I thought about starting off this post talking about my lack of blogging but that's kinda boring and I think I talked about that in my last post a couple of weeks ago so I'll try and think of something a bit more entertaining..................................
Ummm................... I can't really think of much.
I've tried to ramp up my riding as much as possible in the last couple of weeks in order to get the most out of my fall season. Starting Sunday I'll be off the bike for a little over 2 weeks. I won't be laying around on the couch that's for sure. I'll be working 12 hour days, outside standing on concrete and climbing stuff. By the time I get off work and get home I should be pretty much worthless and won't feel like doing much of anything that doesn't involve sitting on the couch or sleeping. If I seem distant and don't return phone calls and emails it's not because I'm mad at you I promise. I should be back on the grid by the first of November.
All the pre-hell at work riding took it's toll on me. I might have pushed it a bit far and wore myself down but it was fun. Most of the rides I did last week, I started out sore. My legs are starting to come back around but my lower back is still a bit tight.
Hopefully once November rolls around the weather will be cooperative and I can't get out on the trails and achieve my goal of 1500 dirt miles for the year. Next year my minimum goal will be 1500 with 2000 on my mind.
I tried to get the rest of my video footage edited but it just didn't happen, time constraints got in the way so I'll hold onto it and hopefully get it finished once the weather turns colder.
Unfortunately it doesn't look good for me and CX this year, as always I talk a big game with plans to attend a few races but never make it out. I just checked the schedule and realized there will be only one race left after my hell at work shift is over. I guess it's a good thing I never bought the Surly.
Earlier this year a couple of us decided to sign up for a cruise, yep big fancy boat and all. I've never been a fan of cruises, they just didn't seem exciting enough to me. Until I saw an ad in Bike Magazine where they would be hosting a Caribbean cruise with guided mountain biking on 3 different islands. Now that sounded like my kind of cruise! We signed up, paid our deposit and started planning. A couple months later we got a call that our cruise which was supposed to be in January got bumped back to March by the cruise line. No explanation as to why but they did refund us our entire deposit. We waited a while unsure what to do but after a couple of weeks we decided to sign back up. Well that never actually happened, we started thinking about other better mountain biking destinations. Now a plan to head out west this spring is in the works. I still would like to go on the cruise but I have a feeling going out west will produce a better singletrack experience without having to put on a coat & tie just to go to dinner.
This will probably be my last post for the month of October, hopefully by November I'll have a renewed sense for blogging.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
a Saturday at work
LOTEK/GARRETT REEVES from Lotek on Vimeo.
Hmmm... If I could learn to ride like this I might not have to work a real job.
Monday, September 26, 2011
finally a new video
Finally! I got around to editing some of the GoPro footage that I've had stored in my hard drive. I actually just shot this footage last week at my back yard trails, Warriors Path State Park.
I've been playing around with a few new mounting points and I acquired a new mount that allows me to attach the camera to the downtube of my bike. I set out with the intention of riding the entire trail system setting up different shots using 2 separate cameras and multiple different mounting positions on the bike and me. After I got through the first 2 trails I had spent pretty much all the time I had to ride. I was also sick of setting up shots so I called it a day. I'm glad I quit when I did because I had more than enough footage for a good video. Alot of the footage found it's way to the editing room floor and will never be seen so no loss.
As much time as I spent filming this and the amount of stuff I had to carry with me on the bike I doubt if I'll ever shoot with that many angles again. Anyway I hope you enjoy the video as I really worked hard on it. If I had a crew of people things would go much faster and smoothly but I'm the camera man, star, make-up artist and lighting guy all in one.
Enjoy!
I've been playing around with a few new mounting points and I acquired a new mount that allows me to attach the camera to the downtube of my bike. I set out with the intention of riding the entire trail system setting up different shots using 2 separate cameras and multiple different mounting positions on the bike and me. After I got through the first 2 trails I had spent pretty much all the time I had to ride. I was also sick of setting up shots so I called it a day. I'm glad I quit when I did because I had more than enough footage for a good video. Alot of the footage found it's way to the editing room floor and will never be seen so no loss.
As much time as I spent filming this and the amount of stuff I had to carry with me on the bike I doubt if I'll ever shoot with that many angles again. Anyway I hope you enjoy the video as I really worked hard on it. If I had a crew of people things would go much faster and smoothly but I'm the camera man, star, make-up artist and lighting guy all in one.
Enjoy!
