Pipestone

Sergey Rachmaninov Paino Concerto No. 2 in c minor, Op. 18: II. Adagio Sostenuto. Perhaps my favorite piece of symphonic music playing quietly on the radio. The final evening touch to a perfect day.

Friday evening, following a brief scouting ride up the Rattlesnake Corridor on the Big Sur, it became clear that if I was going to break in Red, it was going to have to be elsewhere. Snow, ice and slop still rule at the moment (fortunately) in the 'Snake. After all, it is still March! So, when I got an e-mail from Bob (TripleRing) that he was going to have a group ride Sunday at Pipestone, I thought I better look into it. Ski race trips are finally off the calendar.

This morning at 0700 I picked up my friend Bill and we headed out for what we hoped would be a five hour low intensity ride. Pipestone (just east of Butte) enjoys a banana belt scenario that for some reason keeps part of the trails dry during March. Part of the scenery includes the Highland mountains (top of post above) which loom largely in the distance above the area. This was my first recreational ride at Pipestone, having only raced a few times in the area. Bill and I managed to get in a few hours of riding early, planning on meeting up with the larger group from Butte at noon. It was surprising that the weather was so warm so early in the day. When we met up with Bob, John (a local cattleman above in the blue jersey ripping some singletrack) and about six others, it was time for me to switch to shorts and drop an upper layer.

The guides put on a first class ride in which we experienced some great singletrack. We shared some of the trail with the motorcyclists as well, who were great slowing down, waiving and sharing the path. Our group split up early, with a single speeder heading off with two other folks. Bob on some singletrack below coming out of a fun wooded area.

We wrapped up with the group at about 15.00. My friend Bob got a lid and then Bill and I rode for a short bit longer. I'm pretty sure old Red is gonna work just fine. One of the highlights of the drive back to Missoula was enjoying the smoked Georgetown Lake rainbow trout that Ross had given Bill. A great ending to a perfect day!