Getaway Part Deux

So, leaving off from yesterday, we had left our new doggo friend and made plans to hit the rest of the trails at FATS.  Instead of riding over there (it's a shitty stretch of busy, paved road) we all agreed to meet at the other parking lot.  So I did something I never, ever do...

I got into my vehicle fully dressed for riding.

Let me explain.  I usually avoid that at all costs.  Sometimes I will have my cycling shorts on to save time, but I never drive with a jersey and cycling shoes on.  It just seems dumb, and not to mention nasty.  When I finish riding, I always change out of my sweaty cycling clothes into something much less gross.  But since it was a short drive, I didn't want to waste time with wardrobe changes.  It made sense, at least this one time.

Anyway, we gathered up quickly to hit the trail.  This loop was my least favorite and I usually avoid it like the plague whenever I'm down there.  But this time, it was fun.  I'm sure it was because of the company I had with me.

Photo credit:  Bill the Fire Bender

We climbed, we descended, we had fun.  I was enjoying my time in the woods for sure, even if it hurt like hell on a rigid single speed (riding gears for my bikepacking adventures has made me a little soft.)  That section of trail was much better than I remembered, but I chalk that up to riding with some good people.

L to R:  Me, Chief Brian. Sergeant Major Todd, A-A Ron, and Bill the Fire Bender

While I'll admit that part had more climbing than I prefer, the payoff came up soon enough.  We hit some fun downhill near the very end.  We were flying, until I heard A-A Ron yell out in frustration.

Another random samurai attack had left him with a flat tire... again.  With only a half mile to go, he was not pleased at all.  Especially since instead of riding the last part of the trail, he had to walk out on the gravel road...

Carrying his bike:

Eventually Bill the Fire Bender rolled up in his truck and saved him from walking too far.  Despite the frustration of two flat tires (two days in a row), I still think he a had a good time.  We all did.  Once we gathered in the parking lot (and I changed because we were done riding for the day), plans were made for the rest of the evening:  food, fire, and hanging around the campsite until it was time for bed.

With temps in the 40s that night (instead of the 30s like before), I actually slept pretty well in my hammock, toasty and warm.  And the next day I was again treated to some nice scenery from Mother Nature:

I didn't want that weekend to end.  It was nice hanging out with other people riding bikes, and the ones with whom I was fortunate enough to share the campsite made it extra special.  A few folks decided to ride again that day, and some people went home.  As for me, I decided to celebrate Veterans Day properly by visiting a place right down the road where I'd spent some time while I was in the Army...

Fort Gordon, Georgia.  I was there in late 1990 and again in 1992.  A lot has changed since then, but I still managed to find some old relics (like me) hanging around.

It was the most awesome of weekends, and it needs to happen again really soon.  But for now, it's back to the bikepacking stuff.

I'm less than a month away from the big dance.  I still don't think I'm ready. 

Who gives a shit.

Veterans Day Getaway

So last weekend I had the pleasure of being invited to go on a "boys weekend" at the Forks Area Trail System (FATS) down near Augusta, GA with some fellow veterans and staff from the North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League.  Initially I'd decided against it, thinking that I needed to spend every bit of free time "practicing" my bikepacking skills.  But shortly after I made that decision, I reconsidered.  There were several reasons why.  First, I needed to ride with some other people.  Just about every ride I've been on since May has been by myself, and I can turn into one cranky bastard when no one is around to reel me in.  Also, the group was a pretty great bunch of folks, so I knew I would have a fun time.  And since I still need to train for bikepacking stuff, I would have the opportunity to doing some camping with my hammock in not so warm weather.  Seemed like a win-win so I was down for it.

The trip started with most people arriving on Friday to set up camp.  I was arriving on Saturday so all I asked was for them to leave me a couple of good trees so I could hang my hammock.  Of course that wasn't a problem, so I grabbed the camping stuff that has been living on my bike full time lately, along with some other camping essentials that I normally take on other trips.  After spending most of Saturday with my dogs (I didn't want to leave them), I packed up and headed south by southwest.  I knew the two and a half hour trip would be easy, but traffic in the middle of South Carolina changed that to shitty.  Eventually I made it to Columbia, where I stopped for some weekend provisions.  Back on the road, I made it to the campsite at a decent time. 

