October 4, 2014
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Paying it Forward
I joined the Old Farts group this morning for their regular Saturday morning ride from Loch Leven to Angelus Oaks. The trail used to be the old road before the "new" highway was carved into the side of the mountain higher up the canyon. It's been closed to vehicular traffic as long as I can remember and it was probably closed long before that because, even in the seventies, it was overgrown and blocked by landslides and washed out bridges. Today, it's mostly singletrack, kept rideable by a couple of Old Farts who clear slides, build water bars and trim brush. This is a slide that completely obliterated the road. It took many hours of Old Fart manual labor to build this trail.
The trail winds relentlessly up through oaks, pines and manzanita, crossing a clear stream several times, sometimes over picturesque stone bridges but just as often, going through the stream . In the lower part of the canyon, foundations and rock chimneys of long-ago burned out cabins stand amid iris beds gone wild in tumbled-down, river-rock retaining walls.
The group today consisted of about seven men between the ages of 18 and 78, and me. We all grind up the six mile ascent at our own pace, settling into two or three groups of similarly fit companions. There are places where we regroup and socialize while we wait for the latest arrivals catch their breath. One of the riders is a man who is struggling with Alzheimer's. He isn't able to carry on a conversation but he seems to enjoy living in the moment and he can still keep up with the group, even though he can't remember how to shift his bike. His friend selects a comfortable gear for the climb and then shifts his bike into a higher gear for the descent. Everyone keeps track of him so he doesn't get lost (most of the time). The guys aren't quite as vigilant as I think they should be but our friend has only been lost once, so I guess they do a good enough job.
Today, Our Friend was lagging a bit towards the end of the climb so I dropped back to make sure he didn't lose sight of the group. We were almost to our destination, the restaurant in Angelus Oaks, and riding on a trail that perches on the shoulder of the highway. It's just wide enough for a bike but drops off steeply on the side away from the highway. Our friend pedaled just a little too close to a post marking the road's edge for the snow plows, and clipped his handle bars. He instinctively steered hard to the left to keep from being thrown onto the highway and plunged over the side of the steep slope while I watched helplessly. As he went over the bars, he managed to grab a bush and arrest his slide, but still ended up several feet down the slope with his bike on top of him. I managed to pull his bike back onto the trail and he somehow extricated himself from the bush but he had torn a large patch of skin off his arm and was stuck all over with pieces of the thorny bush. I was still trying to remove branches from his bike and his person while he was trying to mount and ride away.
Everyone teased me about knocking him off his bike while I patched his bleeding arm with a gauze pad and band aides.
I privately wondered if it was wise for his friends to continue to take him on these rides but came to the conclusion that we all have mishaps like that. It's nothing new or frightening and it certainly doesn't keep us from riding and it shouldn't keep Our Friend from doing what he enjoys. I only hope that when my day comes, my friends will be so supportive.
Comments (12)
That sounds like a beautiful ride -- but a little scary about your friend and his tumble!
The beauty of the canyon far outweighs anything scary about a tumble. Mountain bike accidents seldom result in any serious injury because they usually don't involve much speed and almost never include motor vehicles.
I would know my limits and and choose the rides that I can handle. Not getting younger
Stuff happens no matter how tame the ride. It's the nature of the sport. I guess it will become evident when he needs to give it up.
This is a heartrending story. We will all eventually succumb to memory problems I suppose. Except those of us struck down with prostate cancer.
I don't think I have to worry about prostate cancer though it does run in my family. Take comfort, the way ebola is spreading, we may not need to worry about any of those old-people diseases.
You were good to have been the one to stay with him! He's lucky to have had only that slight injury!! My question is how did an 18 yr old end up with the old farts?
The youngster was the son of one of the older guys. The boy was so drop-dead gorgeous that later when Mike and I were alone, even Mike commented on his physical beauty. We both agreed that it was difficult not to stare at him. He looked like a more manly version of Justin Beeber.
You as well as the gentleman have a lot of courage. I was surprised none of his friends doubled back to check on him.
The rest of the guys were only about 70 yards away and could see that he was on his feet. To their credit, they treat him like one of the guys and don't patronize him. Everyone remembers the the skillful surgeon he was only a few years ago and treats him with the respect he deserves.
I have to laugh because riding with guys is so completely different than riding with girls. Girls are polite and supportive: "Do you want to go first?" "No, you go ahead, you're faster than I am." "Well okay, but let me know if you want to go around me." With guys, it's jump on the bike and work your way to the front of the pack, take no prisoners. If someone goes down in front of you, use him for traction.
I was here some times ago but I had to stop for various reasons so here I am . Useless to say I am frightened by the narrow track winding at the mid steep slope of the mountain . It is sure this would stimulate your friend's mind . But this is dangerous , Alzheimer or not . But such is your pleasure and after all it is true that to win without risk we triumph without pleasure . I like this rocky mountainous landscape.
Enjoy, Judy
Love
Michel
You know what they say, "We are comfortable with the familiar, even familiar dangers". I should have posted a picture which was more representative of the oak-shaded, stream crossings. This photo makes the trail look quite desolate and dangerous when most of it is actually wide and forested. The Old Farts get off and walk their bikes up the section depicted in the photo. Of course, Sally and I ride it but we're not old yet. I think I'm going to move that marker up another decade.
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