One Day Weekend

A weekend has two days.  Sometimes I view them as separate but equal.  Hence the title.

Anyway, there were more adventures.  The road ride thingy we did was just part of it.  The day before, we crammed a whole bunch of shit into one day (which is par for the course around here.)  We started off with coffee at a local mom and pop shop, a big ass lunch (at another mom and pop), and a little shopping at a local market.  Once our lunch was digested, we started with our main task for the day...

Riding in the dirt.

The little lady and I headed over to Rocky Branch Park (just across the river from Charlotte) to hit some singletrack.  But first, we had to test out the new pump track.

Much fun was had, but we really wanted to be in the woods.  When I saw we, I meant "we."

It wasn't some Strava-fest (do you even know me?) but we had a blast.  We rode around having fun, just enjoying our time in the dirt.  I even caved in and asked the little lady to take a photo of me.

She wasn't happy taking just one though, so I had to ride through a vegetable tunnel so she could get the shot she wanted.

Since we were in a photo-taking mood, I made her go back and hit a feature that she initially declined to do.  Turns out she loved it.

Little Miss Sunshine is Enduro AF

We had so much fun, and even hung out with some of my friends that live close by.  We started talking about the local distillery, and they mentioned that the tour is pretty rad.  We realized that we still had time to make it to the last one for the day, so we bolted and got there right on time...

At the Muddy River Distillery.

The tour was cool.  Eight bucks for a small tour and the story of how they came to be.  They also give you a shot glass, and let you try eight different "spirits."  

Well shit.  We're always down for some day drinking.

Straight shots, no chaser.  We were happy.  You can only buy one bottle per year directly from the distillery (archaic NC booze laws), but you can get all you want from the local ABC stores.  We each got a bottle to go, and made plans to buy more later.  We left there feeling good for sure.

My day wasn't over yet though.  I had made plans to attend a social with pro mountain biker/badass Sue Haywood, and although I was beat ass tired I went anyway.  We drank beer and asked her questions, but I didn't really take any good photos.

Unless you think this creepy shot of me, her, and Dicky is a good one.

It was a long day, and it's difficult to pick my favorite part of it.  Oh wait, I know.  My favorite part was the graffiti in the men's bathroom I saw when I went to let out some beer.

I'm still laughing about that day, but mostly about that photo.

I am a juvenile. 

The Best Time Of Year

Growing up and living most of my adult life in Florida, I never really experienced seasons.  It was either hot all the time, or cool for a day or two in “Winter.”  We had one tree in our yard that would lose it leaves sometime in late November, and when I tried to rake a pile to jump into (like those kids I saw on TV) it was never enough.  I always jumped "in" and landed on the hard, rooty ground.  Fall kinda sucked.  

Living in North Carolina for eight plus years though, I’ve grown to really appreciate the changing of seasons.  And I think Fall is my favorite.  The temps actually cool off quite a bit (and get downright chilly sometimes), the leaves changed color, and I get to put the lawnmower away until next spring.  And as a bonus, backyard fires are actually nice since I’m not sweating to death trying to “enjoy” it.

Friday night fire.  A tradition for us now in the Fall.  A great way to start the weekend.

  

With such beautiful weather on tap, of course I wanted to be out on my bike somewhere.  I had some things to do early Saturday morning so a trip to the mountains was out.  Instead, I opted to stay local. 

Rocky Branch Park over there across the river in Belmont, NC.  Little Miss Sunshine had never been before, so she was down too. 

Despite not being familiar with the trail, she rode it like a pro. 

We stopped and worked on stuff to help build her confidence too.  She can ride and all that, but I want to make sure she’s comfortable.  I’m pretty sure she is.

Her form is much better than mine too.

It’s been a few months since I’d ridden there and I’d forgotten how much fun that place is.  It has a little something for everyone; no matter your skill level.

The temps were perfect, the trail was in great shape, and the fall color down here in the Piedmont is in full swing.  The only thing that could make it a complete day would be some awesome food and beer.

We had that covered of course.

Hell yeah.  It’s nice to be happy and enjoying life again.

I could get used to this.

On Dirt

Saturday started off like Sunday.  Up early, household responsibilities taken care of, then work calls.  My (lack of) plans were delayed, but not derailed.  I had a mountain bike on my truck, but no destination in mind.  I knew I wanted to see some dirt, rocks, and trees, but nothing local sounded appealing.  That’s when I remembered that there is a new(ish) trail across the river that I hadn’t ridden yet.

Rocky Branch, across the Catawba River over in the town of Belmont, is a trail that I’d walked before but never ridden.  I knew I couldn’t get in a super long ride anywhere since I was on a leash for work, so at ~3 miles this place seemed appropriate.  Turns out it didn’t matter where I rode, as long as I hit the dirt.

The trail looked fun back when I walked it a few months ago and riding it confirmed that.  It’s a bit out of the way for me but definitely worth the trip.  There were just enough jumps, rocks, and fast downhills to make it fun, and there were even a few climbs in there to make me work a little bit.

One thing I didn’t see the last time I was there was the new “advanced” section.

It started with a small rock garden and ran alongside a creek.

There were some steepish drop ins, and they led into some sort of Warrior Creek style canyon thingy.

The crew out there has been putting in a ton of work to build this thing, and they plan to do a lot more.  Just as I finished my first lap, I ran into a few of the guys that did most of the work.  I did another lap with them, and we spent some extra time out there looking at future sections and reroutes.  I see a lot of potential out there for sure.  I’ll be there for the next work day, and definitely to ride again. 

Sometimes riding something different (no matter how short), is a good thing.  Kinda keeps things fresh, you know?