Ride Like a Girl keeps sneaking up on me this year. It must be the first week thing. My apologies, but thanks to those of you who mention it and remind me.

We are definitely on for June 4th. We will meet at 6:30 pm (correction this should have read 6:00--sorry Patty) at Mad Dog Cycles in Orem as we always do. "Where are we going?" you ask. I am getting a professional opinion on potential trail conditions, but I am leaning towards Lambert Park.

I have only ridden here a couple of times, but it has always been fun. This network of trails just flows and there is not much climbing. I have just a couple of concerns:

1. Time and distance. Lambert Park is nestled beside the mountain in Alpine which is not as close as Provo Canyon, but it does not get dark until pretty late. And this date is close to the summer solstice.
2. Dust. I am not sure how dusty these trails get in the summer. I imagine they stay pretty dry, but we may get some thundershowers early next week. Then I won't really have to worry about that. And really a little dust never hurt anyone, right?

So this is the tentative plan, but there are lots of other options if this does not work out. So what do you think? Who is with me?

We had ride like a girl on Thursday. It seems like it took place so long ago, but it has only been a couple of days. We had a good showing. We rode up Bonneville Shoreline from Bridal Veil Falls Park to Squaw Peak Road. We stopped at the switch back climb and practice going down and up. I was really impressed with how quickly everyone increased their skills. This patch of trail can be scary as it there is a drop off. These girls were fearless though.
Keep riding and see you next month.

Who is up for a ride on Thursday? The weather early this week does not look good, but Wednesday and Thursday look beautiful. Wednesday is mostly sunny with high around 75; Thursday is sunny with high around 70. It does not get much better than that. I love to see this on weather.com!

Sunny

I am still deciding what trail to hit--either something above Timp Park or possibly South Fork. Any requests...

We have some hard core riders out there. I am way impressed. So Thursday was dreary. I watched the weather pretty closely in the afternoon to see if it would start raining. It looked good until 5 pm when I left work. I got to Mad Dog early and waited and watched. The rain started coming and then it was really coming down. People started showing up asking if the ride was on.
We continued to watch and by 6 pm, it had stopped. We headed to Rock Canyon to hit Bonneville Shoreline. This trail is more rocky and/or sandy which makes it great for wet weather riding. Getting ready in the parking lot was a bit chilly. I had seven girls--Jen, Jessika, Ashlee, Monica, Suzanne, Jana and Andrea-- there and I was stoked. I must admit though that I may have failed a couple of individuals. I should have gone through the real basics, but I made assumptions and the colder weather led me to skip over these. To those individuals I apologize. I should have gone over shifting, braking, etc. I will do better next time for sure. None the less, the group did really well.
The rain came and left. It started to seem like it was going to get nice--please keep in mind this is a relative term, but we were all a little wet and chilled by the end. We only rode for about 70 minutes and worked on momentum which is always fun and sometimes a bit scary. Next time we should ride for be a bit longer though and hopefully it will be warmer.
Thanks to those who came and come again next month. And if you missed it, hope to see you next time.

So who is planning on joining me next week for a ride? If we get the moisture the meteorologists are suggesting then we will probably hit Bonneville in Provo and head south towards Springville. That portion of the trail is pretty sandy and does not get muddy.
If the forecast improves, then we will plan on riding something around the mouth of the canyon. The old race course or something else equally fun.
Either way, we will meet at Mad Dog Cycles in Orem at 6 pm.

Ride Like a Girl season has started. I am really excited. I greatly enjoy being able to do these session and really appreciated Mad Dog's willingness to sponsor them. And thanks to those who show up and indulge me.

While the weather and trails were actually ridable last night, we did not spend time on the bikes. Instead we spent the evening learning some simple trail repairs and basic maitenance. Before riders can actually fix or maintain their bikes they need to ensure they have some basic tools. I always ride with the following:
1. A spare tube
2. A multi-tool that includes a chain breaker
3. Tire levers
4. A pump--I have one with a gauge to ensure that I have proper tire pressure
5. Extra links and a quick link for my chain
6. Compressed air (if I am racing)

Why both a pump and compressed air? That is a good question. While compressed air is quick and convenient, it can run out. A pump is much, MUCH slower but it can continually provide air. Running a tubeless system with a sealant (I like and run Stan's), I will alway try to just put air in the tire in hopes it will seal if I get a flat. This works but it can take a lot of air to do it. A pump ensures that I don't run out of said air.

I don't expect everyone to remember how we did everything so here are some links to websites that will remind you how to do what you did.

1. How to fix a flat
2. How to fix a chain
3. Lubing your chain

Remember before you ride or even head out to a trail, always check air pressure and your chain. This will minimize the your chances of having to do it on the trail.

Bonneville Shoreline has been pretty good. You may need to wait a day or so after a storm, but if you can get out and ride. Hope to see you next month--keep April 2nd open.

Ride Like a Girl minus the ride. On March 5th(that being the first Thursday in March) we are going to have the first Ride Like a Girl. It is going to be more of a pre-ride actually. Bring your bike and you can learn how and do some minor maintenance or "trail fixes".

It is going to be at Mad Dog in Orem at 6:00. Be there a bit early so we can actually start at 6 pm. You are going to be working on your bike, so dress appropriately and bring your bike tools that you would or should be carrying with you during rides--tire levers, multi-tool, pump, etc. Let me know if you plan on coming (leave a quick comment), so I can have a general idea number wise.