Chris and buddy Joe both found reasons to skip the show to hit Goose with Mike. We departed Vegas at 0645, and met Mike at a breakfast buffet in Hurricane at 1000 local time (one hour time change for us).
I had never met Mike before Dirt demo, although I have had a lot of email comms with him. Suffice it to say he is a heck of a nice guy, and great company.
Got out to GBM, and riding by 1100 or so.
This was such a good, relaxing day for me. Seems I am always trying to fit the maximum riding into the shortest possible time at home. Basically I am always rushing. This ride was exactly the opposite. We hardly covered any ground, took our time doing it, and just had a blast.
Initially I was going to ride the 6" box demo, but just could not get comfortable with the non-adjustable seat post, and I could not get my GD to work on the frame. The techy riding at Goose was going to be challenging enough for me without having to adapt to a new bike, so I opted to ride my bike instead.
Lots of not so great photos below, with gratuitous shots of your truly doing 2-3 ft to flat courtesy of Mikesee.:
Mike managed to pinch flat on the first move we tried (climbing)
I usually only got photos at the breaks since I was off the back when we were between tech sections.
Mike took us on a section called "Gray Matter" that was a hooting good time of techy climbs with bouncing maneuvers, tight switchbacks, and instant manual drops.
Back to the main trail.
Fun climb this:
Everyone was required to clean it before we moved on.
Chris points to England.
That was a frame breaker.
Another view
Throughout the day, I gained courage as I watched Mike and Joe(Joe especially) fling themselves off stuff. I refused plenty, but it is really a great place to allow for progression as there are rocks and ledges of all different shaped and sizes. I am definitely more comfortable with climbing moves rather than committing myself to gravity.
I wish this move was on video as it demonstrated the difference between the small wheels and large better than any other.
It involves first climbing up the rock Mike is wheelie dropping, then dropping off the other side, then coming back at it the other way and finishing with the drop noted. Mike and I climbed it with no difficulty on our first attempts. Joe who was on a Nomad, and who is certainly a better technical rider than me, must have launched himself at that thing 10 times before he could get his rear wheel up and over the ledge without stalling and falling off the rock. He and Chris took a long hard look at the Box after that.
In this same general area, Mike finally enticed me off a ledge/drop that had me mentally beat. Nice feeling that.
I did not attempt the below move. Getting tired, and too exposed for me.
I switched bikes a few times with Mike, and found the 6"/150mm version of the Box to ride in a more supple and calm manner on the stutter bumps of Goose. Handling was virtually identical. The bike felt a lot tougher and stiffer as well. The difference was mainly "feel". I'm sure the burlier wheelset and tires contributed to that feel. I liked it.
We finished with no catastrophies, said our goodbye's, and headed back to Vegas stopping for a great dinner with friends in St George.
Thanks again, Mike.
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