North Carolina We gathered for our first NC ride at the Carolina Fatz bike store, which was closed to flood damage (did I mention the rain?). That left us milling about in the parking lot awaiting Moab’s arrival from the motel where you paid by the hour (hey, that’s what I heard). There were 15 of us: Cajun, Slider, Gadget, Mike, Fausto, Denise (an FFG from Fla), Cruiser, Ella, Grinder, Timber, Moab, Bam Bam, Coondawg, and Melissa. We seemed to have Spokejunkies from all over the place. We caravanned to theTrace Ridge trailhead w/o incident (that would be the only time). At the trailhead we broke into 2 groups: FFGs, and the rest of us wanting to avoid a 2.5 mile climb. I was, of course, in the 2nd group. We waited for the FFGs and rode the rest of the trail together. The FFGs enjoyed the downhill after the climb, but it seemed that there was a price to pay judging from the mud and blood covering them, especially Grinder. The crash potential was high. Denise had a good trip over the bars. Coondawg and, Slider also bought it on the downhill. We had several mechanicals: Fausto had a flat tire and Grinder broke his chain. These minor mechanicals were put into perspective when Ella crashed and broke her fork dropout. Rather than walk out, the guys disassembled her bike and rode while carrying it. This wasn’t quite as dangerous as it sounds because Ella has got a kids frame: 12”. And since she is kid sized, her FFG husband rode her out, Ella on the seat and Cruiser standing. Walking might have been easier, but the men were up for a challenge. Safety obviously wasn’t a consideration. How they managed to steer carrying a tire or frame, I don’t know. Guess that’s why they’re FFGs and I’m not. There was a fair amount of water crossings and Timber sacrificed herself for the good of a group by falling into a deep puddle, forcing the rest of us to stop and notice the bypass-Thanks! Moab even wore a white jersey so he could show off his body. He was the only one who took the wet T-shirt contest serious. Bam Bam had a bit of trouble with mud in her eye and she managed to borrow a pair of clear shades for the rest of the rides-it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Ride with FFGs - Gadget Dupont Night Ride Laurel Mountain/ Big Creek Ride Once we got to the bottom one felt like we just came out of a pinball machine and pedaled along the flat rocky trail. Then we discovered why this section was called Big creek. We crossed Big Creek 5 times or was it 7 or 10 times. The trail crossed back and forth through the creek. One wondered if it would be easier just to ride right down the middle of the creek. The crossings were unevenly deep, 6 inches in some parts and up over your bottom bracket for others. For most of the crossings the bikes needed to be carried. Scott tried to ride across, but the creek would have none of that and threw him in. Big Creek trail ended at the Hendersonville Reservoir, once a deep reservoir now filled with leaves and debris but with a pretty waterfall. 1.5 more miles of gravel road and then some fun fast down hill single track. All was going well until the trail ended right into private property. Here we are less than 100 feet to where our cars are parked, but we have to go through private property. We’ve heard stories about people in these backwoods. We were waiting to find ole’ Billy Bob waiting with his shotgun. With a map and a few trial and errors we got back to the cars. It was a fun ride, but boy were we glad to see the cars. The final tally was 19 miles, about 3000 feet of climbing and 12 very tired but happy junkies. - Timber Return to Dupont On we went to the falls. A short dual track ride followed by a shorter,
but pseudo-technical climb, and another rocky decent left us at the
beautiful water falls that Grinder is fond of talking about: “These
are falls they used in “Last of the Mohicans.”” The
view is great, and we spent a while there enjoying it. Back the
way we came lead us to the Burnt Mountain loop. Unfortunately, we didn’t
have Dirt Devil’s camera this year to give Fausto a landing target
like last year. Apparently it didn’t matter as he made it down
the blazing technical decent with no additional wounds. This section
of downhill has to be the most fun section of trail we’ve ridden
at Dupont. The beginning portion has numerous jumps that beg you to
break Terra’s firm grip. Just about the time that the air gets
routine, Mother Earth falls away in some steeper, twisting, rutted
chutes. You couldn’t pry the smile off most of our faces and the
hands off the handlebars of the rest. Jerry aka Slider (needs to write
a profile before one is written for him)and Denise (soon to be “Bionic”)
got to the bottom and immediately left for the top again. The climb
here was a small price to pay for that downhill. But, all good things
must come to an end. We pedaled out to the cars. Another ride awaited
us, but not until we got some chow. I mention this, because a favorite
of ours, Hawg Wild, apparently was the object of some disgruntled teenager’s
ire. It burned to the ground the night before our ride. No more greasy
pork sandwiches. Sigh . . . . Oh well, hopefully it’ll be there
next year. Go u huskies! - Pedal |