T
Technician
Guest
Well, i may have found the trail up Tumbledown, but i doubt it. i follow the map as exactly as i
can. i show up to where i think the trail is, and what do i find, but a skidder road. so, thinking
it has been a while since i hiked on the trail, it could be a skidder road now. so i try it. to
start off with, it is steep and full of fallen trees and branches all over the place. i ended up
pushing and carrying the bike up more than i ever rode it. so i pass about a mile, and then the
"trail" heads back down the mountain. i follow it for a bit and it only heads further and further
down. this can't be the right trail. so i head back. at least the last half mile is semi-ridable. it
is steep, and extremely technical, but i manage to ride it. i note the fact that i'm pulling the
front brake lever to the bar, and i still can't lock the front wheel, but i can keep the speed under
control. several times i get caught on a angled branch and go rolling down the mountain side in some
sort of somersault. kind of a sideways endo. after hiking back up to retrieve my bike, i ride down.
this whole time, the bugs are swarming like crazy. after the first 15 minutes of climbing, i gave up
on them so by now it is merely just an annoyance when they get in my eyes. arriving back to the car,
i quickly mount the bike back on the rack, and jump in the car to crank the AC, eat a snack, and
swat at the bugs that managed to enter the car. i continue down the main dirt road a bit looking for
the other trails that are supposed to lead up the mountain, but find none. at a loss, i head home.
no idea where the trail is. guess if i want a mountain ride i either have to find a guide, or stick
to mountains i know how to get to.
But after it is all said and done, that ride down the "trail" was worth the trip. i learned more
about balance, V-brake inferiority, and myself in that little half mile than could be found on any
longer ride. i now know the limits of my traction, the limits of my brakes, and best of all, i
have a new found courage in that i rode down a trail that earlier in my experience i would have
cringed at.
I didn't get any pictures, but given the struggle, i opted not to.
--
~Travis
travis57 at megalink dot net http://www.megalink.net/~farmers/
can. i show up to where i think the trail is, and what do i find, but a skidder road. so, thinking
it has been a while since i hiked on the trail, it could be a skidder road now. so i try it. to
start off with, it is steep and full of fallen trees and branches all over the place. i ended up
pushing and carrying the bike up more than i ever rode it. so i pass about a mile, and then the
"trail" heads back down the mountain. i follow it for a bit and it only heads further and further
down. this can't be the right trail. so i head back. at least the last half mile is semi-ridable. it
is steep, and extremely technical, but i manage to ride it. i note the fact that i'm pulling the
front brake lever to the bar, and i still can't lock the front wheel, but i can keep the speed under
control. several times i get caught on a angled branch and go rolling down the mountain side in some
sort of somersault. kind of a sideways endo. after hiking back up to retrieve my bike, i ride down.
this whole time, the bugs are swarming like crazy. after the first 15 minutes of climbing, i gave up
on them so by now it is merely just an annoyance when they get in my eyes. arriving back to the car,
i quickly mount the bike back on the rack, and jump in the car to crank the AC, eat a snack, and
swat at the bugs that managed to enter the car. i continue down the main dirt road a bit looking for
the other trails that are supposed to lead up the mountain, but find none. at a loss, i head home.
no idea where the trail is. guess if i want a mountain ride i either have to find a guide, or stick
to mountains i know how to get to.
But after it is all said and done, that ride down the "trail" was worth the trip. i learned more
about balance, V-brake inferiority, and myself in that little half mile than could be found on any
longer ride. i now know the limits of my traction, the limits of my brakes, and best of all, i
have a new found courage in that i rode down a trail that earlier in my experience i would have
cringed at.
I didn't get any pictures, but given the struggle, i opted not to.
--
~Travis
travis57 at megalink dot net http://www.megalink.net/~farmers/