by Michael Hardy
Originally Published in the IAMC Newsletter, May 2017
The 3rd annual April Fools Ride was held, well, on April 1st. It was nice and sunny, the breeze was a bit chilly but at least it wasn’t snowing or blowing as it had the day before. The ride was scheduled to start after the Spring Kickoff Picnic, and attendance was very good. This was one of the largest groups I have ever ridden in. At least in the beginning …
The April Fool’s Ride plays by a different set of rules. Its designed to give everyone a chance to lead the group, each new leader picking the direction, and the rest of the pack follows. It’s also an all inclusive fun run, as much of a social event as it is a ride, and a chance to shake out the dust and rust that has accumulated over the winter. Afer a quick briefing on the unusual rules of the ride by ride organizer “FoolHardy,” nineteen brave souls set out for wherever with a vague belief that they would enjoy a nice afternoon ride and possibly pick up a challenge point before returning home.
We headed north on Hwy 55 and met up with a couple of guys ge|ng gas at the Chevron on Beacon Light. Afer that, we turned north on Eagle Road and headed out Willow Creek. Afer a few miles, I pulled over and waved the group past, giving the next guy his turn at leading the pack with his choice of direcSon. We wound
around Pearl Road, onto Chapparrel and over to Hwy 16, north for a bit, then turned west on JAG and back onto Pearl again.
We traveled on until we came to Hwy 55. At this juncSon, someone decided to have a liYle fun and take the tricky way down to the Old Hwy into Horseshoe Bend. Several riders went down the embankment while others went back to Pearl and followed the highway down to the turnoff.
Afer regrouping at the turnoff, a quick count revealed that we had only eighteen riders. We sent someone back down Pearl Road to see if they could find the missing rider. He went as far back as the last stop and found nothing. We surmised that the missing rider had turned south on Hwy 16 and booked it on home. We continued on down the old Hwy 55, then hung a right on Harris Creek Road and headed east toward Idaho City. A few riders headed south on Hwy 55 back toward Boise instead of continuing with us on Harris Creek Road toward Idaho City. As we gained elevation, snow started to appear here and there along the road.
The group took a break at Harris Creek summit and added a thermal layer at the intersection of the Boise Ridge Road and the turnoff to Hawley Mountain lookout.
We continued on to Idaho City, stopping at Trudy’s Kitchen for a bite to eat. At this point a few more
headed home, leaving just eight of us to enjoy dinner. I don’t think my wife would have forgiven me if I
didn’t bring her a piece of Trudy’s delicious huckleberry cheesecake, so I ordered one to go and
carefully placed it in my backpack. Afer our tummies were full, we geared back up and headed down Hwy 21 for Boise. I pulled over at Robie Creek to see if anyone was interested in a little more dirt. Most everyone was pooped, leaving just Robert Scherzer and me to see if Tollgate Road was snowed in. It was not, and we enjoyed some liberal application of throttle up and over Adalpe Summit, and then we followed Rocky Canyon back into Boise. I got home just afer dark, my cheesecake still intact — a perfect end to another fun April Fool’s ride. Thanks to everyone who came along for the ride!
If you would like to see a video with commentary of this ride, please visit Robert Scherzer’s YouTube Channel, Piston Slap, at this site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhESabOtumE