Time to get dirty at RFK DualSport 2016

Today was going to be a great day to take part in the Southern California Ride for Kids Dual Sport. Why is that you say? Well two reasons, and both were exciting. Today’s ride was my friend Steve Squire’s first ride as the new National Campaign Manager for Ride for Kids. So a bunch of us LABikers were on hand to help support Steve as well as the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The second reason was rain was in the forecast!! Rain? In California? Inconceivable!! Last year at LA Barstow to Vegas banquet I had won a full Icon Raiden suit that was waterproof, so I was eager to test it out.

The day started out with pancakes, and just got better from there. We really enjoyed the routes this year.

The first big hill heading up the mountain has some tricky areas though from water run off.  I almost ate it when my front tire got swallowed up in a big ditch. Luckily I was already standing up and had enough speed to push through it.  It was foggy once we got to the top and we needed to stop and defog our goggles. No fun if you can’t see what you are doing.

At the lunch stop: hot dogs, snacks, gatorade, regroup, and it started to rain. I learned that rain hitting face hurts.My first time in the rain wearing my dirt helmet. My new Icon Raiden gear worked like a charm, no leaks!

The single tracks by Lake Arrowhead were perfect, especially because of the rain. We all made an agreement to go back this summer to camp and ride those trails again.

Overall there were 180 folks and we raised just under $40,000 that day with an additional $6,000 that came in after the ride.

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