I thought this was a desert.
Saturday we decided to reconnoiter a potential overnight bike trip. East of town is a reservoir surrounded by a patchwork of state, federal and private land blanketing the foothills. Riding for about 15 miles from our front door on the highway and green belt put us at the top of the dam at the lower end of the reservoir. Traveling past a gate and a sign prohibiting aggressive behavior (dang) we started up the dirt road leading up the draw hoping it eventually connected to the network of roads on the other side. I think at this point we were on private land, but it was hard to tell because there was really no signage. No matter because the road continued to deteriorate and actually became the stream bed for large sections. The grapefruit size rocks and loose sand would have been easier to navigate with some wider tires at a lower inflation. And Sky King’s rear tire picked up a goathead thorn and flatted. I wasn’t going to admit this but we violated the 7 P’s ie; proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance, in that we only had one spare tube for Sky King’s bike.
Bike Down!
But it wasn’t all a bust. We had fun and we found out what we wanted to, namely that this course would be less than enjoyable on these bikes when the bikes are loaded with gear for overnight camping. And it also nourished the seed of an idea for adventure or expedition touring. A seed which will be further nurtured until it sprouts into some sort of as yet unknown mis-adventures!
Sky King navigates past a lovely site.
The Bike Hermit approacheth.