I noticed that I might be in for more fun than I had anticipated when I saw this sign...

I looked around for some new friends but I was disappoint.  It was too chilly outside for them to be active.  Meh.


When I rolled up to our site, everyone was there.  They had already ridden for the day, but I was just happy to be out in the woods with friends. 

I setup my home for the weekend and made plans to relax.

This is my usual setup, at least since I started bikepacking anyway.  The only problem is, I hadn't really tested it in cold weather.  My other trips had some cooler temperatures at night, but the low for this night would be around 30 degrees so I was a little worried.  I stopped thinking about it, because... Who gives a shit.  We cooked some food, had some adult beverages, and sat around by the fire for a while, just enjoying it all.

I drifted off to sleep but kept waking up.  I thought maybe it was because I usually sleep on my stomach and a hammock doesn't work like that, but I didn't know for sure.  I was plenty warm, but sometimes I just don't sleep so well (even in my own bed.)  I never looked at the time while I was tossing and turning, but at some point I had to get up to get rid of all that beer.  And then I was cold.

I let it out and hurried back into my hammock.  Big problem though, the sleeping bag became cold instantly once I vacated it.  I crawled back in, and once I finally stopped shivering I dozed off.  This time until morning.  Win.

I had my head covered up in the sleeping bag to stay warm, but when I peeked out I saw that the sun had come up.  It was too cold for me to get up (so I thought), but at least I woke up to an amazing view.  I grabbed my phone, and took this picture while I was still in my hammock:

Eventually I crawled out and put some more clothes on to warm up.  I took another picture so I could remember that even though it was cold outside, it was still beautiful.

I made some breakfast and we all started talking about ride plans for the day.  If you've ever been to FATS, then you know there's a fun, flowy side, and a totally different side.  Good side, bad side if you will.  Not really bad, but totally different than the smooth, roller coaster type trails that place is known for.  I found out that the crew rode the "good" side the day before, so we would be riding the other stuff.  Well, with the exception of one of the trails on that side that they missed due to a tire issue. 

Short version, it seems that A-A Ron had a problem with is valve stem that caused it to pop out like a samurai sword and chop down the forest and any rider in his way.  He had to go to a local bike shop to get it fixed, but he was ready to ride again.

So we took off...

The campsite was only about fifteen minutes away, so we rolled out of the campsite to get our fun on.  When we got to the trailhead, I was still pretty cold.  I had plenty of warm stuff on though, so once we got moving I would be good.  We hit up Great Wall first, which was the perfect choice for my full rigid single speed.

I suddenly forgot that I was cold.  We were flying down the hill and making short work of the small climbs on that loop.  I could hear everyone laughing and screaming with joy as we hit the little jumps and berms.  We were having a great time.  Once that loop was finished, we stopped for a snack and headed back out to ride the other stuff.  A few miles in, we saw a little doggo running up the trail with no owner in sight.  It was odd.  She was friendly, and latched onto us while we rode.  We would pass people here and there (hikers and walkers) but that dog stayed with us.  She was a good trail dog though, navigating the singletrack like she'd been there before.  While it was pretty cool to have the company, we all started getting concerned that she was lost. 

Crap.

We stopped for a small break and I tried to give her some water.  She didn't want it, even though she'd been running for miles and looked thirsty.  We checked to see if she had tags so we could find the owner..

Photo Credit:  Sergeant Major Todd

There was only a rabies tag on the collar, and I noticed it was from North Carolina.  That made us all feel uneasy.  Was she really lost?  Did someone leave her out there and return to North Carolina?  Who TF doesn't keep an eye on their dog in a place like that?  It was unsettling, so the plan going forward to to ride back to the trailhead and see if we could find anyone to claim her, or call the authorities to help.

