First off, Pictures: http://gallery.unicyclist.com/BlackHillsMW
Second, Thanks David for organizing this thing. Overall it was a good
trip with a reasonable ammount of riding. And the weather was perfect
for riding all weekend.
Third: I apologize in advance if I spell your name wrong. If I did,
especially in the gallery, please correct me either here or by PM.
Friday morning Gilby picked me up about 7:45, we were on the road by 8.
After 10 hours of driving, a couple rest stops, a time zone change, and
several stops for gas we arrived in Spearfish, SD. We ended up getting
to the trailhead about 5:10. We waited til about 6:15 before anyone else
arrived. Apparently everyone else met at andy's house, near the end of
the trail.
The intail ride on friday was about 20 people, and about an hour. At
the end (andy's house again), Mike (from rapid city), Gilby, and myself
decided we could use more. Besides, I still needed my fix of difficult
riding. We took mostly the same trail as the first loop, but took a
different turn that followed the edge of the ridge a bit closer, with
some more difficult sections. Just what I was looking for. It was
great, and ended up being about an hour again.
Saturday morning, I awoke with my whole right arm totally numb. A bit
unusual and rather annoying, but we arrived at the trailhead (a
different one this time) for Old Baldy, a trail that has alot of
climbing, some good, fast downhills, and a hike to the summit. Sure, we
could have ridden up to the top, but by that time most of us were too
tired to bother. Towards the begining, on the second downhill I hit a
rather large rock, and flatted. Fortunately for me, I had just gotten
myself and extra tube and a hand pump for on the trail problems. At the
time of the flat, I was first in line. By the end, I was 10-15 minutes
behind. I Figured I'd try to catch up. After 15 minutes of pumping
(small hand pumps suck sometimes) I was back on the trail, at full
speed. I definately noticed something, trails that would be relatively
easy at cruising speed become a bit more challenging when you're going
top speed and trying to avoid getting another flat.
The fast group (in order: (I think...) Gilby, steve, myself, lief, and
forest) finished about 1:30. fifteen or so minutes later, Dean and
another duluth rider (both were riding 19" Mod wheels. They did really
well to beat so many people while still being on mod's)came rolling in.
The rest of the group trickled in, and Finally everyone was back, packed
and started heading out by about 3. A mad dash to the showers insued.
After dinner (I had hamburgers, graciously cooked by steve, Thanks for
the grilling. and the onions.) Steve, Gilby, and myself went out for
another ride. This time we had a car at the top, a car at the bottom,
and an hour of riding in between. Actually, we took a wrong turn and
ended up riding more logging roads, and more single track, than we had
initial planned on. Fortunately, we found the trail. And we ended up
going the wrong way, then turned around and got to the place we wanted.
Towards the end of the trail we hit a decently steep, really loose
section that ended up being a bit of a challenge. Then there was a more
rocky, loosey section that was pretty tough, probably about the toughest
section I rode all weekend.
Sunday morning The ride started about 10 again, and was a great trail.
The only problem I had with it, some of the connecting trail didnt
really seem like it was set up for mountain bikes. It was still a good
challenge, and most of it still rolled pretty fast. After one play
section (a logged tree which hadnt been cut up or moved yet) Steve,
Gilby, Mike and myself were pretty far ahead. We decided to stop at a
site where loggers had stacked several piles of logs. Good fun all
around.
From there the trail was all downhill. Towards the bottom it got pretty
technical, with loose rocks and rocks inbedded in the trail being a
constant reminder to slow down and pay attention. Right at the bottom,
the last rocky section, I got a another flat. It kinda sucked. I was
able to clear the whole trail though. Not on the first try for
everything, but most of it. The conversation went like this:
Me: "Wow, I thought I was going to get a flat on that last section"
Mike: "Did you get a flat?"
Me: "I dont think so"
*insert two second wait*
*Hisss.....*
Me: "Damn..."
We were on the road home by 1 local time. Got home at 11:30 central
time (an hour ahead).
Also, thanks for the bunk David.
--
Max_Dingemans - Hey Look, who's that?
BLAH!
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