Friday, September 23, 2011
sick day
Wow what a week, a good week it was. A week full of riding and every destination was different. While most of them were in my hillbilly neighborhood, half of them were new to me rides and that's what matters.
I'll skip all the stuff that's local and get right to the good stuff. Probably not new to most who read this blog but the land of Pisgah singletrack is something I've not really ever ventured into. I've ridden Pisgah in some form or another a few times over the years but not the cool back country stuff I've been reading about.
I'd gotten an email from a buddy of mine who conned a couple of other to burn a sick day in favor of riding but no destination had been determined. I suggested hitting Pisgah and over the next couple of days a plan came together.
We all piled into a friend of mines Honda Element stacked way too much gear and bikes in along with us and tried to hang on while he practiced at driving like a NASCAR driver who has nothing to lose.
Of course we got lost, rode trails we weren't supposed to to find our way back, crashed a couple of times, got wet and looked at the map waaay too many times. It had rained the day before and as we we climbing some slick rooty singletrack I began to wonder if we had made the right decision in riding here. That thought didn't last too long as the sun fianlly peaked out and everything dried up nicely. The climbing yesterday was awful mostly because my legs felt like they had bricks strapped to them and I suffered all day but the downhills were well worth it. I had so much fun I'm already trying to figure out when I can go back again. There is so much to explore it's going to drive me crazy.
The only thing that sucked about the whole day is that I forgot my wallet. I hate being a bum but I had no other choice. My breakfast, lunch and beer were all paid for thanks to my friends. Wait a minute, that didn't suck.
I did take along the GoPro and shot some video but after viewing some of it today I found that a portion of it was ruined thanks to a Camelbak strap flapping in front of the lens on one of the nastiest descents we did yesterday. Don't worry there is still plenty of footage to make a short video but it's still disappointing none the less. That makes three rides worth of footage I have saved on my hard drive waiting to be edited into a video, I'm really slacking.
Since I did alot of taking this week and really all summer I decided to take the day off today and give a little back. The dogs were in serious need of some exercise so I killed two birds with one stone and took them along with me for a little bench cutting on the Chestnut trail at Bays Mountain. It felt good to get out and do some trail work, I wanted to stay all day and start working on the new section but I had some chores to do at home. It was an excellent day to be out in the woods working on the trail, not too hot and there were no bugs buzzing my face.
I'll skip all the stuff that's local and get right to the good stuff. Probably not new to most who read this blog but the land of Pisgah singletrack is something I've not really ever ventured into. I've ridden Pisgah in some form or another a few times over the years but not the cool back country stuff I've been reading about.
I'd gotten an email from a buddy of mine who conned a couple of other to burn a sick day in favor of riding but no destination had been determined. I suggested hitting Pisgah and over the next couple of days a plan came together.
We all piled into a friend of mines Honda Element stacked way too much gear and bikes in along with us and tried to hang on while he practiced at driving like a NASCAR driver who has nothing to lose.
Of course we got lost, rode trails we weren't supposed to to find our way back, crashed a couple of times, got wet and looked at the map waaay too many times. It had rained the day before and as we we climbing some slick rooty singletrack I began to wonder if we had made the right decision in riding here. That thought didn't last too long as the sun fianlly peaked out and everything dried up nicely. The climbing yesterday was awful mostly because my legs felt like they had bricks strapped to them and I suffered all day but the downhills were well worth it. I had so much fun I'm already trying to figure out when I can go back again. There is so much to explore it's going to drive me crazy.
The only thing that sucked about the whole day is that I forgot my wallet. I hate being a bum but I had no other choice. My breakfast, lunch and beer were all paid for thanks to my friends. Wait a minute, that didn't suck.
I did take along the GoPro and shot some video but after viewing some of it today I found that a portion of it was ruined thanks to a Camelbak strap flapping in front of the lens on one of the nastiest descents we did yesterday. Don't worry there is still plenty of footage to make a short video but it's still disappointing none the less. That makes three rides worth of footage I have saved on my hard drive waiting to be edited into a video, I'm really slacking.
Since I did alot of taking this week and really all summer I decided to take the day off today and give a little back. The dogs were in serious need of some exercise so I killed two birds with one stone and took them along with me for a little bench cutting on the Chestnut trail at Bays Mountain. It felt good to get out and do some trail work, I wanted to stay all day and start working on the new section but I had some chores to do at home. It was an excellent day to be out in the woods working on the trail, not too hot and there were no bugs buzzing my face.
