crusher takes place in Beaver, Utah and circles through the Tushar Mountains and Fisherlake National Forest.  It's 69 miles with 10.000ft of climbing  over 60% dirt/gravel and 40% pavement topping out over 10,000 ft elevation.  Burke Swindlehurst, ex pro cyclist, is the race promoter who wanted to showcase his home turf and Utah's finest backcountry roads.  You get to chose your ride - mountain bike or cross bike and like they say, at some point during the race you will wish you had chosen the other bike.  I've done 2 Crusher tours one on my 29er and this year on my Felt FX1 cross bike and there are pluses and minuses to both bikes.  It comes down to choose your bike and ride it.





I've included the race profile and you can read about the specifics on the website (http://tusharcrusher.com/).  Here's a few reasons that I put this on my race calendar again this year.
  • Burke Swindlehurst puts on a top notch race event covering every detail from a well marked beautiful, scenic and challenging course to post race festivities at Eagle Point Resort.  Numerous pro racers return each year because it's such a unique experience.
  • Volunteers are abundant and wonderful.  Residents of Beaver really step up for this event and make it a great event.  There are 5 well stocked aid stations for pre-filled bottle hand ups, EFS hot shots or fetch whatever you need.  Young, old and every age in between are full of enthusiasm.  A volunteer approaches you at the finish, racks your bike, gets your drop bag while another leads you to a comfy chair in the shade and takes your drink order.
  • My wave started 1 minutes after eventual winner Levi Leipheimer.  I saw him one other time during the race but we were going in opposite directions.  Numerous top ranked men and women pro riders show up for this one.
  • Spectators line the roads with cow bells, pots and pans or whatever else they  have at their campsites and cheer for the pros as well as us amateurs pulling up the rear.  I've never heard so many "you go honey" and "atta girl" comments.
  • Holla for a dollar hand off - guy in a Gilly suit standing alone without another sole in site handing out dollar bills.  Last year he was laying on the ground saying "just take it; i'm tired."
  • Col d' Crush - 5 miles of "leg bursting, lung searing, soul searching climb" up sun exposed, gravel switchbacks and this is after you've already ascending 5,000 ft on the 1st climb.  Once again volunteers are the heroes by serving ice cold coke at the top and running along side of you with portable misters to cool you down.
  • Final mile - "save something for the end" was what I kept hearing the 1st year and now I know: 1 mile, 12% grade straight up.  You can hear the finish line celebrations but can't see it until the final bend in the road and it is a wonderful site.
  • Strongest man/woman wins - true test of endurance, power and determination but it requires a strong rider just to finish the Crusher.
Podium finishers were given a special frame badge inspired by the Madonna del Ghisallo, the patroness of cyclists.





Last tidbit:  On race morning I woke up to Loverboys "Lovin' Every Minute of It" playing on the hotel AM/FM radio.  I decided that would be my theme for the day.  Except for the last mile up Col d' Crush were I had to walk because of leg cramps I stayed true to my mantra. 


So everyone doing HC100 this weekend, select your morning tunes wisely because it will be in your head all day.

Ride on,

Lori


Monday, June 9, 2014

I’M SO FANCY…...Fruita 100k Race Report:

I’m So Fancy……………is the song that was stuck in my head during the Fruita 100k mountain bike race.  Actually, the chorus of the song is what kept repeating in my mind during the latter part of the race since I can’t really make out what the rest of the song lyrics are actually saying.   It wasn’t until a few hours later, when I heard the song again on the satellite radio that it clicked that this was the song in my head during several hours of the race.  It is interesting how the subconscious mind works in times when you are at or near your limits considering I had first heard the song on the radio only two days prior during the drive down to Fruita.  Oh, and the music artist turns out to be an Australian hip/hop star that I have never heard of……….random!

I'm so fancy
You already know
I'm in the fast lane
From L.A. to Tokyo
I'm so fancy….”

So, owe yeah, where was I, the Fruita 100k:

60 miles; 6,300’ of Climbing; Spans 2 States; and has a whole lot of steep ups and downs.


