Fast

Wooglin, LuvSingleTrack, D-Kuntz and Woodman all met at Reasonover in Dupont last night. During my drive up to Dupont, I went through some sprinkles. There was a chance of severe thunderstorms but the sky was clear when I pulled into the lot.

We once again took an A-typical route:

Reasonover, Turkey Knob Road, Poplar Hill Loop, (counter) Turkey Knob Road, Reasonover, Camp Summit Road, Airstrip, Barn Trail, Bridal Veil Road, Corn Mill Shoals, Laurel Ridge, Mine Mountain

The forest had seen some precipitation and for the first time this year there wasn’t much dust. When we took the route down Turkey and Poplar, Woodman exclaimed that he hadn’t been in that section of the forest in quite some time and I relayed the story about how I once almost lost my mind in that section due to not having a map (dumb) and it getting dark.

When we made the turn back out onto Reasonover Creek trail, I made the final grunt to the top and then started flying down the trail. I soon realized that I was taking the twisty turns and corners much faster than I had in the previous months. The ground was so tacky that your tires stuck to it like Velcro but at the same time, they rolled extremely fast, so fast in fact, that I thought I should hit the brakes, nahhhhh no time for that.

I got to the bottom of Reasonover and asked everyone if they felt the same way. It was a consensus, the trails were packed and gripping as best as one could hope for.

Off past Lake Julia and up summit road to the airstrip. Then down Airstrip and over the big log at the bottom, I noticed something about airstrip last night. I seem to always be shaking at the bottom of that trail. It is a short section of trail but it is so fast and laid out so beautifully that you just want to go faster. I am pretty sure I have pushed the threshold of fast on that trail as I am always elated after slicing and dancing through the trees while banking on her turns. If you don’t smile after this trail, you just won’t ever smile. We had WoodMan with us to thank several times last night as well, as he is the mastermind behind many of the re-routes in Dupont.

Past Bridal Veil falls and up the new section of Corn Mill Shoals, then the grunting and spitting begins as you fight and claw your way to the top of Corn Mill Shoals over the wet slick rock.

Across Laurel Ridge and up Mine Mountain, going up Mine I had LuvSingleTrack behind me and I could hear his breath looming, so I pushed harder. Nearing the top I pushed even harder though I could still hear him behind me. Then it was down the last section of Mine, which is mostly straight with one slightly off camber turn that you can scream around at close to 20 mph. It makes you pucker but then you are spit out onto the road and flying down the gravel to your car.

The sprinkles stopped as we pulled up to the cars. Mother Nature was nice enough to let us enjoy the camaraderie that a good ride leaves you with.