Monday, September 19, 2011
dusting off the blogwebs
With nothing really substantial to say I decided to log into my blog and dust off the cobwebs. I've been lacking lately and as usual it's been more of a lack of time than anything. Even when I don't have a great story to tell, (great in my own mind) I can usually make something out of nothing just by starting to type.
Work is about to get really nasty in a couple of weeks for me, actually it's been nasty but starting Oct. 10th I will do very little in the way of bike riding or blogging. I plan to make every free day count in the way of riding so if you have a sick day or two to burn hollar, I'll be riding. For those of you who are in the mileage contest with me this is a good time to play catch up. I need a good challenge so get off the couch. Speaking of mileage I'm well over 1000 miles on my mountain bike for the year with a new goal of hitting 1500 before Dec 31st. There is no sense in discussing road miles since I've only done one road ride for the entire year after which I realized my frame was cracked. I've still yet to get any urge to buy a new frame, for a while I seriously considered buying a Surly Cross Check not really for CX racing but more of just cruising on but that has been put on the back burner for more important purchases.
I thought I might do a bit more CX racing this year since the introduction of the fat tire class, but with no points or prizes I guess riding for free in the woods was a bit more appealing for some crazy reason than riding for $10 in the grass with people shouting obscenities in your face and ringing cowbells in your ear. Doesn't sound like fun? Trust me it is, every time I do venture onto the race course and get past that feeling of, "I might vomit at any moment" I think to myself I should do this more often. I totally plan to get out there but since I'm not racing for points skipping the first two or four surely won't hurt me in the standings.
Melinda and I did manage to get in some good quality rides this weekend, the first being the newish Pinnacle fire tower trail on Buffalo Mtn. I've ridden a portion of the trail a couple of times hooking in to the end of the trail from the other side of the mountain for the final push to the top. Saturday we rode from the Unicoi side and did the entire trail from top to bottom for the first time. It was better than I had expected or had heard, yes there are a couple of steep but short sections that were not wisely built but it's better than nothing. Maybe one day they'll extend the trail making it a loop rather than an out and back, now that would be cool.
Yesterday we ventured over to Bays for the usual Sunday ride. Unfortunately I couldn't con anyone to ride with me so I went out for a solo ride with a new route in mind. My pace was a bit faster than I usually do but I was racing against the clock as Melinda was riding with the girls and I wanted to be done when they were. My plan was to hit all the singletrack on the front side as well as some on the back. After passing the fire tower I rolled to over the top via Indian Pipes and all the way down to the bottom bypassing Bear Run. I skipped Kinear Hollow and made it back to the car in record time catching up with the ladies on Chinquapin. For a change of pace I rode the JET9 and had an absolute blast, the more I ride that bike the more I love it. I haven't looked but I'm pretty sure I've put more miles on it than my hardtail this year, something I thought I would never do. It has officially become my new favorite bike.
Work is about to get really nasty in a couple of weeks for me, actually it's been nasty but starting Oct. 10th I will do very little in the way of bike riding or blogging. I plan to make every free day count in the way of riding so if you have a sick day or two to burn hollar, I'll be riding. For those of you who are in the mileage contest with me this is a good time to play catch up. I need a good challenge so get off the couch. Speaking of mileage I'm well over 1000 miles on my mountain bike for the year with a new goal of hitting 1500 before Dec 31st. There is no sense in discussing road miles since I've only done one road ride for the entire year after which I realized my frame was cracked. I've still yet to get any urge to buy a new frame, for a while I seriously considered buying a Surly Cross Check not really for CX racing but more of just cruising on but that has been put on the back burner for more important purchases.
I thought I might do a bit more CX racing this year since the introduction of the fat tire class, but with no points or prizes I guess riding for free in the woods was a bit more appealing for some crazy reason than riding for $10 in the grass with people shouting obscenities in your face and ringing cowbells in your ear. Doesn't sound like fun? Trust me it is, every time I do venture onto the race course and get past that feeling of, "I might vomit at any moment" I think to myself I should do this more often. I totally plan to get out there but since I'm not racing for points skipping the first two or four surely won't hurt me in the standings.
Melinda and I did manage to get in some good quality rides this weekend, the first being the newish Pinnacle fire tower trail on Buffalo Mtn. I've ridden a portion of the trail a couple of times hooking in to the end of the trail from the other side of the mountain for the final push to the top. Saturday we rode from the Unicoi side and did the entire trail from top to bottom for the first time. It was better than I had expected or had heard, yes there are a couple of steep but short sections that were not wisely built but it's better than nothing. Maybe one day they'll extend the trail making it a loop rather than an out and back, now that would be cool.
