D
Dave
Guest
Remember when you mom used to harp at you about the merits of a well balanced breakfast? And of
course, you just thought that it cut into your sleep time before school, and that it wasn't that
important. Well guess what Sparky, she was right....( isn't she usually?)
Slept in late....well, as late as a very rambunctious 6 y.o boy would allow! Got up at 09:00 fed the
little monster so that he would quit jumping on my head. My girl like to sleep late, she'll eat when
she stirs...
Get all my gear together and shag ass to Jackson, 1 hour away. Passing several fast food
establishments, as well as some good ol' fashioned sit down and eat restaurants. Nope, no time,
gotta hit the trail early. It' going to be a beautiful day. and I don't want to miss any saddle
time. Besides I had an orange with me, and some protein bars (2) a bottle of Gatorade, and my 'bak
full of H2O. I was good to go.....
Or so I thought......
I hit the trailhead at 1130, and the lot was full. Barely could get to my usual parking spot. It was
a cool 35 degrees. Supposed to get near 40. Didn't matter what the temp was, it was on....
I hit Bootleg flat out smoking, trying to build my body temp to help combat the cold. Onto Fern
gully and I was still cookin...then came the climb on Wagontrack. this is the part where I started
reflecting on life, I started reflecting on things that life has taught me, things my mother tried
to teach me as a child. Things like wear a jacket when it's cold, don't talk with a mouthful of
food. Be kind to the elderly. You've all heard it. But the one that stood forefront of my memories
after the climb out on Wagontrack was, "Don't forget to eat a good breakfast everyday" "You'll need
the energy"
She was right.
I started feeling it then. It was subtle at first. A little more winded than normal at this stage of
the ride. Legs feeling a little heavier, slower. Arms felt like lead weights. I ate a couple protein
bars. Drank some of the Gatorade, and pushed on. The down hill side of Pine mountain was a welcome
respite from the climbing. I've wrote about this before. Suffice it to say, one can haul ass down
this stretch, grabbing waterbars all the way throughout, down, down, down I flew, feeling good from
the speed. But it's not all about the downhill. There are a few more climbs to drain your energy on
this ride. After making the Sandy Creek loop I came up into The newly formed Brown Lee loop. 1.4
miles of mush. This place is gathering a lot of attention thanks to all the e-tards over at MTBR
(thanks for the designation JustaDick!) and the newer trails are still being packed in....I feel
lucky to be able to help blaze new trails. Or at least help them to be the well packed trails we all
yearn for. But right now, there a bit mushy. Now I happen to love a good wet trail, I love getting
muddy. But I don't love walking in it, and my energy level had become too depleted to be able to
pull it....I couldn't get it done.
I bonked. Hard.
Dejected, I decided to pack it in, today just wasn't my day. I skipped the Huff-N-Puff loop. There
was no way I could pull the hardest, recently extended nut crusher that is Huff-N-Puff. But I did go
ahead and try the new extension of moonshiner, that was recently cut back up to the cars. Kudos to
Ike and the gang. No more fire road back to the trail head. More singletrack! Nothing wrong with
that! I slowly rolled back into the lot, dragging ass. Beat. Wore out. Couldn't ride another block.
While I was putting my gear away, a few of the local LBS contingent showed up. the Sun was out, and
it was getting warmer. I told em' of the soft spots on Brownlee. Wished them a good ride, and asked
if they had all eaten their breakfast, They all said yes, save for one. I felt sorry for him.......
Dave (eat a good breakfast!)
course, you just thought that it cut into your sleep time before school, and that it wasn't that
important. Well guess what Sparky, she was right....( isn't she usually?)
Slept in late....well, as late as a very rambunctious 6 y.o boy would allow! Got up at 09:00 fed the
little monster so that he would quit jumping on my head. My girl like to sleep late, she'll eat when
she stirs...
Get all my gear together and shag ass to Jackson, 1 hour away. Passing several fast food
establishments, as well as some good ol' fashioned sit down and eat restaurants. Nope, no time,
gotta hit the trail early. It' going to be a beautiful day. and I don't want to miss any saddle
time. Besides I had an orange with me, and some protein bars (2) a bottle of Gatorade, and my 'bak
full of H2O. I was good to go.....
Or so I thought......
I hit the trailhead at 1130, and the lot was full. Barely could get to my usual parking spot. It was
a cool 35 degrees. Supposed to get near 40. Didn't matter what the temp was, it was on....
I hit Bootleg flat out smoking, trying to build my body temp to help combat the cold. Onto Fern
gully and I was still cookin...then came the climb on Wagontrack. this is the part where I started
reflecting on life, I started reflecting on things that life has taught me, things my mother tried
to teach me as a child. Things like wear a jacket when it's cold, don't talk with a mouthful of
food. Be kind to the elderly. You've all heard it. But the one that stood forefront of my memories
after the climb out on Wagontrack was, "Don't forget to eat a good breakfast everyday" "You'll need
the energy"
She was right.
I started feeling it then. It was subtle at first. A little more winded than normal at this stage of
the ride. Legs feeling a little heavier, slower. Arms felt like lead weights. I ate a couple protein
bars. Drank some of the Gatorade, and pushed on. The down hill side of Pine mountain was a welcome
respite from the climbing. I've wrote about this before. Suffice it to say, one can haul ass down
this stretch, grabbing waterbars all the way throughout, down, down, down I flew, feeling good from
the speed. But it's not all about the downhill. There are a few more climbs to drain your energy on
this ride. After making the Sandy Creek loop I came up into The newly formed Brown Lee loop. 1.4
miles of mush. This place is gathering a lot of attention thanks to all the e-tards over at MTBR
(thanks for the designation JustaDick!) and the newer trails are still being packed in....I feel
lucky to be able to help blaze new trails. Or at least help them to be the well packed trails we all
yearn for. But right now, there a bit mushy. Now I happen to love a good wet trail, I love getting
muddy. But I don't love walking in it, and my energy level had become too depleted to be able to
pull it....I couldn't get it done.
I bonked. Hard.
Dejected, I decided to pack it in, today just wasn't my day. I skipped the Huff-N-Puff loop. There
was no way I could pull the hardest, recently extended nut crusher that is Huff-N-Puff. But I did go
ahead and try the new extension of moonshiner, that was recently cut back up to the cars. Kudos to
Ike and the gang. No more fire road back to the trail head. More singletrack! Nothing wrong with
that! I slowly rolled back into the lot, dragging ass. Beat. Wore out. Couldn't ride another block.
While I was putting my gear away, a few of the local LBS contingent showed up. the Sun was out, and
it was getting warmer. I told em' of the soft spots on Brownlee. Wished them a good ride, and asked
if they had all eaten their breakfast, They all said yes, save for one. I felt sorry for him.......
Dave (eat a good breakfast!)
