A Noble Sufferfest

Kevin Noble that is. Kevin lives in Bellingham and works for Kona, he has lived there for many years now and knows all of the trials in the area. Ever time we ride he puts together different trails and loops to keep it all fresh. The trend has been to get longer and tougher each week that we ride. While this Saturday's ride wasn't longer in mileage it was harder. It had rained all week and the ground was saturated, the kind that makes you feel like you have a bigger gear on your bike than you do. It also didn't help that my bottom bracket was totally toasted and knocking from side to side. I am not the best mechanic, and usually a single speed will just go and go, but then it needs some TLC, well thats where I am right now. My bike needs a little overhaul, the winter has taken its toll, and I need to invest in a few upgrades.
We started with a couple hours on Galbraith, think twisting, turning trails, power climbs and puddles were the norm. Then it was on the road for a bit, then the biggest climb of the day, on that has been dubbed "Sick Joke" nothing to laugh about. Its mellow in the beginning and then rears its ugly head with a quick rock strewn right handed turn in to a 15 + degree pitch that goes on and on. I wanted to get off, but would not allow myself, even though my arms felt like they were going to fail, funny they felt similar last week, but not quite as bad. Then we hit the Hemlock trial, more mud, and made our way around towards Lost Lake, more mud, pitches that were usually climbable were not and we pushed our bikes through the mud. We joked about the desert guys having it easy. Mileage in the northwest is deciveing, keep that in mind. We made our way back to the Ridge trial and then the interurban trail and on towards the home front. This sufferfest lasted 6 hrs but we were left feeling shattered. We chalked it up to the mud and the two pedal strokes forward, one back feel of the whole day. That night we ate pizza and drank some beer. The next day was a quick 2 and a half hours on Galbraith again and then I was homeward bound. Thank god the suffering is over for the moment. Now its time for a little recovery, I hope.
Hopefully we will celebrate my birthday by riding all the trails of Galbraith on the 12th of may. I look forward to it. thanks again kevin for the beating.