Rode Galbraith with Russ and Larry, starting in the late afternoon.

It rained on the drive into Bellingham, but by the time we started up the Ridge Trail about 5:30 pm, it had turned into a gorgeous afternoon with warm sunshine and puffy clouds.

I was at my best on Purple Heart, which I rode all the way without putting a foot down (including the double log drop), and on Kut Korners, where I almost made it through the tight hairpin by the stump.

Russ seemed a little dragged out at the beginning, but picked up steam as we went along. Larry was riding a bike he borrowed from a guy who works at Kona in Ferndale, WA, just outside Bellingham. He said it cost about $2200, but the guy told him he could get it for him a new one for around $1300. Seemed like a pretty nice trail bike with 3" travel in the front and 4" in the back via a Turner-style four bar walking beam suspension.

Russ and I both brought lights, but Larry did not. So for the last run down the Ridge Trail in the deepening gloom, I rode in front of Larry and Russ rode behind to try to light his way. It seemed to work pretty well, except for a tight right on the lower Ridge Trail, where there is a small stump in the middle of the trail. I went inside, and Larry hit it, going down with a loud thump and a groan.

Approximately 1600 verts.

Vert Quest chronicles "The Man Known As Mongo's" pursuit of the World Record for climbing on a mountain bike, 404,000 vertical feet, or the vertical equivalent of 13 sea-level-to-summit ascents of Mt. Everest during a 12 month period. Mongo's mountain bike climbing tricks are distilled in Mongo's Over-the-top Guide to Climbing.