Nature can be a fickle [censored]. One minute it's cold and rainy, highs in the upper 20'S. The next,
Sunny and 65! And on Dec 27 too! Well, not one to pass on a sure thing I made the necessary
arraingments for grandma to watch the kids for a few hours, so dad could go work off some of that
holiday cheer. I go out to start to load my gear and to my utter disgust, I find I have a flat tire
on the Blazer! (Well doesn't that just suck!.)
I suppose a person of lesser intestinal fortitude (heh!) might of taken this as some sort of omen.
Some sort of "warning" to not take that long ride to the trailhead...I am not one of those.
Instead, I proceded to grab the spare out of the back (full size of course, I don't do dough-
nuts), mount the sucker..(on the spindle, you degenerates!)and load up my gear. Twelve o'clock, I
gotta rock..
As this was one of the first days of great weather in a while, and a Saturday too boot, I was sure
the trails would be packed. After driving for an hour I found I was entirely correct the place was a
zoo, could barely find a place to park. And I had seen several cars leaving with bikes on the back
on the way in. But I managed to squeeze in on the very end. They were all there...Moms, Dads, sons,
daughters, cousins, nieces, nephews, family pets. Everyone was out enjoying the day. Some teenagers
on their shiny new rides, out with their folks....definetly good to see the young people embracing
the sport.
First thing I noticed was the F*%kin beatles. Seems we are in the midst of a Japanese Beetle
infestetation here in the south, and they were out in force at the trail head! Thousands of the
little bastages flying in your face, your hair, your clothes. It pretty much sucked. But I had made
the journey this far. Damn if I'm going to let a few thousand lady bug looking things feck it up! I
continue to suit up, dodging the little flying menaces.
One of the main reasons I like Dauset is that no matter how packed the lot is, one can actually do a
whole ride without seeing a soul. In fact I didn't see anyone for the next 2 1/2 hours. And the
trail..well the trail is as fabulous as always, except of course for the heavy leaf cover. It was so
thick that my 2.4 Motoraptors washed out a few times in the curves, not enough to dump me, but
enough to be very cautious of my speed going into them. It concerned me enough to lower the pressure
to my standard 50 psi down to about 32 psi, which provided a great deal more grip. It's been a while
since I've been able to hit the dirt and when I did, I noticed my lack of fitness. All in all I was
only able to do about 15 miles in 2 1/2 hours, which just sucks for me, but it was good to be out in
the sunlight.
The lot was a ghost town upon my re-entry (weird) They must've all packed it in when they saw me
show up..."Damn, Dave's here...no sense in the sticking around and being humiliated"....as if.
Unfortunatly there were a few spots in the park, particularly on Huff-N Puff (Hardest) that were not
quite the way I remember them. It appears there have been a few "ride arounds" that appear to have
become the intended line. Does that make sense? You know how it is. You've been on this trail before
and you expect a particular section to be something, be it a quick switchback, or a downhill section
through a treacherous rock garden, whatever, and your prepared for that something, only to arrive at
the point to find that the line is now something far more easier than you had expected. (It changed)
It blew my mind! To be honest I thought it sucked. And the new line is now being bermed up against a
tree...gotta speak to the caretaker bout that'
All in all, it was a beautiful day...except for those few blown lines
Makes it all worthwhile...
Dave W.
lo-rez images of yesterday's festivities to be had here:
community.webshots.comeditPhotos.fcgiOpen ↗ D=107018455