Dirty Chain Gang Rides Again: Back in the Saddle

The call of the dusty trail was never more loudly given than it was today, and completely to be expected; it is the middle of the dry season after all. Unless I miss-counted, a record number of the Gang saddled up to ride the loop across the hills and through the canyons of Claremont and La Verne. Also not unexpected, record numbers of other trail users seemed to have heeded the call - walkers, horses and their riders, cross-country runners from the local schools, other groups of riders - all made an early start to the day in order to avoid the heat that would be rising later. So yes, there were great clouds of dust kicked up in to the air, sucked into the lungs, the usual rocks and ruts kept riders alert, while the stream through Marshall Canyon spattered legs with mud, cast it in trails up backsides and across the faces of those who followed closely to the first wheel ahead.

always a time for the finger

Has it truly been a month since I last rode with the Dirty Chain Gang? I thought I might have missed two rides, but no more than that. Huh, time can fly if you let it. Well,

"I'm back in the saddle again, out where a friend is a friend,

Where the trail is up, or the trail is down, no time for a rest

I'm back in the saddle again.

Ridin' the range once more, spinning my old twenty-nine

Where you wind through the oaks into the sun shining bright

Back in the saddle again.

Whoopi ti yi yo, rockin' to and fro, back in the saddle again

Whoopi ti yi yea, I'll go my own way

Back in the saddle again."