We all know how 2020 went. Each month something new took over the headlines and overall, the year was quite rough for everyone around the world. I like to think that I was very fortunate when it came to the events that happened last year. I wasn’t personally affected by COVID and I was given a lot of opportunities to better myself as an athlete, photography, and work. I was given a promotion about halfway through the year and ended up buying not one, but two bikes. And for all of that, I’m beyond grateful for how the year went and I’m really hoping to continue this momentum into 2021.
Having spent so much time on bikes this past year, it was only fitting to head down to one of our favorite trails and finish off the year with an awesome ride. This would be the first time I would get to take on Braille in the Soquel Demo Forest, but first we of course had to warm up with Flow. The crew consisted of myself, Molly, Evan, and our friend Steve. Starting off in the cold was a bit tough to get going, but with Steve on his ever-so-light S-Works Epic Evo, we were quickly left behind to chase him up the climb. It wasn’t just our fitness level that kept us slowly grinding, Evan and I both had some issues with our bikes. My brake pads were shot and his derailleur needed to be indexed. We sounded like an awfully timed, tone-deaf, trumpet player and drummer duet. It was less than peaceful. We figured if we could make it to the descent, the bikes would be fine and we’d still be able to have a blast. The light rain that came down the night before had the dirt made up perfectly for us. We couldn’t turn back now.
The top of flow is always a bit chunky and for some reason, I started off a bit timid. I couldn’t find the trust in my tires that I wanted so I ended up taking that section a bit slow. I was hoping by the time we made it to Flow, that I would have the confidence to hit things a bit faster than I have before.
The first two sections always slap a smile on my face. Right from the start, the ups, the downs, the berms, all of it seems to take so long to get to the second section that I find myself saying that I don’t want it to end. I’ve always taken those first two sections as a warm-up and sections 3-6 are where we’ll stop to grab some photos. The first time I ever came to flow, I got two of my favorite pictures that I’ve taken on the bike. I want to stop at that spot again, but I know I need to expand and capture more of the forest. All of the s-turns in the trees are a dream when it comes to framing up shots. If only it was a bit brighter so that my 5D Mark IV didn’t have to crank so high up on the ISO, it would be ideal.
We stopped for more pictures once we made it to the bottom of Flow, and after the short break, we were on our way back up the fire road all the way to the top of Braille. Once again, Evan and I were back to making music. I eventually figured out that if I applied a little bit of pressure to my back brake, the noise would stop. I really didn’t know how much brake I had left, but I was only praying it was enough for us to make it safely down Braille. My fitness certainly wasn’t at it’s best on this climb. The number of days I had spent skiing, drinking, and eating in the month of December were definitely not helping me boost up to the top of the climb. All in all, we made it to the top without too much complaint.
Time for Braille.
From what I had heard, Braille was a much more intense trail than Flow. But everything was apparently walkable. I didn’t want to walk the whole thing so we made the plan to stop and check out some of the bigger features and decide there if they were doable. First up was a small log drop that had a really nice transition to the lip. It was practically flat and all you had to do was carry however much speed you wanted into it. We hit it with no problem at all. Little did I know it at the time, but it was the perfect set up for the rest of the features on the trail.
I continued to follow Evan down the trail and we stopped at a few more features to check out. They were all built just like the first one, just varying in size. One after the next we continued to stop and hit them a few times until we made it to a point where we were comfortable enough to roll right off them. With Evan still leading the way, he took a rooty line to the right with a drop on the left. Slowing down to take navigate the slippery roots I shifted my weight and took the line on the left. It felt great as I landed next to Evan and hollered a “YEW!” as I passed him by.
As the trail got steeper and chunkier, my riding was feeling better and better. I was having a blast, just on the edge of full control but really giving it on the gas. Drop after drop, my confidence continued to grow. I was having a blast! Flow was my absolute favorite trail until that day. The feeling of confidence I had, along with the pride of being able to hit these features that I wasn’t even sure about at the start, was an amazing feeling to end off the year! As I said, I learned a lot in 2020, especially when it came to cycling and all of that really seemed to show when I was riding Braille. I hope to carry that confidence into 2021 and keep on building my skills with my athleticism and photography. Here’s to another year that will be better than the last.
Cheers, and Happy New Year!
