Rapture

I feel sorry for the dude who, once again, wrongly predicted the end of the world for all non-believers. Not because he'll be ridiculed or because his followers think less of him, but because he wasn't at the Velodirt Rapture ride this weekend.

What is the Rapture ride? 70 miles of gravel. Over the Oregon coast mountain range, and back. 7,400+ feet of climbing. Perfect spring weather. 70 other people on bikes. Keg of beer at the end of the rainbow.

Cheever- party starter

I had the honor of riding everybody from the start at the Flying M Ranch through the first few turns. After that first mile, I let everyone go by. So I was officially in both 1st place and last place during the day.

After the first downhill, we hit the Weyerhauser gate. Looking at our GPS, we realized it took us a couple hours to go 12 miles.

Finally at the halfway point on the west side of the coast range, we stopped at Trask park for some lunch.

I can't help posting more photos of the Karate Monkey, I LOVE this bike. While most people opted for cyclocross bikes this day, the 29'er rocked the downhills and never flatted. I hit 39.9 MPH at one point. Ironic, since I'm almost 40 years old. Never underestimate the feeling you get from a high-speed two-wheel drift when you manage to keep things upright.

I rode with buddies Cheever and Jim all day, so it was fitting we finished together.

Ride profile here