Henry Coe Willow Ridge

[mudworm]

Has to be a quick post because we are back in action on remodeling the house. Will be leveling the kitchen ceiling joists and installing hood vents today.

Willow Ridge was Mr. Mud's idea. Not sure why he wanted to do it. Last time we did it was on the Henry Coe Rustic Journey two years ago. It was a very tough climb. But his wish was my command, so I came up with a route that would take us to Willow Ridge with some flexibility. Flexibility was what we needed because we planned on an early start, and that plan did not get carried out. We got to the parking lot fairly late, and were happy to see some familiar faces, Skyline35, plymmer, and BigLarry. After a pleasant chat, we all went different ways. Would you say Henry Coe riders are anti social? Haha…

It was a gorgeous day at Coe. The temp might have been a little high, but we often times enjoyed the breeze, which made me smile. However, there were two steep climbs on this route: Dexter and Willow Ridge, with the latter being longer and even tougher. I made through the crux on Dexter, but unfortunately came off right before the end of the wall when the wheels fell into the loose rut. Pushed 15 feet or so. I think that climb is within grasp some day. However, the same, I'm afraid, cannot be said for Willow Ridge. I was pacing myself for the head wall, but still could not finish it without feeling about to explode. Pushed 40 feet or so on that climb.

When Mr. Mud topped out on Willow Ridge, I asked him how many times he had to push. "Once." Oh wow, I thought to myself. That's amazing for how "slow" he was since I waited for quite a while. "80% of the trail," he added. My jaws dropped, not knowing what to say to that. Only then, did he muster a smile, "I was joking on both accounts."

Without further ado, here are some photos (click on image for more sizes) to show What It Was Like Out There (Skyline35™).

Ford Taxi at McDonald's parking lot


Always good to see friends in the parking lot even though we don't always ride with each other.


Mr. Mud topping out on Dexter
 

Interesting body position



A butterfly that liked to land on us. Only managed this blurry photo.


Top of Willow Ridge Trail.


Here's ta sweat in your eye.


The hills are so green and the sky is so blue!


Ride Track

[F4?]

Better @ night!

[Brad Young]

I recognize that handkerchief (nice word for snotrag).

[mynameismud]

At Coe it is a sweat rag.

[Skyline35]

Notice that are no photos of mudworm in her super secret Poison Oak protection suit.....we're waiting to see how that all worked out. Should know in a day or two.

Too bad the timing didn't work out to see you two on White Tank Trail. I was slowed by a flat tire at Coit Lake.

///Charlie

[mudworm]

Hi Charlie, yes, we were hoping to see you when we went down Rose Dam Trail. Since we didn't, I figured then you were on White Tank Trail. Oh, we forgot to put the tire pump in our packs, so we made sure not to get a flat. It worked pretty well. you should try that next time! 

For how much PO I had fearlessly plowed through going down Lost Spring Trail, I'd say the PO protection suit worked. At least, so far so good (after two days).

Either it was that, or the Oral Ivy that I had been drinking since Thursday. Well, I'll report back tomorrow or Wednesday if I start to feel something...

Oh, and I like your report on MTBGuru. Thanks for the trail work!  Too bad that we didn't get to do the Coit Lake perimeter trail due to time constraint. We'll go back there soon.

[Skyline35]

I "borrowed" one of your photos :-)

That Oral Ivy looks interesting. The less-than-5-star reviews seem to be from folks who tried to cure an existing rash with the product, they didn't get that it is a preventative measure.

[mynameismud]

I used the super secret armor on my arms and was happy for it at times.  The arm coolers do seem to work.  Will ride with them again.

The mudworm crushed me on Willow ridge.  That climb hurt me.  Want to go back and try again after a bit more training.  Felt really good to get a PR on the JDT and even beat mudworms PR which made me feel accomplished.

Like the photo of the butterfly.  It landed on us a couple of times.  The two pictures of the pond look good when side by side. 

Good day out there even though it was a bit hot.

[mudworm]

I "borrowed" one of your photos :-)

What an honor! 

That Oral Ivy looks interesting. The less-than-5-star reviews seem to be from folks who tried to cure an existing rash with the product, they didn't get that it is a preventative measure.

It's hard to say. It does say on the packaging that you can use it for "cure". Mr. Mud tried it when he got really bad rash from pulling weeds from the yard a week ago. But he wasn't consistent about it and the required dosage is a bit scary (10 drops/2 hours). I just take a little required for prevention (5 drops/day for 14 days) and it started on Thursday.

After climbing Dexter, I found myself having a really sore throat and it was almost swollen from inside. It almost scared me thinking three days of drinking the thing caught up with me and it will close shut my throat and I would die out there. But then, I figured out that the Endurox mix I had in my water bottle was mixed so strong that the sips were irritating my throat.  The problem sorta went away (or stopped bugging me) when I made sure to fill my mouth with plain water from my camelpack to dilute before I swallow a sip of the mix.

I'll never be able to tell if Oral Ivy really works for me or not even though I'll keep drinking it. I don't think I'll do another Coe ride without my PO body armor -- really just some arm cooler thingy (although it goes across the upper back, a tri sport attire) for my arms, and XL arm coolers for my legs. After the ride, they go straight into a plastic bag, and then straight into Dawn detergent solution once home.  Actually, I already did that for the Coe trailwork and ride weekend, and it worked well back then.

[mudworm]

Felt really good to get a PR on the JDT and even beat mudworms PR which made me feel accomplished.

You crushed me on that climb alright. Good job!

The two pictures of the pond look good when side by side.

You wish is my command. Fixed. It does require a fairly wide browser to view them side by side.

[mynameismud]

I did not crush on JDT although I did manage to drop you which did surprise me a fair bit.

You crushed on Willow Ridge, 15 minutes is by definition crushing.