Rut Row!

JD trail side waiting on the gang.

JD and I got out for two rides in the woods this weekend. Friday was near 85 and sunny. The first really almost hot day we've had this year and JD was a little slow to adapt. He limped along on our ride barely able to trot which actually turned out for the better as all the hours of elbow greasing, lack of sleep, and lack of water this week had finally caught up to me, sapping me of energy and motivation. We enjoyed a slow pace out on the trail, spent some time chilling in the creek, then headed home early. We were cooked.

Sunday proved to be similar temps and just as sunny, but after finally getting some decent rest, JD and I were feeling more spry. Chickasaw was the destination and with the upcoming XC race next Sunday, the parking lot was a veritable potpourri of who's who in the Mid-TN mtb scene. We had a new bike owner out experiencing the woods with us on what is probably one of the best ever first time ride experiences a newby could have. Perfectly manicured trail, clear skies, perfect temps, lots of polite riders, JD the amazing technicolor dream dog, and a cast of characters in the parking lot creating the perfect post ride festival atmosphere. I think we spent as much time hanging out as we did on the trail. Taking it back old school days, eh Daniel?

The water was cool, perfect for a post ride dip and several mid-ride stops. Good for keeping the pup cool (evaporative cooling works wonders) as we wound around the trail that got me hooked on mountain biking as an adult-esque person.

Saturday felt like a blur. The doors opened at work and the next thing I know we were closing, an hour late. A good problem to have but one that set off a chain of events for the night. Adam had plans at 7 but we'd also planned on getting a short road ride in post work. No worries, we'll only be about an hour or so. Other than starting an hour late, everything went pretty smoothly, everything except for my legs.

Caution: Ruts are deeper than they appear.

Finally starting to come around after a good climb and a hard 43mph quasi-sprint dig, Adam pressed to turn right and hit another big climb. I mentioned we should do an over and back rather than follow it all the way back to the main road for the sake of daylight. We decided to see how we felt after tackling the beast. Halfway up though, we were tempted by a road that had always intrigued us. A loose dirt and gravel rutted out logging road. You know, the perfect conditions for a road bike ascent.

On the way back down Adam's wheel felt a little wonky and was rubbing the brake. He thought he had just knocked it out of true and was going to take a moment to fix it. Turns out the hub flange busted, not gonna fix that. So we decided to skip the steep climb and rapid descent for Adam's health, and limped the bike back towards the shop.

We loaded the bikes on the car and headed home, stopping in town to find a spot to grab some dinner. Then the phone rang just as we both took notice of the time: 6:45 pm. The dangers of adventure roading, broken equipment and loosing time. (Double) doh!