Ahhhhhhhh, Brevard N. C., even with record high temperatures it was still only in the upper 70's.
We hit the Olympic Mountain Bike trail in Conyers Ga. on the way up and got into Brevard about dark.After stopping by the local bike shop for maps we drove the 12 miles to the DuPont State Forest. We started out with a rather easy climb on a jeep road since it was a fam ride. Even so my lovely wife had a little trouble on the rocks but once we got on the single track it was all smiles.
This was all I saw of B most of the day. The highlight was coming down Ridgeline, it had perfect flow, banked turns, and little jumps all the way to the bottom.
We went back to the truck after our morning loop. T was tired so we loaded up and drove 5 miles to another trail head where B and I made a loop by ourselves. This section had the granite climbs (slick rock) that I had heard so much about. I have never used granny-granny so much in my admittedly short cycling career. It just kept going up. I only had problems when it started down. Two foot rock drops with black mud and water running down the trail didn't inspire any confidence. B cleaned the section but admitted being scared. I walked most of it.
We only rode 15 miles of the 90 miles of trail at Du Pont. I loved the place.
Now Pisgah, that's another story. Brevard sits right on the southern boundary of the Pisgah National Forest. 400 miles of trail. At both of the bike shops we stopped in they didn't recommend we ride Pisgah. How did they know? Was it my gray hair?
Anyhoo B and I decided we would give it a try at about 5:00 on Thursday afternoon. The trail heads were not easy to find so we rode around till we found a day use area and hit the first single track we could see from the road, Sycamore Cove I think it was called. From an easy pedal to redline in less than a mile, it went up quick. Small stream crossings with rocks set at weird angles every so often, we could clean some but some we just had to walk across. Then we got to the first switch back and the trail became 2 feet wide and cut into the side of the mountain with roots. B disappeared ahead of me. I got nervous. After a little while he came back to check on me, funny how that role has reversed without me realising it. He could tell by the look on my face I wasn't too thrilled. We turned around and it was better going down, duh.
So the bike shops were right, Pisgah was too tough for me. I admit it, I'm a wimp when it comes to shelf trail. As Big Worm put it "it's like 400 miles of nothing but the root you don't do on Cadillac". Still, I want to go back and try it again. Maybe with a little more daylight and not at the end of the trip. But there's another 75 miles at Du Pont I still want to do. So should I spend my limited time crawling over wet roots and rocks fearing for my life or should I ride the most perfect trails I've ever ridden with a big goofy grin on my face? What would you do?
We only rode 15 miles of the 90 miles of trail at Du Pont. I loved the place.Now Pisgah, that's another story. Brevard sits right on the southern boundary of the Pisgah National Forest. 400 miles of trail. At both of the bike shops we stopped in they didn't recommend we ride Pisgah. How did they know? Was it my gray hair?
Anyhoo B and I decided we would give it a try at about 5:00 on Thursday afternoon. The trail heads were not easy to find so we rode around till we found a day use area and hit the first single track we could see from the road, Sycamore Cove I think it was called. From an easy pedal to redline in less than a mile, it went up quick. Small stream crossings with rocks set at weird angles every so often, we could clean some but some we just had to walk across. Then we got to the first switch back and the trail became 2 feet wide and cut into the side of the mountain with roots. B disappeared ahead of me. I got nervous. After a little while he came back to check on me, funny how that role has reversed without me realising it. He could tell by the look on my face I wasn't too thrilled. We turned around and it was better going down, duh.
So the bike shops were right, Pisgah was too tough for me. I admit it, I'm a wimp when it comes to shelf trail. As Big Worm put it "it's like 400 miles of nothing but the root you don't do on Cadillac". Still, I want to go back and try it again. Maybe with a little more daylight and not at the end of the trip. But there's another 75 miles at Du Pont I still want to do. So should I spend my limited time crawling over wet roots and rocks fearing for my life or should I ride the most perfect trails I've ever ridden with a big goofy grin on my face? What would you do?
You made a good decision to back off at Pisgah, but you just needed better information. There are some epic and fun rides, but you have to know where you are going. I have spent the night shivering in my chamois and jersey, waiting for the sun to come up to finish a ride. I have also seen a friend go OTB and fracture his shoulder on a friendly Pisgah ride. Pisgah is no Tsali. It's for real.
ReplyDeleteYea, what Juancho said.
ReplyDeleteHell, I'm proud of ya, just for givin' 'er a go! Pisgah is definitely the junk yard dog, to Dupont's black lab. She'll give ya tons of love, but you gotta earn it first.
ReplyDelete