Urban cross ride Sat 9 from Pareto

[Lister Farrar]

Some of the juniors have suggested an urban cross ride Saturday 9 am. All welcome. Meet at Pareto. Loop will include grass, dirt, gravel and beach. Lots of beach for full Belgian points. And stairs. Cross bikes recommended.

[DavidB]

I dont know if this is motivation for others to go or not, but I will be there!

[Lister Farrar]

It's 10am now. The ones who showed for weights today got to decide.

[Lister Farrar]

Very fun ride. You name it, we rode it: gravel, dirt, grass, sand (lots of sand!), seaweed, wood chips, cobbles, rock with moss, stairs, wet leaves, mud, bark, as in the side of a log across a stream. (we walked that). And pavement when we couldn't find anything else. Don't think anyone would have done 21/2 hours in that weather otherwise.

Honourable mentions: Duncan for floating the baby head cobbles; now he's our designated climber, gc guy, AND classics specialist. (Did you know the dutch actually call those cobbles 'kinder-kopfen'?) Brenna whose tendency to get better the more she does, extends to crashing. Early on, a wood curb slide saw mud everywhere, including in her armpit. Later, a zip line drill in a kids playground gone bad saw her crawling from the wreckage. Laughing. David, for irrational optimism riding without a pump, despite holding the club record for flats in a day. And since he didn't flat, for obviously getting much lighter on his bike. To Chris, also riding after sickness, and planning to attend trail maintenance Sunday. And a mtb ride. Getting fit all in one weekend!

Just a reminder: hose bikes thoroughly after encounters with road grime, sand and salt. We didn't notice one notice any effect from the last beach ride, so it's ok if you use lots of water. And lube after.

Also, when there's a possibility of rain, bring a waterproof jacket. Even waterproof breathables can chill you from evaporation if it's wetter or you're less active than you expected. Roll it and carry in your centre pocket. You might not need it, but when you do, you really need it.