Got back to Raccoon

We finally got back to Raccoon Mountain. I rode up with Tommy and Moran after we decided to put one of my trays on the roof of Moran's car so we could all ride together. It was so cold this took much longer than it should have, but we still managed to stop by Chick-Fil-A and make it to Raccoon before everyone else. We tried to warn everyone that we were going to be doing a lot of playing, and I don't think they believed us, and decided to ride with us. We went clockwise from the visitor center lot as I like this direction better. The trail was so covered with dry leaves it made it really slick. I had to quickly learn to stay off the brakes in the turns or the wheels would wash out. We had a nice casual lap stopping to play in a few places and got some decent pictures. Tommy said he was going to jump off the rock.

This One: (it is not as high as it looks)
















But decided this was not the day. Mark decided to have a go at it and made me look like a wrecking ball. I am not the most graceful and he definately landed with much more style than me.
We ended up splitting up with those of us who wanted to go ride the tree and those ready to head on. We went to the tree and rode across quite a few times. last time I was here, the tree was slick and I slid off a few times, this time I had a much easier time. On around to a nice jump in the trail for a few more pictures and then we headed back around the loop.

I wanted to explore some of the new trails they had opened, but Moran started having bike problems and I think everyone was getting ready to head back. We rode on and near the end I starteed cramping pretty badly. I realized I had not been drinking enough water and at this point it was too late. I tried to use some hammer gel and jelly bellys, but nothing would make them go away. Fighting throught the pain I climbed the final hill out and going up the last dirt section my legs said no. I tried to step off the bike and that was a huge mistake. My leg cramped and I crumpled to the ground. I had to sit and recover a bit before going the last 50 yards to the end. It looked like I had been in a wreck because I was all dirty. It was a fun ride and I will definately pay better attention to staying hydrated.

All the Pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/RaccoonMtn2008_11_22#

No Riding but took a big step

Well, it seems I am slowly moving farther and farther from Mountain bike riding in my posts (moving to the road bike and now this) but I think I will be back on track shortly. I have not been posting lately and wanted to offer a brief explanation.

I got married on November 8. It was incredible how much stress this put on me. I realize I was probably pretty snappy for a few weeks leading up to this and apologize to everyone. I just got back from the Honeymoon on Sunday and am feeling much better. I was not planning on taking a honeymoon immediately but some friends offered us a condo in Rosemary Beach for the week and we jumped on it. I really needed the week to just relax and I think this really helped me get my sanity back and I believe things will be getting back to normal soon.

I missed quite a few rides lately (including a night ride they had at Oak Mountain) and now am really wanting to get back into it. I think I am going to build me a small "skills" park with a few skinnies, a see-saw, and a few other items to help me with my technical riding here at the office. I just need to keep my bike here so I can play at lunch or whenever I need a break from staring at the computer.

Red Lizard at Monte Sano

A couple of us packed up to go to Monte Sano. A couple of us had ridden there last year after the 24 hours of Conyers race and we got slightly lost and ended up on the Red Lizard Trail. Jay had heard about the trail that was "unridable" and had been talking about going up there ever since. Lately I seem to enjoy the challenge of a technical trail than just riding a smooth flat trail as quickly as possible.
We met up at Cracker Barrell (I forgot about the time change, so I got there in time to have a nice big breakfast) and we headed up. We played on the rock wall in the parking lot to warm up before hitting the trail. We cruised down the family trail an went down Warpath to get to the desired trail. Warpath was a fun littel section also and I have some movies of Lee and Joe riding down one of the rocky sections. We ended up on Red Lizard and spent a good bit of time trying to clean each obstacle. There were some that only 1 or two people cleared and only about 2 that nobody was able to make. Both me and Jay ended up with jacked up derailleurs. I just bent mine bad and was able to bend it back enough to keep riding. Jay broke his hanger completely off (along with a piece of his bike), but he had a spare hanger and we were able to continue.
The rest of the trail was just the flatrock trail that was much more smooth (still makes Oak mountain look like a road bike would be more at home). We ended up cutting up through a powerline trail due to time and rode back on mountain mist just to avoid the road. It was a really good time and I was supprised at how much we were able to ride. It is unique to see how different riding styles allowed some people to clear certain obstacles while others could not do it.

I keep saying it, but I relly need to practice my hopping/trials skills as they would have been really helpful on a few of these things.

Pictures (Yes I finally got the pictures up!) at http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/MonteSano2008_11_2