Mtb-ing on Brown again - fun fun

Humble Horse at Tri-way-intersection on Brown

Normally Sunday mornings are especially reserved for the Brunch Ride (road ride). However, last week I got an invitation to ride mountain bikes on Brown from an old HS friend. I hadn't ridden up there for like half a year. And I had to jump at the invitation. Thanks CW! It was great to be up there on a bike again - even though I'd just been at that exact spot in the photo 24 hours before on foot. Coming down was a huge challenge. I don't think I've ridden El Prieto (semi technical single track) since before the fires - circa 2009 - and it's changed a lot - it's more technical - and in those few short years my technical riding skills have gone from low-to-moderate to absolute-zero - serves me right for spending so much time on the dark side - with the roadies! I liked the look of this lay-out of our bikes as we rested at the apex of our ride… something about the early morning sunlight… 

peace on the down-tube

I had a great long ride this past weekend through wine country. It was an organized century sorta thing but the real greatness was just riding all day with some friends and spinning spinning sinning those cranks even over those rough roads - no matter - just ride - just spin. 

I rode "Totally 80's!" which was interesting. Most of the people on this ride were on new-ish carbon fiber dealios. One guy I talked to at a rest stop/aid station commented on how "pretty vintage" my bike was - but not like "Vintage!, that's bitchin'!," but like Vintage, "I poopoo at you." 

But whatever, maybe it was the wrong crowd to impress with an older bike. However, I came across one gentleman late in the ride who was riding a very similar bike - a Centurion, even - a Dave Scott model - and as we passed I called out, "Hey, nice bike," and he glanced over at mine and got it and said, "it's an '85" and I said, "I'm an "88!" 

I'm an '88. I caught on to that a few moments after I said it but realized how accurate the statement was because at that moment T80's and I were not separate entities but one - rolling, performing together.

There were a few other older steeds out there of course. And the first one I came across around a quarter of the way through the ride I realized that we, the older steeded riders, needed a gang sign/hand signal and all of a sudden without forethought I flashed this rider a peace sign - and simultaneously understood what that sign represented - peace, sure, but also a perfect visual of the shifters on the down tube. 

So for the rest of the day I flashed the secret sign to vintage down tube riders and hoped that some of them caught on. 

Down-tube shifters, baby! - what's good enough for Miguel Indurain is good enough for me… 

Packed and ready...
It's all downhill from here...