We headed to Tsali and found the Left and Right loop was open so we planned a route which included a loop around the outside of the penensula starting with the left loop, senic overlook and then back on the right loop. This was to be about a 20 mile ride so I assumed it would take a while.
The trail was relatively flat and flowed pretty well. It skirted around the edge overlooking the lake. The water was down a good bit, but it was still a nice view of the water. The left loop was a fun trail. We headed up to the overlook. There was a small bit of climbing, but still just a smooth fun ride. We stopped at the top to grab a snack and enjoy the view. We cruised back down and got to the Right trail.
I think I liked this part best as it was cool in the trees and the trail had a really fun flow to it. We found a spot with a side trail and a jump and of course had to stop and play for a minute or two. We headed on and I think this was the part with some nice climbs and some really nice downhills. We finished up the trail and stopped by the Nantahala center on the way back. I really wanted to get into the water, but it was quite chilly when i put my hand in. I decided I must come back and canoe/kayak this river as it looked really fun.
We headed back to the cabin and I got some good pictures of the view off the back porch. Karl and Mark wanted to hike over to the nearby hill, so we headed down the road to see if we could get there. This road was a bit more than I was expecting and pretty steep, but we eventually got to the crest of the hill. I tried to take a picture of the cabin from the hill, but they didn't come out too great because of the trees. We hiked back and got back right as the sun was setting. I got a few shots of this and you really had to be there to appreciate how incredible it looked.
We played a few games of pool and then headed to bed.
Pictures Here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/MontySTripDay29192008#
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Jackrabbit
I ended up staying up prettylate trying to wash clothes and get ready for the trip. I had a broken spoke and didn't have time to get it fixed, so I tried to cary it by Cahaba Cycle at Trussville on my way. I knew this would make me a bit late, but I didn't know what we were going to be riding and I didn't want to mess up my wheel. I got to Cahaba about 9:30 and luckily Parker got there early. He said they didn't have any spokes but he offered to look at it and saw the nipple was broken and the spoke was still ok. He managed to fix it for me (even though he had to rob a nipple off another wheel). I cannot say enough good stuff about Cahaba.
I headed on my way and finally got there about 3:00. The cabin Monty had choosen had a better view off the back deck than most senic overlooks I have seen. We headed out quickly and went to Jackrabbit to ride. This was a relatively new little trail system that was mostly level and very flowy. It was covered by lots of small berms that made this trail trememdously fun to ride. It kept begging to be ridden just a bit faster than I could go. The trail allowed one to carry so much speed, but was curvy enough to really be fun. There was one trail (I think Orange) that went up and over the hill. This was a bit technical and had a small rockly climb and even a relatively narrow bridge at the top to ride over. This was followed by a quick descent back down to meet the Blue trail.
We ran into Robert (A local) and he joined us as I think he was happy to have someone to ride with. We rode out to the beach area and this trail was much more winding and we had to go a little slower through the trees but it was built up on a raised path so it was interesting to ride. We got back as thsi was an out and back and Robert wanted to ride the new section of trail. I don't think everyone was up to it, so me and Robert took off. I mentioned we could just hammer through it before we started and he took this literally. I managed to keep up for a bit but he started pulling away from me. I actually just couldn't get through the trees fast enough. We kept going with him having to slow perodically to let me catch back up. Eventaully we came to the small hill at the end and this got me. I was huffing and puffing when we came back out and I stopped to rest a minute or two before riding the Yellow loop. We cruised around this and back to the parking lot. We stopped on the way home and picked up a pizza, and got back in time to catch the sunset. I was exhausted and went to bed early.
Pictures here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/MontySTripDay19182008#
I headed on my way and finally got there about 3:00. The cabin Monty had choosen had a better view off the back deck than most senic overlooks I have seen. We headed out quickly and went to Jackrabbit to ride. This was a relatively new little trail system that was mostly level and very flowy. It was covered by lots of small berms that made this trail trememdously fun to ride. It kept begging to be ridden just a bit faster than I could go. The trail allowed one to carry so much speed, but was curvy enough to really be fun. There was one trail (I think Orange) that went up and over the hill. This was a bit technical and had a small rockly climb and even a relatively narrow bridge at the top to ride over. This was followed by a quick descent back down to meet the Blue trail.
We ran into Robert (A local) and he joined us as I think he was happy to have someone to ride with. We rode out to the beach area and this trail was much more winding and we had to go a little slower through the trees but it was built up on a raised path so it was interesting to ride. We got back as thsi was an out and back and Robert wanted to ride the new section of trail. I don't think everyone was up to it, so me and Robert took off. I mentioned we could just hammer through it before we started and he took this literally. I managed to keep up for a bit but he started pulling away from me. I actually just couldn't get through the trees fast enough. We kept going with him having to slow perodically to let me catch back up. Eventaully we came to the small hill at the end and this got me. I was huffing and puffing when we came back out and I stopped to rest a minute or two before riding the Yellow loop. We cruised around this and back to the parking lot. We stopped on the way home and picked up a pizza, and got back in time to catch the sunset. I was exhausted and went to bed early.
Pictures here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/MontySTripDay19182008#
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
A Few Rides
Once again I am getting behind. It seems like all I have time for these days is one ride a week.
Sunday September 7
Met Tommy and Brian at Oak Mountain for a lap. We went clockwise and enjoyed the nice weather. Tommy had a bit of trouble relating to his recent clipping. He decided to turn around because he was in a lot of pain. Once again at the bottom of the Jeep trail I put the bike in 2-5 to try to ride up. For some reason it really seems like I use less energy doing this. I think Oak's hill is nice because it has a few steep sections followed by flat areas that we can rest. Gives me time to recover after the steep areas. We rode on around and finshed up. I am pretty sure I went to McAllisters for a sweet tea and something to eat afterwards.
