Ride

The Bovine’s Happy route is a big figure-8 opening with a northwest counter-clockwise loop reaching up below Paso Robles, then crossing back through Templeton for a funky counter-clockwise loop to the southeast through Creston.

Just the second year for the Bovine and already a massive, very colorful and diverse turnout. Rolling out of town it’s not long before we’re into the exciting crunch of a huge group flying along the rapid crushed-coral of Moss Lane.

Seeing small crashes, mechanicals and flats around the periphery does cause some anxiety but we seem steady and skilled. Kiler Canyon was wild. The narrow dust-filled double-track slot canyon wound its way up, opening to rolling vineyard foothills. Up top was the summit, hidden in an enormous cloud of hazy talc-like moon dust.

After the first rest stop comes a rapid, paved tree-covered winding drop from Peachy and through Willow Canyon. It’s a peaceful retreat, slightly downhill and flowing along velvety smooth pavement.

We found where they make the gravel!Back across the valley and into the second loop we find ourselves riding through an active rock quarry. Huge piles of rock, fed by a maze of overhead conveyers, loaded by meandering tractors and trucks… Super cool, but also distracting. Lots of confusion amongst our few dozen riders looking for a key (unmarked) route junction which dipped off the quarry road and across a small creekbed. What followed was hilarious and technically challenging… a segment of flowing single-track pitched up into a single-file scramble up a narrow, deeply-rocky hiking trail.

Decending east into the large flat valley toward Creston was done mostly on fast but sometimes savage washerboard gravel road… mercifully turned to pavement as we got closer to the Creston stop. It’s still quite cold, jacket and layers have been on all day… really needed a base-layer as well. The headwind wasn’t helping, just annoying enough to sap the energy. This feels long and there’s still quite a ways to go to get home. Legs are fading, spirit’s drained… Back through the center of the “8” I missed the cue to turn right to return to town added an extra 5 miles trying to chase down a group I thought Jay was in.

Back in the Town Green, Bremmentown playing Pixies “Where is my mind” a soundtrack for sipping a Firestone Pivo and reflecting on the experience. The fun vibes and the diverse surfaces are most memorable; from wide-open fast fine-pack to weedy grapevine tractor paths, a baby-powder slot canyon, rolling country farm roads, smooth-packed flowing singletrack, an active rock quarry, that scramble up the chunky baby-heads hiking trail, loose gravelly washerboard… This Bovine packed in a lot. Hard at times, but mostly fun.

Gear thoughts:

• Vulpines were fast, light, and plenty grippy but really need to be in a 45c or 50c size; 40c not enough volume when things get choppy…
• Ornot’s Micro climate jacket was a very comfortable life-saver. Somehow forgot my base-layer and today never really warmed up.
• Need something warmer than Giro DND gloves for extended cool days.