This years Thanksgiving Day Ride, started with a political debate and controversy. A prior environmental report stated that silt caused by bicycles going through the creek at Repack could cause harm to the fish. Someone in response to this report threatened to sue the Marin County Open Space District (M.C.O.S.D.)if they allowed the ride to go through the creek. So the MCOSD contacted the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, who agreed to reroute the end of the ride so that it did not go down Repack and through the creek. When I discovered this action, it angered me for two reasons. The first reason was that right across from the bottom of Repack is a fire road which goes up to Toyon and Tamarancho. So it is possible to go down Repack and not through the creek. It happens to be the route that I normally take. Second, The M.C.B.C. is not the organizer of the ride. In fact, the ride has not been officially organized by anyone in more than 20 years. I feel the ride, which is mountainbiking's oldest ongoing ride, has become more of a pilgrimage.
Anyway, the ride did happen, it was rerouted through Tamarancho to avoid the creek. Hopefully the cycling community will benefit from this agreement in some way.
This year's ride started out with light rain and thick fog. The ground was very muddy and sticky, a lot of fun until my old drivetrain became sticky as well. It was a great day for singlespeeds or internally geared hubs, making me wish that I had an MTB with a modern internally geared hub.
In the old days when the ride was more organized, it was more of a big group. Since then it has become very spread out into many small groups leaving at different times. This has destroyed the old group feeling. Like in the old days, I start the ride in downtown Fairfax with my friends at 9AM. For the last several years, Chris Lang has been giving away free beer to cyclists after the ride in downtown Fairfax. The problem with his generous effort is that he does not do the ride and starts giving beer away so early that it is difficult for anyone who starts the ride at the normal time to finish the ride before all of the beer is gone. As a result, many people leave early, and the ride has become very splintered.
All in all, it was a fun muddy day, I saw some of my old friends who I only see on this day, and finishing through Tamarancho was not bad, but Repack would have been more fun.
Anyway, the ride did happen, it was rerouted through Tamarancho to avoid the creek. Hopefully the cycling community will benefit from this agreement in some way.
This year's ride started out with light rain and thick fog. The ground was very muddy and sticky, a lot of fun until my old drivetrain became sticky as well. It was a great day for singlespeeds or internally geared hubs, making me wish that I had an MTB with a modern internally geared hub.
In the old days when the ride was more organized, it was more of a big group. Since then it has become very spread out into many small groups leaving at different times. This has destroyed the old group feeling. Like in the old days, I start the ride in downtown Fairfax with my friends at 9AM. For the last several years, Chris Lang has been giving away free beer to cyclists after the ride in downtown Fairfax. The problem with his generous effort is that he does not do the ride and starts giving beer away so early that it is difficult for anyone who starts the ride at the normal time to finish the ride before all of the beer is gone. As a result, many people leave early, and the ride has become very splintered.
All in all, it was a fun muddy day, I saw some of my old friends who I only see on this day, and finishing through Tamarancho was not bad, but Repack would have been more fun.
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| Thanksgiving Day Ride 2011 at Smoker's Knoll |
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