Julian Pie Ride

Julian Pie Ride
October 6th



Today Tim and I accompanied by several of our hardcore or hungry for pie friends rode from Pine Valley. We summit ting Mt. Laguana (3500 ft climb) and ventured in to Julian for the Apple (Pie) Fest. The day was perfect not a cloud in the sky. Tim and I were very excited. This is our favorite local ride. We rarely get started early enough to make the 1 hour prerequisite drive to start the loop. You see the speed we have on our bikes is all the speed we have. We are world class dawdlers. Meeting our friends committed us to an early start. 1/2 the group started early to ride Kitchen Creek road, my favorite road. Kitchen Creek is longer, steeper, and has more total elevation gain. It is basically a fire road and closed to cars in sections. Elaine and I hammered up the longer route with the boys. (Tim, Flo, and JT) We had so much fun razzing the "men" as they huffed and puffed to keep up. OK that may be a lie but this is my blog. If you want more accurate details write your own blog. Elaine pushed my pace. She has guns for quads and uses them. She laughed later and said she thought it was going to be a little hill she could bust over the top. I don't know were a sweet southern belle gets such strength, but she could make a grown man puke. At the top of the hill we stopped at a little store and met up with the others. It was cold up there. I had the shivers with my Velo Bella vest and toastie arm warmers. Fellow Bella Shannon didn't even have a vest so we did some swapping. By the time we left the store Shannon wore my vest. I wore Tim's jacket. Tim wore my arm warmers. See pic.

Once on the road again we were hammering. The guys sprinted up ahead but the Bella Velos put on their own show. You could call it pace lining. Actually, I think it was a series of attacks. It was surprising how strong everyone was and how fast we moved. Finally we hit another climb that blew up the pace line. After the summit it was "tuck and go" until the turn to Julian. That is my favorite section to ride in Southern California. There is one way to take this section. It is as fast as humanly possible. The way to drop boys on the descent is as follows: Get low in the drops, knees on the frame, and pardon me but boobs over the tubes. Top tube that is. Hammer as hard as you can and the uphills can be stomped. It's a perfect section to work on the "Craft". Soon we regrouped and headed up the windy road and down the big descent into Julian for Pie. Yummy. The pie was good and I was able to get some blood back into my frozen toes while we ate.


The ride and pie combo is an art that requires some finessing. Eat too much and you'll be hurting. Go to hard to early after pie and you'll cramp. Ironman... I may not know. How to climb on a belly full of pie...... That I know. I started the climb out of Julian relaxed and comfortable. When some people made a stomp, I sat and spun easily. Later, those who went out hard were hurting. The other secret to this ride is not to let your candle burn out until you have made it to the car. Some boys give it all they got when they see the "Pine Valley 5 miles" sign. This is a sorry mistake, but the perfect opportunity for an "I drop boys" girl. There is a final climb into Pine Valley that is long and tiresome. As we rode the final stretch the gals passed JT (aka the chicken) He had lost his spark claiming he bonked claiming he should have had a second piece of pie. Elaine, informed us she dropped him while riding a flat. Tim managed to jump in front of Shannon and I on the last descent. I believe he said "I'll go first, I want to go fast" Believe me that sparked an attck back. The pressure he felt to keep the girls behind him was palpable. Tina came sailing into the parking lot with an ear to ear grin. Next time, I 'll have two pieces of pie she said. What a girl. As we loaded our gear into our cars Elaine said it best. "Epic"