Beth and I decided to make the trip for the Fruita 100k two months prior since I had a work conference planned the following week in Snowbird, Utah.  I have always wanted to ride in Fruita, but had never made the time to stop on the way, while driving to other far off destinations.  In fact, if it weren’t for Beth’s interest in the race, I still wouldn’t have ridden in Fruita yet.  


View from camp the night before the race.  Would it be an omen for a good race?


Beth and I arrived in Fruita Thursday evening and we easily found a nice campsite in Rabbit Valley, which was where the race was to start.  Friday we went for a short ride along the Kokopelli Trail, which was also a good portion of the race course.  After the ride, we spent the rest of the day in Fruita and nearby Colorado National Monument.  Race day came and we picked up our numbers and toed the line at 7:00 a.m.  The race is in its 4th year of existence with racer numbers wavering between 50 to 75 racers each year.  This year’s participant number was slightly lower with ~60 in attendance.  The course was brand new from the previous 3 years by adding 26 miles of singletrack and 2,000’ of climbing.  We had limited information on what the new singletrack actually entailed, but assumed it was straight forward (i.e., not to technical), which we would come to realize a different story later that day.

Beth overlooking the Colorado River

Colorado National Monument


Going into the race, I didn’t have many goals other than to finish and have fun.  I had ridden less this year due to a busy spring at work and general motivation.  Going into the race, my training consisted of just normal riding with a few hard efforts at the Thursday Night Ride (TNR).  The race started and my plan was to hopefully make a small lead group, since the first 10 miles were on the technical jeep road of the Kokopelli Trail.  The race started and the pace was very reasonable and I found myself in 2nd place.  At about mile 1, there was a technical ¼ mile section that consisted of steep ledges and loose rocks that we happened to ride the day before.   I decided I wanted to be in the lead briefly going into this section, so I would have my choice of lines and avoid any miscalculations of other riders.  I moved into the lead right before this section, rode the section without incident, which resulted in a small gap opening up on the field.  Since I didn't really know what my fitness currently was or how my body would respond, I decided just to ride my own pace and see what happened.  It wasn't for probably another mile or so, that two riders joined me with a small chase group maybe 30 seconds back.  I ended up leading the race for the first 7 miles before a group of 4 of us switched leads for the next few miles.  In the last mile before the singletrack, I lost contact with the lead 3 while messing with my computer and their train quickly opened up a 30 second gap on me due to a strong headwind.


Starting the 13-mile singletrack loop (Zion Curtain Trail), I could see the first 3 riders, which were now separated from one another.  I consider myself a pretty good technical rider, so I wasn’t too concerned and was still riding my own pace.  I quickly realized that the technical rider part of me, decided not to show up on this race day as I almost endo-ed over the first ledge system, losing my rear wattle bottle in the process.  For the remainder of the loop, I was unable to get in a rhythm and was bouncing all over the technical singletrack.

The singletrack was very diverse and consisted of sagebrush singletrack, steep pitchy climbs and descents, slick rock, canyon overlooks, chutes and pinyon-juniper woodlands.  I couldn’t believe how technical the trail was and was getting beat up pretty bad due to my inadequate skills and lack of flow.  I ended up conceding 1 spot during the singletrack section and was now in 5th place.  After the singletrack, there was a very steep climb to another desert plateau and then 6 miles to the turnaround spot.

The nice thing about out and back races is you get to see where everyone is, which put me  just under a mile from the current leader of the race at the half way point.  On the way back, I was kind of dreading the singletrack loop again, but it turned out to flow a lot better in the opposite direction.  I was also thinking about Beth a lot and was wondering how she was handling the singletrack since I knew she had never really even seen or tried to ride anything like it before.  I saw Beth just as I was beginning the singletrack section, while trying to hang on 3rd places wheel.  I saw Beth and she was waving to me and said everything was okay, and she seemed in good spirits. It was really hard not to stop and talk because I was actually more vested into her race than mine. The climb back up to the top of the mesa on the singletrack loop involved a lot of suffering and a little loopiness that is pretty common towards the end of an endurance mountain bike race.  It wasn’t until mile 40 or so that I finally started to feel strong and my technical skills came back to me.  Coincidentally, this is when the SONG popped into my head and I started to get “Rad” as I like to tell myself.

