Jamie hones his Zen.
This ride started near Bear Meadows and climbed up North Meadows Road to Gettis Ridge Road and then Bear Gap road to Wildcat, a memorable drop off the face of the earth. The view from North Meadows Road:
Then up Laurel Run Road to the firetower and then down the Edge, another memorable drop. On my Garmin 305 the drops look like this:
The first is Wildcat and the second is the Edge - they are both wicked steep. This is part of Wildcat:
Karl was riding a sweet carbon Specialized unit to review for Dirt Rag Magazine. Rumor has it - he wants to keep it.
Regrouping at the bottom of the Edge and the beginning of Longaberger.
Brother Griz, and Brother Nabil
Larry cranks it up a notch SS-style on a nice log ride near the end of Longaberger.
Keith proving that they ride big logs in Perry County too
Ray smooth as silk
Karl making it look easy
Nabil sneaks a peek at the landing prior to hitting the eject button
We looped back by the cars and dropped off a couple of riders then rode up the IMBA/NMBA constructed Tussey Ridge Trail to some new rocky alternative lines near the junction with Kettle. Click here for photos my brother, Nabil, took of this area: There were several other uber-technical alternate routes along the ridgeline; however, I pinch flatted three times and was playing catch up much of the time. This is a picture of the main trail:
I did hear that the Dutch Eagle rode by far the most challenging of these puzzles; one I had stopped to marvel at back in April when I snapped this photo on a solo ride:
It is a loose assemblage of log and stone that, if you use your imagination, roughly resembles a line. Word has it that Dean crashed in a spectacular fashion on his first attempt damaging both shoulders. The group then went to work reinforcing the logs to take the wobble out and spotted him for his second attempt. The Dutch Eagle nailed it on his second try - thus winning the coveted annual Hans Rey Trophy of Tremendous Riding (HRTTR).
We hammered down the other Ridge extension to the gas line and as the raindrops began to fall we contemplated riding John Wirt in the rain. As the rain picked up, we decided to try to sit it out under a porch. John Wirt, the most technical trail of the weekend, is no bag of laughs when wet. Impatience got the best of us and we started out as the rain was still falling. About halfway in the rain did stop, but the rocks were already slicker than owl shit on a barn beam.
Grizvitational Day TwoTotal Time 5:00:03
Moving Time 3:38:25
Distance (mi ) 25.18
Moving Speed 6.93 avg. 25.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +3,352
Avg. Heart Rate 126 bpm Zone 2.8
Temperature (°F)
65°F avg. 68°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)
W 13.4 avg.
W 16.1 max.
The riding in Rothrock is, how do you say? Unbelieveable.
No comments:
Post a Comment