If my brothers and I ever pony up for the DNA test, I could tell you which Ojibwa tribe my great-grandmother belonged to. The legend goes that the tribe honored my half-breed grandfather by attemping to burn down his house when he died. My Kumeyaay spirit sisters overlooked my unenrolled status and left me an arrow shaped gift out on the Sagebrush course last week. Granted, it was made of stiff plastic, but it did a marvelous job of clearing mud from my cleats. I'll take it as an auspicious omen for the Kenda Cup West opener tomorrow. The Sagebrush Safari features an old school course way out in the San Diego back country. Despite the remote location, all the big guns are lining up to ride the flowing, bermy OHV trails. Jeremiah Bishop, Sid, Tinker, and Pua will probably finish their twenty-five miles in the time it takes me to slog my nineteen. Is White Lightening a publicly traded company? If it is, buy shares. Or an extra large bottle. Despite claims that the course will have shed today's rain, I still recommend lubing your pedals. Heavily. When my new friends from SD Trek and I rode the course last week, the mud on the Kernan Trail descent was six inches deep, with a slurry creek running down the middle in some places. Slip N Slide on a bike. Be one with the earth, knobby braves. You'll be coated with it by day's end.
