"I'm bonking," Doug complained. "No way I'm going back up that thing."

Mark Schmidt has been trying to host a mountain bike ride near his home in Pomeroy for a couple of years. Mark's calling for a ride almost always assures a downpour. We've been rained out twice, most recently at the end of April.

No chance of that this Sunday, though. Smack dab in a string of days warmer than usual for May and June, the event was on.

Lance came late and was changing

Doug's Slideshow

Carol and Sean are not frequent club riders but a chance to get on a mountain bike always gets them out. Mike Warnock had other commitments for the day but has ridden this route with Mark, Steve, and Chris back in the days of Wedensday evening Pomeroy rides.

New to the area were the crazies, Scott, Jen, and Doug. Mike Riddle showed up saying he couln't stay for the barbecue. And making a rare personal appearance, Lance Abernathy.

These rides that offer food tend to bring out crowds and for a time we had nine riders. Mark's driveway, steep and thick with gravel, posed the first challenge. Carol, wary of a bruised shoulder, and I sneaked off a bit early to navigate the gravel, but soon we were all cruising along on the flat back of Pomeroy until Mike said, "Now we begin to climb."

Sure enough the road turned to gravel and turned uphill. Just driving down the highway should have told us these roads would be steep. This first hill did not disappoint. I saw 14% on my GPS near the top.

Mike and Lance

Only a few miles into the ride wisdom began to dawn. Carol struggled with that hill and Sean, suffering from a cold for the last week, didn't feel much better. Fortunately, Mark had chosen a route that intersected with several bailout options. Carol passed on the first since there would be no climbing before the next.

The second climb, like the first, grew steeper at the top. I was feeling good and enjoying the lack of ruts and rubble. Amazing what mountain gearing can do. I kept watching the percent grade on my gps. I saw 9% and felt like I was spinning. Of course, I've learned to drop into granny and just stay there.

A steep descent left me at the end of the line when the road came out on pavement. This was the hill Doug swore he wasn't going back up.

Mark told us we could take the pavement down to highway 12 and back to his place from there. It was another bailout point. This time Sean cashed in his chips. Lance decided he'd go with him.

I still felt good but we'd only gone maybe 15 miles. This was going to be a long day. Taking the pavement away from highway 12, we soon ran into gravel again at the top of rise. Mark pointed to a scrabble of road calling it East Oliphant. "We'll come out here if we take this route back," he said. He was full of options and we kept taking the toughest of them.

Last Resort in the Tucannons

Another steep descent complete with gravel and bone-rattling washboard dropped us into the Tucannon drainage where we found farms aplenty and a convenience store called "the Last Resort."

We were in or near Garfield county now and were treated to the spectacle of giants battling along the ridge above us. Even Quixote may have been discouraged by their number. I thought they had a certain grace and elgance spinning slowly in the wind.

Scott and jen had left too early and without breakfast had eaten burritos or something like that before the ride. Now Scott just had to pluck a peeled, pickled egg out of a huge jar of yellowish brine sitting on the counter. His diet was the subject of much derision and speculation from that point on. Didn't stop him from pushing out ahead of us on East Oliphant after the last big climb from the Tucannon.

I now must endure a running commentary about my mountain biking skills. I try to humor 'em

Scott liked the fact that East Oliphant had grass growing in the center lane and boulders shouldering through the lanes. Lots of sharp gravel too. Just the short of thing he knows I love. "Good job, Mark," he chortled. "We suckered him again." Scott insisted I get my picture taken next to the "Primitive Road" sign. Oh, Scott was full of pickled egg.

This should give you a sense of the climbing we did. Click on the picture to download a full size version.

By now, Mike was done with climbing and said so. I wasn't feeling fresh any more and I didn't like the looks of that steep climb we had ahead of us. Jen didn't like it either. We had the option of taking the pavement as had Sean and Lance earlier.

But Mark insisted that we just had that hill and another after a long descent before returning to his place. "I'll bet we'll be back before you," he said. And Scott added to Doug, "I'll bet I'll be drinking your beer before you get back."

Doug was hungry and tired and frustrated with all the standing about. He rolled off and we watched wondering what his decision would be. Sure enough, he left the pavement and started to climb. I turned to Mike. I could see the struggle in his eyes. I said, "I'll ride down the pavement with you." That made up his mind.

The pavement was a long stretch to 12, longer than we'd expected and left us with 4 miles on 12 just to get back to Pomeroy. Mike was out of water and not his usual self. I kept up going down and pulled back to town despite my own fatigue.

Just Mark's driveway left. I took it slow staying in granny thinking that figure in my mirror was Mike. It wasn't. The others had rolled in just behind me and this was Scott almost catching me.

"Did you just get back," I asked.

That's right. Mike and I had arrived just as the rest--except Doug. Linda and Janet Abernathy met us saying the burgers were on. I got Linda to bring me a beer. I was to beat to want to think about the shower Leslie offered or even to change.

I drank my beer and followed Lance around 'cause he had grilled the burgers and I was going where the burgers were going. Lance has found his niche as official club BBQ Cheff.

Leslie had made beans and meatball. We had salads and more deserts than we could eat. I tried to sample each.

And Doug. Well, he showed up.

Remember that first bailout Carol could have taken back to Mark's House? Riding out front, Doug missed or ignored the return and instead retraced our morning route. That gave him a few extra miles but not a lot of extra climbing. For that he could have come with Mike and me.

Thanks to Leslie and Mark for hosting this event. What a way to treat your friends.

Mark promises to call for a road ride soon. If you are looking for an easy ride, though, I doubt this will be it. They don't understand flat in Pomeroy.

For the Ride of It. Corrie