I'm not gonna lie though, I was having thoughts about bringing her home with me if we didn't find the owner.  I'm pretty sure that A-A Ron was too.

Anyway, we kept riding.  The last part of that loop had quite a few climbs, so we stopped frequently to regroup (for us and the dog.)  We'd passed a trail runner just before we stopped, but he never said anything to indicate that was his dog.  Once he passed us (while we were stopped) she followed him down the trail.  We eventually got back to the trailhead and there was no sign of the trail runner or our new doggo friend.  Maybe that was his dog and she does that all the time, but he's kind of a dick if he lets that happen.  But, that's just like, my opinion, man.

We were still concerned about her, but she was nowhere to be found so there really wasn't anything we could do.  We made plans to hit the final loop out there and finish our day in the saddle.

And I just noticed that I'm getting really wordy today, so I'll pick it back up tomorrow with the conclusion.

Stay tuned... 

Lots Of Problems

But a bad ride wasn’t one of them.

On Saturday, our trip to FATS near Augusta, GA was on.   D-Wayne rolled down to the B-43 Worldwide Headquarters bright and early, joining myself and Lunchbox to meet the rest of the crew down in Rock Hill, SC.  We rolled up on the scene and found Dennis, Good Guy Greg, TomTom, and Eastwood waiting at a local McDonald’s.

We hit the road, making the little over two hour trip seem like nothing.  When we got to the parking lot, we met up with Dustin from Southern Wheelworks for a nice day in the woods.  We got ready, and hit the trail at a social pace.  When we got to the first intersection we took the Great Wall loop and hauled ass.  It was fun as hell, until I realized that we were missing someone from the group.  I pulled over to the side of the trail with the rest of the group rolling up right behind me.

“Where’s my kid?” I asked.

No one knew.  I figured that maybe he missed a turn (it’s easy to do even though he’s been there a bunch) so I told the group to continue and I would go back to look for him.  I sprinted up the long climb (which we had just rolled down) and headed back to the parking lot, backtracking as best I could to find him.  When I turned around and headed into the loop backwards, I found Lunchbox on the side of the trail with a flat tire.

Shit.

He was in the process of changing it, so I helped him along.  He hadn’t even gone half a mile when he pinch flatted.  I really gotta set aside some time to get that boy setup tubeless.  Anyway, I asked if he wanted to ride the loop the “fun” way or if we should just keep going backwards until we eventually ran into the group.  He opted for the former, and without a proper warm up we hauled ass to catch up.  I was hoping we would find them well before they finished (and went on to the next loop), but we were wearing ourselves out trying to catch them. 

Just as we thought all hope was lost, we rolled up on a group of riders that looked strangely familiar…and had a problem that was also familiar.

Yeah, it turns out that Eastwood flatted too and they had been there for a while.  His inferior tire sealant didn’t do the trick when he punctured the tires, and multiple bad tubes, co2, and unsuccessful hand pumping couldn’t get things right.

He worked his ass off trying to get back to riding.

Eventually he got it, but the tube didn’t hold air.  We had to stop several times so he could top it off (without all that weird pumping action this time), and we all decided that a trip back to the parking lot was in order.  Dustin (the guy who built those wheels) was kind enough to provide some real tire sealant and we got busy trying to get the tire to air up without a tube.

And the smart people just sat back and watched.

We eventually got things right again (by using a co2 instead of the pump), and went on to have an awesome ride.  Fast, flowy, smooth singletrack, and hauling ass in the woods with some good people for hours was just what I needed.

Well, that and a beer.

And of course Lunchbox needed a ton of food.

And since I’m apparently trying to keep the streak alive by talking about you know who very single day, here’s a photo of some socks we spotted on the ride.

Yeah.  Good times.

No Reason To Stay In Town

With a shitload of my friends heading up to PA to race mountain bikes, and a whole bunch of idiots coming into town to watch a car race (and clog up our roads), I can’t see any reason to stay here.  So, we’re heading out of town to ride.