The singletrack started to flow and my body was no longer in survival mode.  I finished the singletrack in 3rd position after 1st place had crashed and significantly slowed him down for the remainder of the race.  The last 10 miles were all on the Kokopelli Trail and I just hammered it, but assumed 1st and 2nd place was far from reach since I hadn’t seen either one since the first 3rd of the singletrack section.  Nearing the final mile and last steep climb, I spotted 2nd place, which looked like he was fading up the climb.  I couldn’t believe it and charged up the climb trying to close the gap, but ended up coming up short by 13 seconds by the time I reached the finish line in just over 5 hours 15 minutes.  1st place ended up only being just less than 3 minutes ahead of me! 

After recovering a bit and getting some food back at camp, I went back to the finish line and checked with the Race Director to see if he could tell me what check point Beth last passed.  I found out Beth was out on her second loop of the singletrack and was expected at the next aid station within the next 15 minutes.  I ended up driving as far as I could on the Kokopelli Trail with the Subaru, which was only about 3 miles, to wait and cheer Beth on for her final few miles.  This was actually one of the highlights of the weekend, when I was just sitting in the desert for about an hour, observing its vastness and enjoying the quite solitude.
Beth arrived and looked strong and just blew by me declining any food or drink.  I drove back to the finish line to see her finish and congratulate her.  Upon finishing, the Race Director was asking her how it was and she stated that “she was now a better mountain biker now than she was this morning.”  The cool thing about travelling to mountain bike races is you get to experience such different trails and challenges.  This race was definitely an achievement to just finish with its technical stature let alone race it.  I was so proud of Beth and how positive she was during her race.

Final few miles of the Kokopelli Trail
So, if you are curious of what the SONG that got stuck in my head during my race is, check it out (Google Iggy Azalea Fancy), but be forewarned, it may pop into your head next time you enter the pain cave.  After doing a little research and watching the video, I am little embarrassed about even admitting to listening to this song and even liking its “catchy” beat.  By the way, I haven’t heard the song since.

What’s the worst (or best) song that’s gotten stuck in your head during your races? 


Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Boise Bike Week, Come Ride with Eastside!!!

Boise Bike Week is coming up and there are lot of fun events shaping up, so get your bikes tuned up and come ride with us!!!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014
6:00 p.m., Military Reserve / Fort Boise Parking Lot across from Dog Park Area (Look for Eastside Jerseys)
Beginner and Intermediate Rides

http://www.boisebikeweek.org/schedule.html





Monday, April 7, 2014

5-mile Trail Work, Part 2

Saturday 6 of us headed up the busy Rocky Canyon Road.  Robie Creek Race has pulled the average runner from cozy beds along with eager trail repair enthusiasts headed for the last rut on 5-mile from recent spring run off!

Rut just after the first optional creek crossing

We started by collecting large rock to make check damns.


 
We then added baseball sized rock (or larger rocks - then took out our aggressions with hammers to downsize them).
 
Shaw breaking up larger rock


 
We finished by adding a nice layer of dirt that over time will settle between all the rock and make for a nice, solid, erosion resistant trail bed...


Rob adding the final layer

After adding the topsoil we compacted the dirt and had our finished product!


 
Happy with our work, we went on with our day.


 
Special thanks today to: Cory Bolen, Rob and Patty (Taking picture) Burke, Michael Shaw and Mark Schafer!
*All work pre-arranged with Ridge to Rivers and done as per instructed!
(if we did a good job, perhaps you'll be seeing us more often helping out!)
 
Now go have fun and ride it in!
 
Cheers,
 
Z
 
 

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Warming up to another season with Polar Bottles!

While it was still warming up in Boise (and raining and snowing as I was told) Angela and I slipped off to south to warm up and enjoy the canyons and rock Utah has to offer.

While I know this may sound crazy - we were in Moab for a few days without Mountain Bikes!  Don't fret - we did have two bikes on us, but then again, they didn't get much use.

BUT - what did get used for the first time were bottles from POLAR BOTTLES, one of our sponsors this year.  I'm impressed!  Initially, I viewed bottles all in the same category - necessary containers to carry water when out and about on the bike or hiking...  But my opinion is now altered and I will now reach for these bottles this year when riding in our foothills and or races!

