2010 ReNeGadE RuN

Days leading up to this ride had not been good. Knee had me at maximum worry level and I had been feeling nauseous off and on for days. Total bummer without a doubt. But, I was determined to do this ride. I know how much of a soul boost it is and how euphoric the experience is. Did it deliver? Indeed it did.

That Saturday I didn't sleep as much as I would of have liked to have slept in, but o well, I got up, took care of some things and rushed back home to meet up with the crew. Packed up, loaded up and before we knew it we were rolling, reaching Paisley, swapping cars, changing and then back up to the start.

As we made the final adjustments for the evenings load, I was feeling rather well, the dizziness I had been feeling all day had been done away by some medicine my friends shared, and we pedaled our way up under the bridge only to discover that Jonesy had forgotten his meditation. O well. We got going as we know we had a full night ahead of us.

At the ride start, Love MK's ability to always do something cool in a picture, missing from the photo is Jonesy, who want back to the car to "look" for something.

The bridge. Went with a black and white series of fotos I like the way they come out.

If your a picture appreciater you will notice that you can see the bridge twice in this picture

Rob Roberts, President of SSP and all around Swiss Army knife, a must have on all Epics.

Kanning, what a goof ball, Love this guys ways!

a cock shot, and the Freddie's, I may not be the strongest or the fastest, but I make my riding experiences Comfy.

Handsome or not, I hate the short hair, but a good shot nonetheless.

As the ride got under way, the grassy road on top of the levee made for some fast pedaling and before we knew it we were dropping down onto another fire road that previously was mushy and nasty, this year, was packed down well. Seems like the first 4 miles were like taking a tuning fork to a guitar as we had to make mental adjustments and establish new rules. OK, stop at every intersection, navigating was already becoming a challenge, considering that you just wanna roll and float and not think.

Riders of the Storm

R2

MK

R2 looking animated

This shot looks so fast, LMAO

Over the shoulder, MK shredding

dusk at the dam

The Dam and the view was as beautiful as I remembered. I was addicted to photos tonight and decided I wanted to capture as many moments as possible. and I really loved how everything looked. The mosquito's were everywhere and I marveled at the huge bats that were flying around feasting on the bugs that seemed to be thick in the air.

riders ahead

Me and My Shadow

the lock

self portrait, Princeton Tec is Mandatory technology

As we made our way into the singletrack I was caught up in the charge. It was blissful the road like hammering we were doing. The pace was quick, but not forced, the terrain was either up hill or downhill but the flow was infinite, peaceful and cosmically hypnotizing.

that red light is MK

Jonesy?

Jonesy and MK

shine a light on me will ya

More night shots..LOL

I kept a close eye on my food, and kept feeding myself constantly and consistently. In my mind I was paranoid about my knee and did all I could to not focus on the pain. And although It got tight I am glad to report that my efforts have paid off and I was able to ride, hammer and really put on a good singletrack clinic with only a slight discomfort. At the Prairie I sat, ate, updated Facebook and listened to the frogs. There is a video recording below which is to be appreciated for its audio contents and not the video footage. Once rolling we had an interesting conversation with a man at the campground and before we knew it we were on the forest road. We were feeling so good that we started attacking and counter attacking, playing like children, living only for the moment and not much else. It was sometime before the back and forth smash party, that Jonesy communicated that he was feeling the effects of sleep deprivation. Strength he had plenty, but his sleep patterns were being challenged. I told him it was not far to the rest stop and that he could rest there, and we all motored on.

JOnesy at this point was telling me he was feeling a little tired and asking when was the next stop.

Stupid me, with my super high feeling from the endorphins I was way too loud at the rest stop and got us kicked out. But, not before we refueled, ate, let Jonesy rest a little, and took pics and updated social networking pages, etc, etc. I had us calculated at 31 miles to the finish and was feeling super strong for the task. I also knew the next three sections were gonna be the hardest of the entire trip.

Looking fresh over half way over.

The genius of MK

Jonesy, taking a little rest. He has never rode all night before, its harder than you think.

Hate my haircut

Love this bike, Black beauty is my BFF

Lately, I have been wondering if Insanity is setting in. As I have fostered some real affinity towards my bike, my backpack, my tools that make these trips happen. I love looking at the maps, and seeing all the cool stuff that I am able to do and create. I really adore this bike and I marvel at all the miles we have done together.

MOTH

Up close MOTH

And another

The trail was tight, and there were climbs, but never as bad as I remembered. I guess riding this trail Fixed was way harder then what I had picked to do this time. And I was really just enjoying how I was feeling and the work I was accomplishing. I was worried about Jonesy, but not overly worried, and he was a good sport, he takes advice. We got water at the last major water site before the final push and discovered Jonesy had acquired a friend. Took some pics, had some laughs, ate a little, drank some coffee and then, we rolled out.

Jonesy brought a pet on the ride.

Look at his little fingers, how cute.

Before we got to the final water spot, we discovered Jonesy's rear shock had quit working. There was nothing we could do to fix it. The lower Bottom Brackett left to a pedal strike in the final 8 miles that led to a branch kick up that led to his rear derailleur being snapped in half. It was disastrous, but not hopeless as Rob did all he could to rig a fix for roll out. We rolled, stopped, rolled and stopped, but eventually, it was unusable and Jonesy was left stranded.

And Jonesy's derailleur explodes.

busy on a fix, Black Ops on the task

Bungee cord actually worked for many miles

However, I had different intentions. We took the bungee, tied it to his bars, secured it to the tow loop on my Osprey Talon pack and I towed him out. 3 miles I towed him, up hills and downhills till we both finished together as a team, accomplishing another renegade run, in record time!

a Little stretch after 76 miles.

MK looking like he just rode a long ride.

Jonesy, conquering and adding a HUGE notch on his belt

Me, so adorable!

Dirty Legs, LMAO

I counted alot of blessings that night. I was left marveling the beauty of this universe. Enjoying the glow of my effort. Feeling the Love for all and every creation. As I ate breakfast and made my way home, I was in love with the universe and felt refreshed and reborn. These are truly the things that add significance to this time of year in my world. And that is the reason we do this run. Its not just about the ride, but a ceremony to celebrate, rebirth and rejuvenation. Han Han Catu!

Take Care,

Laters,

The NaKeD InDiaN