Yesterday we ventured over to Bays for the usual Sunday ride. Unfortunately I couldn't con anyone to ride with me so I went out for a solo ride with a new route in mind. My pace was a bit faster than I usually do but I was racing against the clock as Melinda was riding with the girls and I wanted to be done when they were. My plan was to hit all the singletrack on the front side as well as some on the back. After passing the fire tower I rolled to over the top via Indian Pipes and all the way down to the bottom bypassing Bear Run. I skipped Kinear Hollow and made it back to the car in record time catching up with the ladies on Chinquapin. For a change of pace I rode the JET9 and had an absolute blast, the more I ride that bike the more I love it. I haven't looked but I'm pretty sure I've put more miles on it than my hardtail this year, something I thought I would never do. It has officially become my new favorite bike.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
to me the Fall season has nothing to do with football
I sent out a couple of emails this weekend to see where we, (GRT) stood on racing this fall and all I really got was uhhh, I think we're gonna do Halloween stuff this year. If I remember correctly I got this same answer from every single one of them. Kinda weird, makes me wonder if there is a big Halloween bash going on somewhere and I didn't get invited. Maybe I did get invited but my invite got lost in the mail. Nah, nobody sends out invitations via the mail anymore.
For the past 5 years in a row GRT has raced the 12 Hours of the Hill of Truth in Knoxville on Halloween weekend. This year it looked as if I was going to have to bow out due to a big shut down at work that's basically going to consume the entire month of October. The official schedule came out a week ago and technically it will be over before Halloween weekend possibly allowing me to race. I'm not going to lie, I'm really not that disappointed in the fact that no one seems interested in going. I want to race but I agree that we need a break.
I was also looking forward to the 3rd and final race of the TN Cup Series, the Ocho Reverse, but it seems as if no one has any interest in doing that one either. I am kinda bummed out about missing this one, especially since we missed the 2nd race due to a last minute date change.
I guess the racing season for me has officially ended, kinda sucks but I'm ok with it. I love to race but it doesn't consume me to the point that I actually put together a training plan. Sure I make a point to get out and ride as much as possible in order to perform well but I hate using the word training. If I ever start riding just to train I'm afraid I'll get sick of it.
In all reality I do have the chance to do a few races this fall with the local cyclocross scene. It's fun for about an hour but that's it. The races are short, in grassy fields and there's no camping but it satisfies the competitive side of me somewhat so I'll take it. I've been thinking hard about buying a Surly Cross Check to replace my broken road frame but I really have no interest in racing an actual CX bike. While slower than a true CX bike, I enjoy racing my mtn bike at the CX races much more. Now with the all new fat tire class I can do so and be a tad bit more competitive.
I have no fear that this fall will be anything close to boring with all the trail building opportunities on the horizon so I guess no more racing for the year is a good thing. Really I'm more excited about building singletrack than anything. It's funny how taking a big ownership in a single trail project has really gotten me fired up about trailbuilding. I've always enjoyed it but this year something has changed. I got really involved in building a new trail this spring, organizing workdays, working on my own during the middle of the week, something I've never down before. I think I might have only missed 2 maybe 3 scheduled work days with the Chestnut project and I've been thinking of going ahead earlier than projected and getting back to work before Fall actually kicks in.
For the past 5 years in a row GRT has raced the 12 Hours of the Hill of Truth in Knoxville on Halloween weekend. This year it looked as if I was going to have to bow out due to a big shut down at work that's basically going to consume the entire month of October. The official schedule came out a week ago and technically it will be over before Halloween weekend possibly allowing me to race. I'm not going to lie, I'm really not that disappointed in the fact that no one seems interested in going. I want to race but I agree that we need a break.
I was also looking forward to the 3rd and final race of the TN Cup Series, the Ocho Reverse, but it seems as if no one has any interest in doing that one either. I am kinda bummed out about missing this one, especially since we missed the 2nd race due to a last minute date change.
I guess the racing season for me has officially ended, kinda sucks but I'm ok with it. I love to race but it doesn't consume me to the point that I actually put together a training plan. Sure I make a point to get out and ride as much as possible in order to perform well but I hate using the word training. If I ever start riding just to train I'm afraid I'll get sick of it.
