I went for a pretty awesome Mountain Bike ride last night at the Lakes. I went around Lake Redman so I could ride trail 7, which is probably the most bad ass trail in the area. It used to be known as the Goat Trail as parts are very narrow, off camber, and very technical with roots and loose rocks. Like the kind of trail you see mountain goats screwing around on and are like, "damn, how do they do that?"
As I am climbing this trail, I think to myself, this is pretty incredible. Its amazing I can actually ride a bike up this shit. I am in awe of the fact that the tires can get enough grip, that the front end will stay on the ground (barely) with how steep it is, that my mind automatically applies the proper body english to keep the bike upright and straight, and that I have the power to muscle up it.
At some point on this trail, you have to go through this tunnel. It is part of the trail and there is no way around it. It goes underneath Route 83. It is about 4 feet high, so you have to get off your bike and walk through it all crouched over. Its also pretty damn long. And dark. And scary.
When I was in 8th grade I first rode this trail with my best friend at the time, Brad. We were out on this trail all alone and come to this tunnel and were scared shitless. We spent a good 20 minutes trying to find the trail that surely went around the tunnel, but no, it didn't exist. So we decided that we would walk through it and I would go first, but he would keep his hand on my back so I knew something didn't eat his ass. About half way through the tunnel we started screaming like little girls and frantically ran like Predator was chasing us.
That tunnel still scares the shit out of me today. So when I went through it last night, I first threw a few rocks in the water to see if anything moved. Then found a big as stick and brought it with me. Its super dark, so you can see what you are walking on and the water is about 8 inches deep. About half way through I still get that damn feeling like something is chasing me. Christ.
I think I'll review my Specialized Stumpjumper 29er next. Why? Cause I am highly critical and hyper-sensitive. Most people think I am crazy, but I really do notice tons of shit most people don't. And I've always wanted to review shit, and if I can't get stuff for free to review, I'll just review my own stuff.
2 comments:
we really need to get a long cross ride together. i dont have any solid long trails. how about the day after Nick's ride? Nov. 2nd?
I'm down with that man. We can go to the lakes and hit up all the trails. Should be a good 4-5 hours of riding at least if we hit them all. We'll make it an epic day.
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