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Yesterday I pre-rode the second half of the Mariposa 50
that is to be held in a little less than two weeks, and it was absolutely
awesome! The scents of the forest, the views of the valley and surrounding
mountains, the amazing wildflowers in bloom...just made the whole loop a
wonderful experience. After pre-riding both halves of the ride, I can
assure eveyone that the new Mariposa 50 is both gorgeous and do-able.
Years ago when I started riding endurance, there were some
great rides that I considered "must-do". One was Drakes Bay, my first 50
actually, and it was so beautiful...went by the ocean, fabulous trails. It
is long gone now. Another was Castle Rock 50, so gorgeous with the wild
poppy-strewn meadows, ocean views, great forest trails...now gone(yes, there is
still the 75 and 100 Swanton Pacific, but not a 50). I always loved the
American River ride, which is still held, but has had urban sprawl making
it different than it used to be. One of my all-time
favorites was the Mariposa 50, which was a ride I looked forward to every
year. It was big in the 80's, off for a while, then back recently as a
higher mileage ride. This year's trail and new management promise to make
this again the ride I loved so much twenty years ago, except the trails are
even better! They've made two loops with lunch at basecamp, water where
you need it, lots of shade in the afternoon loop, the best trails....and I hear
that the awards are going to be great! They include vials of gold for
top ten, embroidered coolers for bc and first place, wine glasses AND
coupons for bags of feed for all finishers!
The Mariposa
ride has had declining attendance over the past few years,
likely due to difficulties that this year's ride has addressed. This ride
needs participants so the club can put it on again next year. It is
not too late to get in your entry...please check out the website
at http://free.yosemite.net/~wildcat or
call Joanne at (209)966-5567 and let her know you are coming. You will be
glad you did!
If you have any concerns or questions about the trail or the
ride, you can e-mail me as well.
(PS) I will be there with some saddles and accessories,
doing saddle fittings and letting people try out Advantage saddles.
Please feel free to stop by and say "hI".
Katee
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