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It’s been a while…

It’s been a few months since I’ve been on any downhill rides. So when Joe Solancho told me about a secret trail that he and Wes Castro rode a few weeks prior, I jumped on the opportunity. We met at the staging location and loaded up the bikes.

We’re lucky enough that we could shuttle this trail. It wasn’t a clean shuttle, we had to do some pedaling and walking for about 1/4 mile before we started the DH run.

One of our friends, and site fanboy, Val Macatangay joined us for the ride. Look we’re twinsies!

I wish I had more pictures, but we were too busy riding. We did about 3 runs and by the time we were on the 3rd, we all started gaining some speed and confidence. It usually takes me about 3-5 practice runs to get a trail dialed in. Joe and I took turns leading the way down for #3. At one point I gained some speed and felt like I was flying through the berms and rock gardens. I bypassed the jumps because I’m allergic to falling. Unfortunately, about 1/2 way down the trail I had a pinch flat. Oh man I was so bummed! I ended up riding down the trail on the rim…

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By the time we got back to the car, we called it day. We decided that next time we’ll schedule an earlier ride since we were out there at noon. Despite the flat tire, we all had a great time. Earlier I mentioned it was “secret” trail. It really isn’t. In fact the Park Rangers had given Wes and Joe specific directions on which trail to take. I just don’t want to share the info and have that place get too crowded. Sorry folks!