It’s gonna be so choice.

We’re heading down to Augusta, GA to ride FATS, the Forks Area Trail System.  If you have the means, I highly recommend it. 

Don’t know what FATS is?  Have no idea why we would drive two and a half hours away to ride?  Well then check out this shitty video I made from the last time we were out there.

 

The word “epic” is used way too damn much, so all I’ll say for now is that it will be fun as hell.  We’re hitting the road bright and early with a big crew of locals, including TomTom, Good Guy Greg, and Eastwood.  Hell, even D-Wayne is making the trip down from the Triad.

A few of us are bringing the single speeds, including Eastwood, who’s gonna have a blast on his new green bike.

Um, wait.  That’s not it.

Anyway, that’s the plan, and of course we’ll stop for beer and food afterwards.  I’ll try to get some video and pictures, and I’ll have plenty of time to write a report since I won’t be back here until Tuesday.

Because Monday is a holiday, you know.

Also, we might even be doing a little bit of this:

The Drunk Cyclist Shotgun Challenge

Oh hell yeah.

Wow, I actually got through a post this week without mentioning Sonya.

Damn it.  Never mind.

Pleased With The Service

With my broken bike loaded on the back of my truck on Saturday, I left the Forks Area Trail System and headed into town.  After the conversation with Mr. Shepherd, I remembered that the shop I was traveling to was the same exact one we went to when he was up here last Fall.  I remembered that the service was good last time, so I expected more of the same.

Boy, was I wrong.

I rolled up in the parking lot of Chain Reaction Bicycles in nearby Martinez, GA, and the place was packed.  I walked in and looked around, hoping that I could find a bolt for my crank arm, or even a new crankset.  I didn’t see anything after a trip around the store, so I walked over to the service counter.

The guy who helped us last time, Phil, was on the phone.  He acknowledged me right away, and you could tell he was trying to get off the phone to assist me.  When he finished the call, he asked what I needed.  I tried not to sound too desperate. 

“I drove all the way down here from Charlotte to ride FATS and I broke my crank arm bolt on the first loop.  I was hoping that you had one so I could get back on the trail.”

He looked around, but came up with nothing.  I told him I would take any crankset he had instead, and since I was riding a single speed it didn’t need to be fancy.  He dug around all over the shop, and had nothing I could use.

“We’re in the process of moving, so I don’t have a lot of spare parts right now.”

Seeing how disappointed I was, he asked what I was riding.  I told him it was a Niner One9, and he asked if I wanted to use his bike.  

“We’re about the same size”, he said, “and you’re welcome to take it out.”

Wow.  Even though he remembered me from our last visit down there, I thought it was exceptional that he offered to give a (pretty much) complete stranger his bike to ride on a local trail.  I politely declined, not wanting to take a chance at breaking his stuff too.  At that point, one of the other mechanics walked in and heard what was going on.  He told me to wait a bit, and he would see if he could find something for me.

After a short wait, he came back and told me he found the bolt I needed.  He took it off a bike they took in on a trade, and installed it for me.  Phil tightened it down with the proper torque setting and told me I was all set.  After a nominal charge, I would be on my way.  I thanked him a bunch and told him how pleased I was with the awesome service, and he said that’s just the way they do things.  Even though my minor repair need wouldn’t make him a ton of money, he went out of his way to make sure I was happy and able to ride again.

I spent a little more money while I was there just because I thought I should, and walked out with a few items.

Like a water bottle from their shop:

And a new bike computer:

And I even bought a FATS sticker (which helps support the trails):

This was the second time I’ve been to Chain Reaction Bicycles looking for an instant fix to a mechanical issue, and those guys shined for sure.  If I lived down there, it would be my go to shop.  If you live near there, then it should be yours.  One thing’s for sure, next time I ride down there I’ll go spend some money. 

Even if I don’t break anything during my ride.

If It Ain’t One Thing…

It’s another.

