Rode Galbraith with a fast group which I saw forming in the park across from my office while I was working on GalbraithMt.com Map #2.

It originally included Guy Morrisey and a couple of his friends, but the group split into faster and slower halves before we got to the power line on the Ridge Trail.

I went with fast group, which also included Jimmy, Thad, John, and Carl. Once we got up to Arsenio, we headed over Kut Korners and then down Oly to Keystone, before retracing to Purple Heart, Kung Fu Theater and finally 911.

Watching my companions dive down the chute at the top of Keystone -- each taking the rooty drop straight down -- I began to get a better appreciation of the downhill line, which is above all direct. Later, after I had tiptoed over a gnarly log crossing, I saw Thad take it straight on at twice or more the speed.

On 911, the fast boys sprinted far into the lead, but I found them all near the bottom of a big drop, where Thad had sheared a crank arm on the landing. Jimmy and John had stopped to check it out, and then Carl came down really slowly. "It was one of those super slow motion endos," said Thad.

When I got there, Carl was sitting on the ground by his bike and the others were asking him how many fingers he had, etc. I got a pretty fast leak in my front tire (having already replaced the front tube three times in the last week: I've got to switch back to the old 2.1 IRC Mythos front tire) somewhere on 911, so we all headed for the barn ASAP.

Carl and I ran together down the Upper Ridge Trail. He was extremely quick on the descent, especially considering he was riding a creaky old hardtail. I stayed with him until the Upper Ridge Trail comes out of the trees, where I had to stop and pump up my front tire again.

When Thad finally came limping in, the guys in the Whatcom Falls Park parking lot cheered. Afterwards, he and I had a beer in the bike zone and he shared some info on MiniDV.

Approximately 2100 verts.