DeathRide Adventure 2012

DeathRider Adventures hosted the 2nd annual fat-bike-adventure-ride-II last Saturday.

I wouldn't miss an adventure ride. It's a day to get dirty and play in the mud and whatever else you feel like doing. We ride out fast and immediately find fields of burrs, mud, rivers, a cave, a very nice turkey sandwich, smelly mud, more water, steep trail, slick rocks, low trees, sand, more mud and a bowl of chilli. I rode 30 miles in 6 hours, smell like a farm animal and get locked out of my house all before 6pm. Fortunately it was cold and raining most of the day so you didn't need sunscreen. I don't like that stuff.

Death is in front leading the bravest of riders into a series of challenges that punish the weak, favor the strong and reward the accomplished with scratches like fighter pilots ticking off the missions.

Gear is the biggest challenge you face. What to wear? It's cold and wet but you'll work hard and get really dirty and likely destroy something. I lose part of my favorite polartec to a snag.

Fat bikes are built tough but they still break down and everyone has some trouble and have to stop to clear jammed sticks, chains, flats, and, if you're Pete M your seat falling off.

Eating is difficult. I calculate that I burned at least 3000 calories so I needed to eat at least 1000 or I'd blow up (get tired) and fall off the back and get dropped. This likely happened to a few. I ate every time I could and about hour 5 I was getting very tired.

Early on we all have to adjust air pressure to get a better bite into the wet ground.

Into the cave. It's better to suspend disbelief and just go. Don't ask yourself why. I still don't know; may never know, don't care to.

What goes in comes out and must, at times, climb a rickety ladder while carrying a bike. I know what you're thinking and no we don't know why someone put a brick hole in the ground but didn't I tell you to stop asking why!

Into a river. We bike down this for a long ways. The water is maybe 50 degrees and it's a struggle. The water gets maybe knee deep but the energy to keep going heats you up.You can't see where you're going and when you get above the grass you don't know where you are.

Burrs, Yet again, it's better to not think. Sure it's hard but you just go because you need to be on the other side. Ride and pick burrs the size of golf balls.

Back into a creek for more splashing around.

OH BOY! Mud. Everyone splashed in.

Grunt and heave. The best part, we didn't need to be at the top. That's because we aren't thinking, that's why. We get to take a fast free ride down the hill as a reward and that was fun enough.

See the grimous on his face. That's self inflicted because we have our brains in the Off position.

More pushing up hill. This time we need to be at the top I don't recall why.

Just a bunch of guys bashing around in the woods seeing what they can run over.

We find some smelly muck to play in. It's very motivating to not fall down. I make two laps and get this slop all over me and my bike.

 It's like gravy and I'm not going to be drinking out of that water bottle!

Everyone below is very happy and laughing about getting a run at the mud.

Remember the Turkey Sandwich.

We got right back to the mud and water after lunch. (I'm soaked and can't dry my lens so it's smudged)

This is the best hole we find, deep and almost ride-able.

We get to the big river and cruise the beach. Sand is fun and we can rinse off any mud but by this time our chains and gears are not working well and we have trouble shifting.

I could ride this shore for miles but it cliffs out and forces you to swim or bushwhack.

Break downs.

Nearing the end we are all banged up and weak. We are down to 8 riders from the original 15. My right leg is all scratched up from bushwhacking and crashing into things. Some report cold numb toes and everyone is wet to the core from rain, river or sweat and remember it's about 50 degrees out. The last of us hobble into the local pub for chilli and sugary drinks to get the blood sugars back up.

Funny thing about adventures is they are really better if you go at them 100% and don't think to much about why. Like, Why are these two standing in the river when it's cold out? Well, because they can, because others don't. In some small way it's the nature of all humans to go see what's around the corner. It's about being your inner child or to me the inner ape. I really enjoy doing the un-common and if it's difficult and I get wet and muddy and smell like and ape that's fine as well. I spent the day with 14 really awesome people that wanted nothing else but to go see what they could go over, crawl through and splash into and I didn't have to put sunscreen on.