They have a few details that I noticed and appreciated:

1) They have a contoured shape that actually fits the hand well when holding - not necessarily a game changer - but an appreciated detail (and aren't we all about the details?).

2) Insulated - I didn't test this out extensively as temperatures were mild last week - but we did leave two bottles in the car one day and I noticed my High Cascade standard bottle left that undesirable plastic taste in the water, whereas the Polar Bottle did not!  Major selling point!




3) Handy loop for hiking/carrying.  I am not sure how this loop will work on the bike (I most likely will remove it) but it worked out great when carrying a few of these bottles around (from car to pack, counter to garage, etc)  How many of us have done the 3-4 bottle shuffle inevitably dropping one on the way?  Not a problem when you can easily hook the loop with one finger making multiple bottle carry issues a thing of the past! :)  Not to mention the carabiner carry!

See you on the trail!

Zuber

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Trail Maintenance #1

January brought an unusual amount of rain to the foothills. Combine this with frozen North facing slopes and the runoff was very damaging to a lot of our favorite trails. Bob's and 5 Mile Gulch were two trails that needed immediate repair.

Eastside Boys looking bummed

view from the creek (photo credit?)


Ridge to Rivers has several "trail days" that are coordinated with local volunteer groups like SWIMBA. Some team members were able to join one of those trail days and arrange for Team Eastside Cycles to help finish one project on our own. Bart and Sam from Ridge to Rivers gave us plenty of instruction on "what to do" and "how to do it". See these photos from the Trail Day at Bob's  Trail a couple weeks ago.

all this has to get buried

check dams and fill

Rock

Covered Rock

Lots of Rock "uh... what's a lot?"

Mine Site before rehab

"thigh deep"

adding rocks

more rocks

Sam showing me how to rehab the "mine"


The project at 5 Mile Gulch would require a massive amount of "manual labor". The guys from Ridge to Rivers met a big group of volunteers from SWIMBA and on Thursday of last week they "farmed" a literal ton of rock. (gathered from the surrounding area bucket-by-bucket, on-rock-at-a-time) Our group is a bit smaller than some, but we have very strong, eager volunteers. Our job was to fill and cover the trail with "dirt" from a "mine" point that had been scouted by Sam from Ridge to Rivers.

If you look at the photos, imagine that every rock was picked up by someone, placed in a bucket and then brought to someone else at the trail site. That next person was responsible for placing big rocks to be "check dams". They would then place all the small rock in between check dams to provide a stable foundation for the trail. It should also be noted that there is a lot of "sledge hammering" to break the rock up a bit and fill the voids. 

Intersection Sign Post

Big Rock = Check Dam

How Many Rocks?

"A... LOT... of rocks"

The work Ridge to Rivers and SWIMBA did in a single day at the 5 Mile site is staggering. Kudos to those guys and gals. Team Eastside Cycles brought a small crew of 8 (plus 3 mascots) to put the icing on the cake. In just about 4 hours, we were able to dig, haul, dump, pack and rehab the "trench" that Mother Nature put down the center of the trail.  We definitely had the "easy" job and the rewarding job of seeing the finished project first.

The "Mine Site"
Wheel Barrow & Bucket Brigade

Yes, one at a time. They're heavy!
This is icy and slick.
Carry...
Dump...
Repeat...

Starting to look normal
How many buckets of dirt does it take to fill a trench?
"bobsled team" 2 manning a full wheel barrow up the hill
Making Trail
Almost There "4 More Wheel Barrows"
Team Eastside Volunteers
Thanks to Ridge to Rivers for allowing us to help with work on one of our favorite trails. The Eastside Crew will make another appearance at the bottom of 5 Mile for another "trench repair" near the trailhead in a couple weeks. The above crew headed to Boise Fry Co. for burgers and beers thanks to sponsor, Matt Green Photo. (except Kate, she still had the energy to go for a ride -- note the helmet) The next time your ride past the trail sign at Watchman/5 Mile Gulch junction, tip your helmet to Ridge to Rivers, SWIMBA, and Team Eastside Cycles. I know I will get a little pleasure in knowing the efforts put into the trail I'm rolling over. Ride safe!