And then there was MUD

The most amazing and awesome.....

8th ANNUAL MUD RIDE!!!

I think we agreed it started in 2005 - but I don't quite know how to check that. I remember counting one year, and I think it was the 7th annual, and I think that was last year.......  but time is getting away on me and I'm not entirely sure. However, I think Matilda was about one year old when we had the first mud ride - and she turned 8 this year, so that would all correspond? Matilda's birthday is Nov 15th, and I think it's very appropriate that we have mud, friends, cake and bikes for her birthday party. After all, no one loves wet and mud and friends and cakes more than Mattie!!!

The first mud-ride didn't even know it was one, but after pouring rain, getting lost (only a bit, due to our really very new mountain bike status and a big group of avid riders) mud, cold, new and old friends and chocolate, we had a good idea going. 

I can't remember what year we had over 20 people in our little house in Comox - and amazing dry sunny weather. That sticks in my mind as the year Krista rode the giant structures at the bottom of Forbidden, still legendary in my mind since I haven't seen anyone repeat them. 

The next year was pure mud and rain. I'm convinced there was chocolate.....  

This was 2009....  in case anyone reading this thinks the mud ride is for gentle tootling around on bicycles, that may not be the case. This was a very memorable skid and slide through the snow down Forbidden Plateau trails. It was amazing!!! If a touch damp. 

2009 was also the year that Pippa arrived 2 hours before everyone from the mainland. This is Pippa that morning saying goodbye to her obviously larger siblings.....

Matilda looking fairly disgusted upon meeting the little squib

Mattie spent the rest of the weekend studiously ignoring Pippa, and Paul took a lot of amazing pictures that I still have to get sometime :o)

But by Monday night they were coming to an understanding of sorts.

2010 was a bit late due to the Comox emergency doctors trying to turn me into a uniped, and a December mudride was difficult to schedule with Mother Nature. We pushed up Cumberland in snow as high as we could and rode down, and Sunday was a Mt Washington ski day. Mixing sports seemed to be a good idea, although we haven't repeated it. 

2011 - the last Cumberland Mud Ride! The weather cooperated brilliantly, and many awesome trails and... chocolate ... followed. 

The Mud Ride tradition had no reason not to endure, for although we moved, there did seem to be some mud-making potential in them there hills behind our house. Unfortunately I neglected my picture taking, and I'm very happy Andrew took these and shared them! 

The Mud Ride started Friday night, in Comox tradition minus the ferry ride for Vancouver folks. Saturday morning was kind enough to pretend to have decent, or at least dry weather, just long enough for people to decide to come and ride - and then it began to pour rain. As we headed up Burke there were 11 riders, one runner, and one random rider that we picked up on the trail. Lucky 13!

We headed up to Sandanista, a trail that meanders around the hillside and through an amazing tree. 

This is Pippa showing off. 

The hydro line through Mission, Burke and SFU trails is being doubled, and there's been a bit of roadwork. I checked this area Tuesday to be sure we could get through, and it involved a bit of horizontal-tree walking and a skinny log over a soggy ditch. Kindly enough, BC Hydro has cleared the bike trail in the meantime, but apparently excavators are a little hard on water logged soil. The skinny log was gone, and down into the mudhole we went. 

We continued down Lower Triple Crown, which is a bit steep, then onto Slayer and progressively easier trails to the hairpin, then down the river-like Flywheel. As we headed down the PoCo trail to our house we had to stop and admire the little Bear that stood on the trail, then slowly headed into the creek to look at the offering of stinky salmon, and we headed to the house for bike washing, showers and food. 

Joan and Otis came over from the Island, and we gained another 6 or so people for dinner. An amazing potluck followed, and I think I was full before "dinner" actually started.  I had taken the opportunity of having many people to help eat to make a lethal chocolate concoction, which I have to say turned out rather well. Since every Mud Ride has had a significant amount of chocolate, it seemed necessary. The cookbook recommended being careful that I don't accidentally ignite the boiling sugar/bourbon concoction, and since it didn't burst into flames I figure I was successful. As usual there was more food than we could possibly eat, and there may have been a few bottles of beer consumed.  Matilda shared her birthday cake with good friends. 

Sunday came a bit early, but there was more biking to be had. Nine riders and three dogs headed out to Mission to ride the Woodlot, and after the usual uphill decided to lose elevation in rather quick style down Cabin to Snakes and Ladders, which is MUCH less sketchy dry than soaking wet. We did another quick trip up to Giant Killer and down the hillside to Shotgun and back to the parking lot. Michael was a bit upset that he missed doing one of the gap jumps, but some of us were pretty happy to be alive after all those slippery bridges and dodgy rock rides. 

Some more eating followed and then it was time for everyone to head back to reality. Unfortunately the reality of ferries was a bit horrendous as the powers that be decided not to run Joan and Michael's ferry until midnight due to wind and weather, which was decidedly less than kind. I slept really well that night, and didn't ride my bike again until Tuesday.