Soft Hands

Well I started the weekend with a Saturday ride with Tommy. We did a lap of Oak Mountain clockwise but the more interesting thing is that Tommy bought him a helmet cam. It is a Tony Hawk cam that was very inexpensive, so I was not expecting much. We ate at McAlisters after our ride and watched the video he recorded. The camera only came with a 32meg card so I think it would only record 2 minutes of footage but we got a few videos. Hopefully Tommy will get them up on his blog (see to the right under links).





Sunday I met Bump for the first time for trail work. I knew they intended to re-plank one of the bridges and I figured I would also rake some leaves. Well, we had to dolly in all the wood (which was probably the most difficult part) and about 3 of us stayed and worked on the bridge while the others headed elsewhere to work since there was only so many people that could help. I was nailing the new planks on and my sad self ended up with some pretty good blisters. I had no idea I had gotten so soft by sitting at my computer all day. We then went over to remove a bridge and replcae with rocks. By the time we got there the bridge was already removed and we were searching for suitable rocks. I found one that weighed close to 100 pounds so I had to get the dolly and wheel it about 1/8 mile to the place it was to go. After hauling this and many other rocks (the later ones we found were not as far) I was huffing and puffing. I helped place a few rocks then started raking the tail since they didn't need my help there. I only got a couple hundred yards done before it was time for lunch.



It helped me respect how much work goes into little things on the trail. I am glad I joined BUMP and am really looking forward to the expansion of the Oak Mountain trail.



After lunch we rode a lap and really enjoyed the sections of the trail that were improved. I ended up pretty tired after the day, but just being in the woods away from cell phones and work made it a great day.