Lost Boys

Ok, so we're grown arse men, not boys... and we were never really "lost", we just spent a lot of the ride exploring and picking our way through unfamiliar trails. But we were in Santa Cruz and that's where one of my favorite movies of all time was set. Hence the unashamed use of the title :o)

After an absence of, pushing, 3 months, Spangles dusted off his S-Works Stumpy and hit the dirt with me and Chris. We decided to head for sunnier climbs (and descents) and hit Santa Cruz. The plan was to follow the same route I'd done on the skills clinic with Shaun before Christmas. Arriving at Twin Gates, we saddled up, me in all my nice new kit, and started with the mailboxes trail.

Mailboxes is so much fun. The recent rain left much of it quite muddy. Meaning some sections were more technically challenging than expected. But the fast, sweeping banked turns and bonus jumps and drops were all there for our entertainment. Mailboxes starts out calm enough, albiet fast, but soon descends into some awesome rocky, rooty downhill goodness. Get your breath back and it's an extremely challenging rock garden before the climb out back to the road. From here, we passed through the uni' campus and hit the Star Wars trail before finding our way back to Twin Gates.

Jase hit mechanical issues so retired. Me and Chris, not quite spent, hit Mailboxes again. The Nomad is completely at home here, and not just by name. Having warmed up on the first run I really felt good flow and a need for increased speed. Hitting the steep stuff again, I felt things get sketchy under the bike's rubber, but the sensation of flying down such amazing terrain was too good to bail out of, so I kept my head up, picked a line and gunned it. Woo Hoo! This is what proper mountain biking feels like!

Jase and Chris are getting well into their trials type urban shennanigans. The results out on the trail today were plain to see. On the way back we stopped off at a Specialized shop to sort Spangles' bike issues. They had a nice 26" chromoly steel P1 dirt jump bike. Perfect for urban mountain biking.... I'll be in NYC very soon. Lots of concrete. I wonder if they have a Specialized store near the hotel? ;o)