Saturday September 13
I had to be home to take care of some wedding stuff today so I met Randall of the Montevallo riders for a road ride from Montevallo. We rode a loop out towards Maylene circled around and went out to the airport exit before heading back. It was about 30 miles and really felt good due to the nice weather and just sitting on the bike and peddaling. Afterwards we went to Eclipse and I got me a smoothie and enjoyed sitting on the porch for a few minutes and relaxing before heading home. The rest of the weekend I got caught up on a lot of the wedding stuff and went into work for a bit to try to catch up on stuff I was behind on. I was looking forward to riding to work a few days the following week.
Well, I carried clothes to work and my bike monday in hopes of riding home. The week got really busy at work and I did at least get to look at my bike in my office. Wednesday I had had enough and called Monty and asked if there was still room to join him for the weekend. I decided that night to leave the next day. Saturday is my Birthday and I needed to get away, so I am going .
Sunday September 7
Met Tommy and Brian at Oak Mountain for a lap. We went clockwise and enjoyed the nice weather. Tommy had a bit of trouble relating to his recent clipping. He decided to turn around because he was in a lot of pain. Once again at the bottom of the Jeep trail I put the bike in 2-5 to try to ride up. For some reason it really seems like I use less energy doing this. I think Oak's hill is nice because it has a few steep sections followed by flat areas that we can rest. Gives me time to recover after the steep areas. We rode on around and finshed up. I am pretty sure I went to McAllisters for a sweet tea and something to eat afterwards.
Saturday September 13
I had to be home to take care of some wedding stuff today so I met Randall of the Montevallo riders for a road ride from Montevallo. We rode a loop out towards Maylene circled around and went out to the airport exit before heading back. It was about 30 miles and really felt good due to the nice weather and just sitting on the bike and peddaling. Afterwards we went to Eclipse and I got me a smoothie and enjoyed sitting on the porch for a few minutes and relaxing before heading home. The rest of the weekend I got caught up on a lot of the wedding stuff and went into work for a bit to try to catch up on stuff I was behind on. I was looking forward to riding to work a few days the following week.
Well, I carried clothes to work and my bike monday in hopes of riding home. The week got really busy at work and I did at least get to look at my bike in my office. Wednesday I had had enough and called Monty and asked if there was still room to join him for the weekend. I decided that night to leave the next day. Saturday is my Birthday and I needed to get away, so I am going .
Monday, September 1, 2008
Last Day at Dupont
We got up relatively early so we could eat then be at the tailhead by 9 to meet Woody. We made it right on time (which was a small miracle for us). Jay had a route planned out and Woody took that and added a bit onto it. We started out and headed out and towards the power lines. Unfortunately I was at the rear of the group and someone must have run over a yellow jacket because I got stung a couple of times. Of course I quickly moved to the front of the pack so it wouldn't happen again. We cruised up the power line trail and it had a few steep climbs that I could not ride up. We came out and rode up cedar rock and stopped at the top to enjoy the view. We then headed down the steeper side which was a lot of fun. There were a few nice drops in the trail that really make it interesting. We took Shole river trail (this may be right) and made a loop out so we could ride burnt mountian. This trail was incredible! It flowed incredibly well and had some perfectly spaced hills that you could jump. Woody told us a bit about the changes they had made when redoing the trail and it really opened my eyes to the a few of the subtlties of the trail. There was a climb up an old road that had been turned into singletrack. It was amazing how well it was routed to shead water, but still flow well enough to allow a fast pace but nowhere near a straight line. Jay had said how much he liked the downhill of this trail, so I was pretty excited when we reached the top. We started down the trail after a warning to be careful (I actually like hearing a warning because I know I am going to enjoy myself). The downhill was excellent with a lot of rock armoring and a few nice drops. it kept getting progressivly more difficult untill we got to the bottom.
At the base Joe said he had no brakes. Since he had a spare set of pads he changed them and we headed on our way. We rode back around to Cedar rock to climb back up the steep way. I started up and made it to the technical rocky section. Joe was in front and he hit a big step up and almost lost it. Soemhow he hopped the bike around and got up it. I tried to go a different route and it did not work out for me. I had to put a foot down. I remembered the rest of the climb being pretty tough, so I just continued on up the hill. However this time the climb seemed much easier adn I had no trouble making it the rest of the way. I kindof regretted not going back down to see if I could clear the whole climb. Once again we rested at the top and when we were about to take off Joel realized he had a flat. He quickly changed it and we took Big rock back down to the parking area.
We headed back to camp, packed everything up and showered before heading home. Once again it was a great trip and I am already lookng forward to coming back.
Pictures Here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/DupontNC2008_9_1#
At the base Joe said he had no brakes. Since he had a spare set of pads he changed them and we headed on our way. We rode back around to Cedar rock to climb back up the steep way. I started up and made it to the technical rocky section. Joe was in front and he hit a big step up and almost lost it. Soemhow he hopped the bike around and got up it. I tried to go a different route and it did not work out for me. I had to put a foot down. I remembered the rest of the climb being pretty tough, so I just continued on up the hill. However this time the climb seemed much easier adn I had no trouble making it the rest of the way. I kindof regretted not going back down to see if I could clear the whole climb. Once again we rested at the top and when we were about to take off Joel realized he had a flat. He quickly changed it and we took Big rock back down to the parking area.
We headed back to camp, packed everything up and showered before heading home. Once again it was a great trip and I am already lookng forward to coming back.
Pictures Here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/DupontNC2008_9_1#
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
