Rode Galbraith with Thad and Herb and their friend Tom. It was a strong group, with every rider deftly clearing the big, slick, off-camber log rollover on the Appendix, one after the other.

When I suggested that would make a good shot, and babbled something about digital video as a way to get better action shots, Thad mentioned he already has a Sony digital camcorder and a helmet mount. He said he's gotten some good shots, but that his computer is broken right now. He uses Adobe Premier (which he said came bundled with his Firewire card) to pull stills.

The helmet mount is setup for a miniature 8mm camera ("basically cold war spy technology," he called it). "You can get some really cool shots if the guy with the helmet cam is riding right behind a good rider down a flier like the Ridge Trail," he said.

Thad and I missed the turn at the top of Arsenio into the secret clubhouse, where a bong is reputedly stashed, so we ripped down Darrell's Death Climb. Despite my best efforts, Thad was soon just a puff of smoke drifting on the breeze in the corners.

In my own defense, I have to note that I'm the only one that rides with the leaders on both the ups and downs. On the climbs its Herb and me; on the descents its Thad and me.

At the bottom of Darrell's Death Climb, Thad blew a tube, so I gave him my extra, plus half my Big Air compressed air pump before heading home to make dinner for Laurel. On the way down, I met a friendly group led by Chris Sandvik on the Ridge Trail.

Approximately 1200 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.