The end of the summer riding season either spells burnout or hero dirt for the Norcal mountain biker. Fall in the SF Bay Area means a return to cool, clear weather a few days of rain to return the dirt into pristine mountain biking condition.
The Norcal members of mtbr got together on November 3rd to do a special ride – no training, no sag support, no entry fees. Just show up and ride 10,000 feet of climbing. And if that’s not your cup of tea, just do an epic ride that’s more significant than your normal weekend adventure. The key is to share the experience with your ‘virtual’ friends then hang out and drink beer.
Soquel Demo Forest is a special place in the SF Bay Area because it is mostly wooded singletrack and it is legal. The trails were built by riders and many jump lines and features exist. While most of the climbing is done on fire roads, all the descending is on fun singletrack. So this is indeed a descenders dream as well.
The event went off without a hitch and about half the participants camped out in nearby Camp Loma for the night. Spouses and kids joined in on the festivities to experience the mountain biking lifestyle.
Here’s a highlight video of ride filmed by Francois
It was a special ride indeed with riders doing above and beyond their normal abilities while sharing the experience with friends. And most surprising of all was the spouse and family support as kids, husbands and wives, dogs greeted their athlete hero at the finish of the ride.