And another.

My string of bad luck continues, but at least I wasn’t in a race this time.  After driving all the way down to Augusta, GA for the FATS trip on Saturday, I thought it would be a good day.  About thirty minutes into the first loop though, it turned to shit.  I told you yesterday that I had to stop to tighten my left crank arm, and everything seemed fine.  After a little more riding though, I noticed that  it came loose again.  I busted out my trusty tool to tighten it again, and just as I was gently getting the bolt snug, I heard a crack.

Shit.

I broke the head off the bolt, and I was pretty much screwed at that point.  There was no way the crank arm would stay on after that.

Rather than walk out though, I decided that I would put it back on there, and try my best to keep it on there by pressing my foot against the bottom bracket when I rode downhill.  I wouldn’t be able to climb very well, but at least I wouldn’t have to walk out.  It worked okay at first, but Tom and Lunchbox had to stop every so often to let me catch up.  At one point I told then to keep going and wait for me at the end of the loop.  They took off while I limped my bike along the trail. 

I walked my bike up the climbs for the most part, but I stayed on for the downhills.  My luck didn’t last forever though, because at one point my crank arm fell of while I was navigating a rooty and twisty descent.  My right crank arm immediately dropped downward, and my pedal struck a root.  It sent me over the bars, and I landed on my (already hurt a few days ago) elbow.  As I writhed on the ground for a bit in pain, I thought about how dumb that shit was.  I got back on my bike and I eventually made it out of there.

My next challenge would be to get my bike fixed.

Since we drove all the way down there and the ride had just started, I wanted to get back out there to get some miles in.  I took off for a local shop, leaving Lunchbox and Tom to ride without me.  I didn’t see the need for them to give up their ride time for me, and I figured I’d be back soon anyway.  I took off with my broken bike, heading to the closest shop.

On the way, I gave Mr. Shepherd a call.  The the last time he was here we went through the same shit. 

I didn’t wait for him to answer the phone before I started talking.

Me:  “Fuck you Lance, answer!”

Mr. Shepherd:  “Hello?”

Me:  “Lance, it’s me Vincent.  I’m in big fucking trouble, man.  I’m coming to your house.”

Mr. Shepherd:  “Whoa. Whoa.  Hold your horses, man.  What’s the problem?”

Me:  “I’ve got this chick, she’s fuckin’ O.D.in’ on me.”

Mr. Shepherd:  “Well, don’t bring her here!  I’m not even fuckin’ joking with you, man!  Do not be bringing some fucked-up pooh-bah to my house.”

Me. “No choice.”

Mr. Shepherd:  “She’s O.D.in’?”

Me.  “She’s fuckin’ dying on me, man!”

Mr. Shepherd:  “Okay, then you bite the bullet, take her to a hospital and call a lawyer.”

Me:  “Negative.”

Mr. Shepherd:  “This is not my fuckin’ problem, man!  You fucked her up, you deal with this!”

Okay, that was obviously a Pulp Fiction reference and not what really happened.  I just called to give him shit about passing on his bad juju to me from our last trip.  He did help me remember the name of the bike shop we went to when he was here, and I made it there with no issues.  Long story short, they got me back on the bike pronto, and I hauled ass back to the trail to see if I could finish my ride.

I got back to the parking lot just as the boys were finishing up their ride.  Lunchbox was worn out (and even had a small bout with leg cramps), but Tom volunteered to go out there again with me.  I had to get in some more riding, and I was glad to have the company.  We hit the trail at a breakneck pace, determined to finish up before the ladies did.  We succeeded, which meant that I didn’t waste my time driving down there.

We had fun (despite another mechanical issue), and I’m very thankful I got back on the trail.  I’ll talk about my bike shop experience soon.  In the meantime, I have some work to do.  I ran my GoPro out there again, so I have to see if any of the video is worth editing.

Even if it isn’t, I’ll probably still put something together for the blog.

Good or bad, you’ll have to watch it.

