The Fat Bottomed Girl Rides

Posted by Patty Thu, 09 Aug 2007 19:11:00 GMT

Some of you have started to ask questions, and you seem a little uncomfortable. FBG rides? Who? What? Huh?

Patty, our resident Fat Bottomed Girl, likes to ride her bicycle.

Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle!

Fat bottomed girls will be riding today so forget all your worries, oh yeah.

Patty also likes to sing Queen songs at the top of her lungs, so be advised.

Anyway, the FBG rides are rides that Patty leads, usually with Reba, the shop dog. FBG rides usually have three reliable characteristics.

1. Patty is the ride leader
2. The climbing is very, very slow
3. The purpose of the ride is to have fun and welcome beginners to the sport

Other characteristics that vary by location, time, whim, etc, are the presence of Reba, the quantity of stick throwing, the number of times the dog goes swimming, the technical difficulty of the trails (Patty may not be a fast climber but she is pretty skilled), the amount of Natural History Interpretation, the amount of coaching and skills drills, and the number of rest stops.

For the Wednesday Evening Rides from the shop,

the FBG ride usually involves riding to the Lake & Lyall trailhead, climbing the fireroad to the lake, dunking the dog in the water, and either a) hanging out throwing sticks before turning around and going back, b) climbing the rest of the fireroad to the top and then turning around and going back (about 3 miles of dirt total), c) pushing/hiking up the Berry trail (or riding up the fireroad to paved roads and the upper trailhead), and then descending one of the singletrack trials in Waterdog Park. Alternatively, it sometimes involves riding to the Hidden Valley trailhead, then climbing up the Upper Creek Trail, and either a) descending either the Upper Creek Trail or the Canyon Creek Trail, or b) climbing a bit further up to Hastings and descending through the Carlmont Dirt Jumps. Total mileage of the ride from the shop has been as little as 5.5 miles to as much as 8 miles. That includes the 4.4 miles there and back on pavement. The rides are always tailored to the weakest rider in the group, or the group might split with the stronger or more experienced riders going ahead and the rest hanging back with the FBG.

Other FBG ride locations include the Bay Trail which is totally flat and has lots of shorebirds to look at, Skeggs’ Point or ECdM, which has some easy fireroads and trails mixed in with opportunities for much more difficult trails if desired, Soquel Forest which has no short or easy loops but can still be savored slowly, Russian Ridge, which has gorgeous grasslands, Arastradero in Palo Alto, or various other Bay Area trails.

Out of town, FBG rides in Downieville are usually technically difficult descents from the shuttle drop at Packer Saddle, but go a a whole order of magnitude slower, with lots of stops for Reba to get in the water. Downieville trails are not suitable for complete beginners but that doesn’t mean you have to go fast, so if you have OK skills and would like someone patient to give you a chance on these trails, instead of being last on typical group rides, we think you would find yourself right at home riding with the FBG.

Other fun things the FBG does includes hiking, hanging out, tasting fine malted beverages, and swimming or floating in the river. If you are thinking of bringing your significant other on one of the shop’s Downieville trips, please do, as Patty really enjoys company.

Another source of easygoing ride partners is Mere Mortals, the riding group for people who like to go slower. Check them out on the Mere Mortals website.

For more info on the FBG rides, contact Patty at 650-620-9798 or patty@passiontrailbikes.com