More Bell Mt.

 I took the family up the back side of Bell Mt. to pick Elderberries. We ended up with over 49pounds!  My wife was nice enough to drop Gage and I off at the top and pick us up at the bottom. It is definitely not an easy shuttle but I couldn't resist sense we were already going up there.

 We were a little concerned about Gage riding something this gnarly, but he surprised me several times. 

I think the grin tells the whole story. 

 I'm pretty sure there is more granite than dirt on this trail.

 Gage loved every bit of it. I think he could probably handle just about any downhill we have now. I just need to build up his strength so I can get him farther out in the woods.

 I get so obsessed with the trails up the hill that sometimes I forget how awesome my back yard is. Brent and I rode from our house up to Pinball. Great ride and only 2.5 hrs from my front door and back. Most people can't even keep there drive time under that for a trail this awesome.

Katie was jonesing for a ride too.

Big descent

 Today I wanted to get the max descent I could in one run. Lucas and I started at Gargoyles and climbed to the top of Sunrise. Then it was back up to Avalanche to Dome to lower PCP. Normally that alone would be a pretty good day, in fact Lucas had enough. So I rode Southfork to the top of Spring Gap.

 My family met me there and Gage got to ride his new Trek down to Sandbar flat. He is loving the 29 inch wheels and lighter bike. Unfortunately the cows tore up the upper trail pretty bad. Gage was still super stoked to have cleared several sections than was never able to on his Santa Cruz.

 Not bad numbers just enough climbing with tons of descent!

 The BBQ with the family at the bottom was an awesome way to finnish the day.

Lucas hated this picture but we were carrying an awesome pace and I never really wanted to stop and take pictures. Definitely my best run down Avalanche yet. Great ride!

Cornerstone Christian ride #2

 Today was the second Cornerstone Christian School MTB field trip. We had another great turnout. Emily here was unbelievable, I really hope she sticks with it. She was giving the biggest kids a run for there money on her first mountain bike ride. I think there could be trophies in her future if she pursued it.

 Every one had such a great time. We even got a couple Mom's out today. 11 kids and 5 adults. Bike and helmets were again provided by Sonora Cyclery. Huge thank you to Brent and his family for helping to make this happen, and Poor Merit who gets stuck at the shop.

 We had to play on a side hill a little. Gage looks very serious.

 Kyle managed to not go to the hospital this time.

30 seconds after a crash Emily was up and charging past the boys again. I can't get over how much fun it is to take all these kids out in the woods. 

New shoes and another new rider

 My Giro Terraduros died again. Giro replaced two pairs already so I can't complain. I decided to try something different. Brent at Sonora Cyclery set me up with these babies, the new enduro shoe from Shimano called ME7.

 Shimano paired up with Michelin for the soles. I decided to take them out to Bell Mountain where there are plenty of opportunities for walking on slippery granite. So far I'm very impressed. They grip the rock every bit as good as a bike tire and have the most supportive footbed I've felt in a bike shoe.

 Todd's been riding up here for longer than Iv'e been mountain biking. He had never been on Bell before so as usual it dished out some suffering. He did conquer this new log ride though.

More eyes opened.

 I've said it before but I still think one of the funnest things is showing someone new trails. I met Bill yesterday on a trail work day. He showed up and put in a day on our trails but hadn't experienced anything above Lyons lake. That didn't seem right. So today I showed him Snakedance and Herring Creek.

I think he had fun. The coolest part is every trail is going to be new for a while.