Leaf It Alone

One thing I forgot to mention about my trip to the hills on Saturday was the traffic.  This is the perfect time of the year to head to the mountains to go look at the pretty fall colors, and everyone knows that.  There were tons of cars on the interstate, and it got worse when I got closer to the hills.  Once I got in the PNF though, it was pretty clear.

The leaves, they are a changing.  I went to look at pump track riding (and to get a ride of my own), but I also went for the leaves.  There were lots.

It’s a little bit of a challenge to navigate the trails this time of year due to the leaf cover, since you can’t really see roots and rocks.  Maybe that makes me a better rider for it though.  I don’t know.  I blast through shit without preparing for it, and most of the time I get lucky.  With The Executor (My Niner ROS9) it’s pretty easy to recover from mistakes, but my dumb ass brought a different bike this time.

A rigid frok in The Pisgah?  I like to do stupid shit.

I was worried.  Mostly because I didn’t change from my “local-friendly” 18t cog to a more “hill-friendly” 20t.  Tough gear and no suspension would a rough Pisgah ride make.  It wasn’t bad for the first part of my ride.

Vegetable Tunnel

I climbed quite a bit, and once I reached the downhill section I was preparing to rattle the shit out of myself.  I just so happened to bump into Good Guy Greg and the elder Burton just before my descent, and after talking to them I figured I’d be okay.  I don’t know why, but they made me feel more confident.  They went on their way (up) and I went on mine (down.)

It wasn’t bad.  Low tire pressure on my Maxxis Ardent up front smoothed out the bumps a little bit.  I went pretty fast, but I stopped often to let hikers go by here and there.

Plus I got a chance to enjoy the colors.

I rocked the rocks and most importantly, I didn’t bust my ass.  Eventually the trail became a little flatter and I stopped again to enjoy a nice Fall day.

The temps were perfect, the trails were tip top, and I spent some time on my bike with all my friends.

Which is only me I guess.

Eventually I finished a solid ride and headed to The Hub for post ride beers.  There I ran into to actual friends (real people, you know) and enjoyed some good brew and conversation.  It was another long day (every trip to the hills is for me) but well worth it.

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t kick off Fall with a fall off of my bike.  I guess I have some catching up to do.  That means more trips up there to increase the likelihood of crashing.  Or fun.  Or good people.  Or beer. 

Or, who gives a shit.  I’m happy again.