In all reality I do have the chance to do a few races this fall with the local cyclocross scene. It's fun for about an hour but that's it. The races are short, in grassy fields and there's no camping but it satisfies the competitive side of me somewhat so I'll take it. I've been thinking hard about buying a Surly Cross Check to replace my broken road frame but I really have no interest in racing an actual CX bike. While slower than a true CX bike, I enjoy racing my mtn bike at the CX races much more. Now with the all new fat tire class I can do so and be a tad bit more competitive.
I have no fear that this fall will be anything close to boring with all the trail building opportunities on the horizon so I guess no more racing for the year is a good thing. Really I'm more excited about building singletrack than anything. It's funny how taking a big ownership in a single trail project has really gotten me fired up about trailbuilding. I've always enjoyed it but this year something has changed. I got really involved in building a new trail this spring, organizing workdays, working on my own during the middle of the week, something I've never down before. I think I might have only missed 2 maybe 3 scheduled work days with the Chestnut project and I've been thinking of going ahead earlier than projected and getting back to work before Fall actually kicks in.
Some people look forward to the Fall season because it means cooler weather and football. I look toward Fall because it means trail building season is upon us!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
a little exploration
Knowing I would be stuck at work all Labor Day weekend I snuck in as many rides as I could find the time for last week. I got in two at Warrior's Tues. and Wed. and one at Bays Mountain on Thursday. I've been want to explore Bays Ridge for some time now but just really didn't want to go it alone. Something about exploring back country trails alone that are not well marked has always kinda freaked me out somewhat.
I conned Richard into heading out with me, packing plenty of water, snacks and a trail map we set off to see what was what and what was not in the further reaches of the park.
We started out on double track that climbed, climbed and then climbed some more before switching over to singletrack and more climbing. The singletrack was super tight and littered with down trees really killing any momentum we ever built up. It had the potential for being a fun trail if it was clear but park maintenance while short staffed doesn't seem to interested in clearing if it can't be reached via ATV.
Bays Ridge was a very fitting name for the trail as we rode across the ridge for a long time. At one point we were directly over a shooting rage than was in full use. We couldn't see the range below and knowing they couldn't see us I was a bit leary of a stray bullet or two making it's way up the mountain. I was prepared to take cover if I heard anything buzzing by my head or even remotely close.
After checking the map a few times we realized we were pretty close to the end of the park's borders and I knew the trail was supposed to end at the bottom of the valley, several hundred feet below us. The further we rode without descending I had a sneaking suspicion that the decent was going to be short and power sliding steep. We came upon a right hand turn looked down and realized my guess was correct. I rode as far as I could under control but a couple more downed trees forced us to dismount and the the pitch got too steep for riding much less for hiking. I really wonder what was going through the minds of the trail builders back when this trail was constructed. Probably something along the lines of "Let's just hurry up and get this over with, I'm sick of building trails."
We did manage to get back on our bikes and finish the decent the rest of the way to the bottom. Once at the end we began the search for the connector trail that was supposed to take us up and over the next ridge so we could ride singletrack our rather than old jeep roads. We looked and looked and looked but never found the trail. I'm sure it existed at one time but no doubt was grown up with weeds and or covered with downed trees.
Needless to say we never found it and wound up riding the jeep road back into the main area of the park. The ride out was quite an adventure in it's self. Not having rain in nearly two weeks you would think everything would be dry but this was not the case. Being deep in a valley with not much in the way of sunshine coming through the thick foliage the huge pits created by illegal access from off road vehicles were still a wet muddy mess. By the time we reached the end of the road we were covered in mud and had picked up and extra 5 or 6 lbs. on our tires.
Having ventured to the end of the Bays Ridge trail I have pretty much covered most of the park's trails and land with the exception of that one connector trail that was hidden or non-existent. I don't regret exploring the Bays Ridge trail, it was fun and a learning experience but it will probably will be a while before I venture back there again.
I conned Richard into heading out with me, packing plenty of water, snacks and a trail map we set off to see what was what and what was not in the further reaches of the park.
We started out on double track that climbed, climbed and then climbed some more before switching over to singletrack and more climbing. The singletrack was super tight and littered with down trees really killing any momentum we ever built up. It had the potential for being a fun trail if it was clear but park maintenance while short staffed doesn't seem to interested in clearing if it can't be reached via ATV.
Bays Ridge was a very fitting name for the trail as we rode across the ridge for a long time. At one point we were directly over a shooting rage than was in full use. We couldn't see the range below and knowing they couldn't see us I was a bit leary of a stray bullet or two making it's way up the mountain. I was prepared to take cover if I heard anything buzzing by my head or even remotely close.