FATS Invasion

Of course I’m talking about Saturday’s trip to one of my favorite places to ride, the Forks Area Trail System.  Although it was a Dirt Diva trip, a couple of us fellas hit the road to ride down there too. 

Before I left the house, I made sure to grab the cooler.  The little lady made sure to pack us some food before she left (she didn’t ride down there with us), and she let me know what was inside.

I had to add a few items to the cooler, so I made sure to modify her note to accurately reflect the inventory.

Three of us hit the road, hoping to make good time down to Augusta.  We flew down the interstates, eventually passing the all-girl convoy on the highway somewhere in South Carolina.

We beat them to the trail head, which was a good thing because there were a ton of them out there.

Photo cred: Little Miss Sunshine

With all those ladies hitting the trail, we made sure to get out there ahead of them so they wouldn’t school us on the proper way to ride.  We paused for a moment to look at the map before we started our ride.

Tom and Lunchbox were ready.

We hit the trail in a hurry, flying down the trail with way too much speed.  It was hella fun, and I couldn’t stop smiling.  It was Tom’s first time out there, and he was having a blast too.  After a few miles in though, I noticed something wrong with my bike.  I pulled over to check it out, and found the left crank arm was a little loose.  I pulled out my multi tool from my Tülbag and tightened it down, and we rolled out again.

We were having fun again, but my problems weren’t over I would later find out.  I’ll get into that tomorrow though.  For now, I’ll get into another issue…

Bike problems, but not mine.

One of the Divas in Little Miss Sunshine’s group had a flat, and I heard they had a helluva time changing it.  She didn’t have a tube, so my little lady got hers out of her Awesome Strap and they tried to install it. 

It had been tucked away behind her saddle for almost a year, and when they tried to install it in the tire it was leaking air.  After patching one hole, they found several more.  I guess that was a fail on my part, since I’m supposed to check these things before she goes out for a ride.  They eventually got one from someone else.

   

From what I heard they actually had a great time changing that tube.  They all seemed to learn something, and had a great time doing it.  Also, no one had to walk out of there.  They got to continue the ride, and that’s the important thing.  I wasn’t really that lucky, but like I said I’ll get into that tomorrow.

After the ride, most of us hung out there in Augusta.  One of the local Diva’s has family there, and they were kind enough to host a bunch of stinky, tired, and hungry mountain bikers.  Big thanks to Melissa and Shelley for that end of day festivities, and a huge thanks to the Divas for another fun out of town adventure.

Now I’ll have to talk about my ride I guess, but not right now. 

You love it when I drag stuff out, don’t ya?

Not Ready To Ride

But I tried to anyway.  I have no desire to stay off of my bike, so I’m not letting some stupid crash get in the way of that.  My head is fine I guess (or as good as it will ever be), but that pesky gash on my elbow (with the accompanying bone bruise) still hurts like hell.

I probably should’ve had stitches put in that.  Yuck.

Despite the bruises and pain all over, I decided to take a ride last night after work.  I took it slow, since I didn’t want to crash again and mess myself up even worse.  My elbow really bothered me, and it almost made me call the ride off before I even got a mile into it.  Every bump, root, and rock jarred my elbow, and the pain was almost unbearable.  I kept going though, figuring I need to tough it out so I’ll be ready for tomorrow’s ride…

The Forks Area Trail System (FATS) down near Augusta, Georgia.

It’s been quite a while since I was there last.  In fact, it’s been almost a year.  You might remember that Mr. Shepherd came up here from the Sunshine State to ride it for the first time last Thanksgiving, and we had some issues.  We had to cut our ride short to make repairs on his bike, so I never really got a good feel for the place on my single speed.  I plan on bringing it again this time, and tearing up that big ass pump track.

I can’t wait.

Never been to FATS?  Have no idea what I’m talking about?  Well then, check out the video from our last adventure out there.

Trail Wars.  Coming soon to some single track near you.

