We started at 6:010AM on Saturday, June 21, 2008.  Our group consisted of some Coe Veterans: Eric, Jim, Roy, Chris, Paul, Janet, Charlie, and Tom.  We also had some people less experienced with Coe: Keith, and Deb.  The  route was designed to include two loops, with options for bail-outs, which would make the ride safe and keep people from getting in over their heads.  The first loop was a joyous medley of fire-road, single track, and "trails" built around the time of the Incas.  I think I heard at least one person say, "I thought this was supposed to be a bike ride."... in reference to how much we were walking.  It was a hot morning, which we were all prepared for.  Janet and I filtered at nearly every water stop, while others had plenty of capacity in their camelbaks for the entire first loop.  By the time we were done with the first loop, we had covered 17.87 miles, and climbed 3684 feet.  Not bad for a normal mountain bike ride!

Here is where our group split up somewhat.  Eric and Jim had done a serious Coe ride the night before, and their 24 hour mileage was probably approaching the same numbers as our thermometers.  Deb and Chris wanted to do some more mileage - but didn't want to do some of the heinous climbs in the heat - they took off and (perhaps intelligently) did some more riding in other parts of the park.  

Our group moved along, more-or-less together.  Somewhere along the Cullen Trail, Janet and I broke our chain.  We were in the back, and the pace was moving right a long.  We fixed it in a hurry, but (I found out when I got home) the chain was looped through the derailleur cage wrong (hence the inability to backpedal the rest of the day)!  Not long after this, We said "Goodbye" to Keith.  He decided that he should not toil on, citing months of being off the bike (he's recovering from a broken collarbone).  This was a good assessment, but, really, a single-speed in Coe?  You have to be pretty tough to do 4,000 feet of climbing on a single-speed, let alone 12,000!  From Cullen, we hit Anza Trail, and finally caught up to Paul, Roy, and Tom who had waited for us.  Charlie had moved ahead, but when we all regrouped along the Grapeviene trail (near the springs), Charlie decided to do a shorter ride.  It was getting pretty hot, and being a Coe veteran, he knew what was coming.  He wisely opted out.  From Grapevine, we hit Cross Canyon Trail, which was fun, but I sprained my left ring finger (now purple and swollen) while catching the tandem during one of our typical tip-overs.  As we climbed out the other side of the canyon, the weather began to change.  Thunderhead appeared in the sky, and soon we were engulfed in wind, occasional rain, and a full-fledged electrical storm.  At this point, Roy's cold (from last week) was starting to make him feel strange.  As a Coe veteran, Roy knew his limits, and he decided to take a break, and a shorter route back.  I could tell that Roy was disappointed - he had been thinking of this ride for a long time too.  It is very unfortunate that he got sick.  

We carried on through Willow Ridge Road.  I wanted to get off the ridge ASAP, but no one else was worried about the lightning.  Paul climbed out on a overlook and like a wolf howling at the moon, he started crowing at the lightning, almost to say, "Bring it on!"  The remainder of the group (Tom, Janet, and I) opted out of this short trek.  Soon, we took the Hoover Lake Trail (which has been somewhat re-routed since the fire), and then did a no-name trail back to Willow Ridge Road for some bonus climbing.  We then bore off on Eagle Pines Trail, which Chris and Paul have dubbed "The toughest trail in Coe."  Needless to say, this was mostly walking.  The sun started to come out, and just as I was starting to worry about not having brought a jacket, the temps went back into the 90s.  We rolled along Bear Mountain Road soaking our bodies in a tadpole infested puddle to cool our core body temps for the Bear Mountain Climb.  None of us were able to ride bottom to top, but this was the most ride-able section for the next 2 hours.  In fact, we only covered 5 miles in those two hours after Bear Mountain.  As you might imagine, the "Brim" trial (Bear Mountain Peak Trail) was the low-point of the ride for me and Janet.  Paul, in his road-racer Lycra, seemed to be doing fine, waiting for us to walk up the climbs, and negotiate the charred sticks that left black marks on our arms, legs, and (in Janet's case) nether regions.  Tom seemed to be digging deep into his reserves at this point too.  Rather than his typical "Oh, nice scenery, don't you think!?"  He was starting to ask Paul if he figured we could finish by dark.

We finally made it semi-civilization - Pacheco Camp.  We had come via McAllister trail, the Heritage Trail, and the Pacheco Creek Trail.  We were getting signs that it would be dark soon - so we hurried out, climbing along Coit Road - racing darkness.  Somewhere before Wagon Road, Tom got a flat tire in the front.  We fixed it quickly (30 seconds saved by his lefty front fork).  Then we hurried off - barely able to see towards Wilson Camp.  Janet and I came across a skunk in the trail - with it's tail up, we followed it for over a quarter mile until it finally headed off the trail into the bush.  By Wilson Camp, it was dark.  Paul shared his LED lights with us, and chided us for not bringing our own.  We should have been prepared for this ride (that we didn't know any details of).  Turning a bend in the bowl trail, the sky suddenly lit up.  Not with LED light - but with fire.  12 miles away (as the crow flies) the hills of Mt. Madonna park were on fire.  Unable to gain perspective of the true location of the fire, we headed down Lyman Wilson trail with an added sense of urgency.  Tom, Paul, Janet, and I made it back to the parking log at 10:17 PM.... 16 hours, and 7 minutes from when we had started.  

Keith had been waiting for our return all day, and had just headed out to call Chris to make sure everything was okay.  It was great to see him in the Parking lot to share the stories of our adventures.  Thanks everyone for the great ride!