The Legend of TimberlineBitches

So every now and then, the subject of TimberlineBitches comes up. What is TimberlineBitches you may ask? It's a story rich with the concepts of honor, friendship and intestinal fortitude ....

OK, not really.
It's just about a bike ride.

Jeff and John and I had gone on a ride from Santa Clarita to Ventura, about 50 miles or so of mostly flat, valley floor riding on a beautiful summer day. We ended the ride in Ventura with a nice breakfast where family members were waiting to join us and, thankfully, cart us home.

We bonded as cyclists and as friends that day and eventually made plans for another ride.

This time however, we turned, as manly men often do, to the mountains (too cheesy? Pfffft!). As we all pulled in to the appointed meeting place we did what manly men do ... We checked out each other's junk ... mechanically speaking of course!

Jeff and I were sporting, shall I say, traditional and modern mountain biking steeds. John had a Timberline, ummm, hybrid. Not a road bike, not a mountain bike ... master of neither, a story waiting to unfold.

I took the lead as I had been on the chosen trail many times and had more experience in general. We chose an out and back trail that crisscrossed a dry creek bed up, and then down on the way back. Single track all the way. Slightly technical, but a fun ride.

I kept one eye on the lookout for my inexperienced charges in particular, on the more challenging sections. As I approached one "alley-oop" of an uphill section, I expected that either or both Jeff and John might have difficulty negotiating the last little kicker on the uphill. As I slowed to look back, I witnessed one of the more memorable moments of my cycling career (seriously).

Just as I turned to look back, John's determined face appeared as, with clenched teeth and white knuckles, he crested the hill and cried out (yes, cried out): "TIMBERLINE BITCHES!"

A legendary term was coined.

Epilogue: On a subsequent Ventura redux, enter Nate as the newest member of the club who gave us our new slogan: Shut It And Get Your Ass Moving