Hopefully I feel good enough to ride it all, and I really hope I don’t bust my ass.  If I manage to hit my head again, I may have to take a lot of time off the bike.  If I start racking up concussions, I’ll start to look like Troy Aikman.

And no one wants that shit.

I’ll see y’all Monday with a full report I’m sure.

Trail Wars

Yesterday’s post probably sounded like we had a shit time out at FATS. Quite the opposite was true. Even though our ride was interrupted several times (and eventually cut short) by mechanical issues, it was still fun when we actually rode. Mr. Shepherd really enjoyed riding down there, and he can’t wait to get back. In fact, he said he wants to get his revenge on FATS as soon as possible. Well my friend, I’m ready when you are.


I ran my GoPro for the short time we rode, and I got a little bit of good video. Well, not good by real mountain biking standards, but good enough to make a kind of entertaining video. Since I am somewhat a Star Wars nerd, I put my own twist on it (or George Lucas’, whatever.) While we were riding trough the woods, I kept humming tunes from the movie. This gave me the idea to go all Star Warsy on y’all.

Check it.




By the way, that wasn't the crash that caused all the damage yesterday. Unfortunately I had moved my camera to my helmet before that, and I was riding in front. Damn it.



So yeah, that’s about it today. You’ve suffered through enough.

Snow Birds

As you can see from the frost on Little Miss Sunshine’s vehicle, it was “ice cold” in Charlotte over the Thanksgiving holiday. We decided to get the flock outta town and fly south to the Forks Area Trail System (FATS) down near Augusta, Georgia to get away from the cold and ride some sweet flowy singletrack. This would be Mr. Shepherd’s first time on that particular trail, so he was looking forward to it. We got all geared up and hit the trail.



We started on the first loop, Great Wall, and it lived up to the hype. Plenty of fast, rolling downhill, and Mr. Shepherd was enjoying it. Well, that is until he crashed. I have footage from my GoPro of the crash, but I’m not finished editing it. A small log crossing surprised him, and he crashed ever so spectacularly. He hopped back up and we were on our way.


About three and a half miles in though, we had another incident. While traveling along a great speed, I slowed to take tight corner, and squeezed my bike between two trees. Mr. Shepherd was right on my tail, and he wasn’t so lucky.



He hit that tree square on, and escaped with only a few scrapes and cuts.



His bike didn’t fare so well though.



The impact bent the shit outta the chainrings and broke the drive side crank arm near one of the bolts.





With over four miles to go to the trailhead, we had a dilemma. Since Mr. Shepherd didn’t want to walk the whole way out, some improvisational repairs needed to be made. Since we had no fancy tools, it had to be done all “caveman” style.



Somehow those primitive tools worked, and the chainrings were sorta straight.



We started riding again, but it wasn’t long before the full extent of the crash damage was discovered. We had to stop for a looksie.



The damn rear derailleur broke in half.





It was time for another repair. Since his shifty bits were toast, we had to improvise. I pulled out my trusty chain tool and proceeded to turn his bike into a singlespeed.



I was riding my SS bike out there, so I welcomed the company. We discovered one more problem though: the chain had been damaged. I shortened it as best I could, and we got going again. I was happy to be riding, because I sure as hell didn’t plan on spending the whole day working on bikes. There was no beer on the side of the trail, so that made it difficult.

We enjoyed some more flowy goodness.





Not much later, Mr. Shepherd had to stop again. This time, the chain broke in half. It was damaged in multiple places, so fixing it was pretty much impossible. Since he’s a triathlete, he took the opportunity to work on his trail running.



After a painful few miles of Fred Flintstone style trail riding, we made it back to the trailhead. I brought up The Google on my smartphone, and we found a few area bike shops. It took the rest of the day to round up the replacement parts, so our riding was done. We had a few beers and some dinner, then headed back to Charlotte for some late-night mechanic work. At least this time we had the proper tools.

I should have the video of the actual ride finished by tomorrow, so I’ll post it up on here. I’m warning you though, it’s probably not that great (just like the rest of my videos.)