The Ultimate Bike Retreat

This past weekend we held a super fun bike retreat, at my home in Bishop! A good chunk of the Redlands Homeschool team, the whole Wild Heart Christian Academy, and Buttermilk Academy attended making up a fun group of nine racers and some more parents. We called it the "unofficial national NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) homeschool bike retreat", since Redlands, Wild Heart, and Buttermilk are the only homeschool teams in the nation.

The retreat started off Thursday evening. The team members arrived in time for a quick spin out on the trails as a little taste of what the riding was like. Back at the house we ate dinner, hung out, and played games to get to know more about each other. The night flew by and we were soon off to bed.

Friday morning we started with breakfast and left for a ride. It was about the windiest conditions we ever ride in and, of course, we had to ride straight into it. My Dad always says that sandy climbs with a head wind are the best, and that is what we got! We worked on riding smoothly over a few rocky sections in a single track and all made improvements on them.

(some skills)

After a while we headed back for lunch, rested a little, and played a round of Attack the Pack (one of the best games ever!). A couple hours later were were all kitted up and back on the trails to complete the chainless race as well as some more explorations of the single tracks. The smell of delicious soup greeted us as we arrived back at the house. After dinner we play a few more games, which are always the best, and then retired for the night.

(games at night)

We had a relaxing morning on Saturday, hanging at the house and preparing lunch for the hike we were going to do. About half an hour drive and we were at our hiking trail head, Rock Creek. We soon were hiking up the beautiful trail past several lakes, scrambling over talus, and ended up on Morgan Pass.

(Our talus climb)

On the hike back down we stopped at one of the lakes and

paddled around in blow-up canoe we brought up with us.

(Morgan Pass)

Back at the house we ate dinner, hung out playing

games, and left on a night ride. We, who went on the night ride, enjoyed the hour or so of the huge black sky filled with stars and fun single tracks! We got back at midnight ate our "first breakfast" and headed to bed.

Sunday was a sad day, the last day of the retreat, and the last time I would be able to ride in a group of riders my age for a while. The ride was great! Another chainless race, 51-50 (one of the best trails, with some semi-technical sections), and the Wilkerson Loop, left us at the house and packing up to leave.

(enjoying lunch the last day)

After lunch the car's packing was finalized and the teams departed.

The weekend was one of the best I have ever had! I was sad to see everyone leave, but I'm left with great memories and a motto: "Drop everyone, don't care about their feelings; just drop them!" (thanks to Thomas).

(just some of the Leaders from the combined teams)