Buffalo Gals

Buffalo Gals won't you come out tonight, come out tonight, come out tonight!

The gals were out yesterday at Buffalo Creek for a Gurlz Ride. It was the official season ender to brg's Tuesday Night Gurlz Rides; however it wasn't a Tuesday (it was Sunday) and it wasn't the seaon ender (Elizabeth is leading two more Tuesday Night Rides this year). But it was a good time!

Six of us met in south Boulder and carpooled the a 1 1/2 hour drive to Buffalo Creek. This area bosts miles and miles of swoopy trails with fantastic views. It is one of my favorite places to ride, especially on my SS. There are climbs, but none both steep and long (just one or the other). We had plans to get in a 3 hour-ish ride; brg and I were flexible about how much trail we would be able to cover depending on how fast the group moved.

Most of the women had never ridden Buff Creek, and they loved the trails. The day started out sunny and warm, but thankfully not hot like it was down in Boulder. We began riding up Gashouse Trail and took the Miller Gulch Trail to the Sandy Wash Trail. Somewhere on Sandy Wash, one of the ladies took a bad spill on a washed out sandy section (probably on Sandy Wash!), cutting up her elbow, hip and knees pretty good. Fortunately, I was packing everything but the kitchen sink in my HAWG, including my full first aid kit. She was such a trooper; the fall didn't dampen her desire to ride and continue to get better!

Sandy Wash dumped into a dirt road, which we took to the Shinglemill Trail. We rode Shinglemill up (and up and up). The views from up there are fantastic, with large rock outcroppings and mountains in all directions. Unfortunately, the clouds were beginning to build up. We decided that we would cut out the Colorado Trail part of the ride (next time ladies!), and head back to the dirt road via the Morrison Creek Trail. I had never been down Morrison Creek before, only up it. Brg and I took off ahead so we could rip down the trail fast. If someone had a mechanical or took a fall, we could always ride back up. Going down Morrrison Creek was super fun, so fun I couldn't bear to stop and take any pictures.

Once all the ladies were safely down, we regrouped and hit the dirt road for a fast ride back to the cars. The clouds were getting blacker and we could hear the rumbling of thunder. We did not want to get caught in an electrical storm! Talk about good timing; we made it back to the parking area just as the rain began to fall.

We followed up this fantastic ride with a late lunch at Bucksnorts, a funky restaurant/bar located WAY up a winding and steep dirt road. The Buffalo Gals will be back!

More pics can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/COIttyBittyBetty/BuffaloCreekGurlzRide08262007