After checking the map a few times we realized we were pretty close to the end of the park's borders and I knew the trail was supposed to end at the bottom of the valley, several hundred feet below us. The further we rode without descending I had a sneaking suspicion that the decent was going to be short and power sliding steep. We came upon a right hand turn looked down and realized my guess was correct. I rode as far as I could under control but a couple more downed trees forced us to dismount and the the pitch got too steep for riding much less for hiking. I really wonder what was going through the minds of the trail builders back when this trail was constructed. Probably something along the lines of "Let's just hurry up and get this over with, I'm sick of building trails."
We did manage to get back on our bikes and finish the decent the rest of the way to the bottom. Once at the end we began the search for the connector trail that was supposed to take us up and over the next ridge so we could ride singletrack our rather than old jeep roads. We looked and looked and looked but never found the trail. I'm sure it existed at one time but no doubt was grown up with weeds and or covered with downed trees.
Needless to say we never found it and wound up riding the jeep road back into the main area of the park. The ride out was quite an adventure in it's self. Not having rain in nearly two weeks you would think everything would be dry but this was not the case. Being deep in a valley with not much in the way of sunshine coming through the thick foliage the huge pits created by illegal access from off road vehicles were still a wet muddy mess. By the time we reached the end of the road we were covered in mud and had picked up and extra 5 or 6 lbs. on our tires.
Having ventured to the end of the Bays Ridge trail I have pretty much covered most of the park's trails and land with the exception of that one connector trail that was hidden or non-existent. I don't regret exploring the Bays Ridge trail, it was fun and a learning experience but it will probably will be a while before I venture back there again.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
getting dirty a bit further down south cont.
Feeling a bit refreshed from snack time and and after checking my water supply I was feeling a little bit better about not running out too early. We hit the pavement once again just after checking the map ride side up and headed down the road in search of a school, not sure the name of the school but we were fairly positive it was an elementary school. It didn't take us long to find it and thinking back to the directions we were given before we left I recalled our guide telling us to skirt right, around the school and the trail started just behind it. We immediately found a road that skirted right around the school so we followed it assuming we would see the trailhead with ease. Well that wasn't the case but we did see some very interesting yard art. Several cars, some old, some European, some homemade and an old Hamburgular statue from a MacDonald's playground, you remember, from the good ole days. Anyway we didn't see a trail head so we turned around and headed back to the school thinking we might have missed it with all the interesting yard art to gawk at. Once we reached the school it was evident there was no trailhead but there was an abandoned house directly behind the school. Since it was apparent there was no one living there I decided to ride through the yard and circle around behind the house in search of the hidden trailhead. As I cruised through the backyard not really expecting to see anything I found a hole in the shrubs and low and behold there was a trail running behind the property. I wasn't exactly sure we were in the right place but it definitely looked like singletrack so we decided to ride it and see where it went. Worse case scenario we would be riding the wrong singletrack but it was still singletrack so what the hay.
We cruised along wondering aloud whether we were on the right trail or not, but judging from the trail conditions we were, it was in too good of shape and flowed too well not have been built by mountain bikers for mountain bikes.
We stumbled across a downed tree of rather large proportions and knowing it was too large to clear I opted to walk it. Shane decided it was rideable and well.... just watch the video.
We cruised along wondering aloud whether we were on the right trail or not, but judging from the trail conditions we were, it was in too good of shape and flowed too well not have been built by mountain bikers for mountain bikes.
We stumbled across a downed tree of rather large proportions and knowing it was too large to clear I opted to walk it. Shane decided it was rideable and well.... just watch the video.
I will have to give Shane credit, he did attempt it again and cleared it as did Anthony.
Another mile or so we started noticing some really cool trail markers with a cool chain ring logo of sorts printed on them. We knew then that we were on the right trail just not to sure if we started in the right spot. I just can't imagine a trailhead being located in someone's back yard or at least what used to be someone's backyard. A little further we found a couple of maps attached to trees along the trail which helped us navigate the system a little better.
The 3rd trail system from what I can tell is all on private land owned by the head honcho of the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club, evidently he has access to some mechanized equipment, that paired with a nice piece of land has created his own little mountain bike haven that he shares with the public. The wooden structure pictured above was located just a couple hundred yards from his house which thoroughly impressed me. Note to Melinda, I don't care what our next house looks like as long as we have a couple of acres to build our own trails on. Once we had ridden our fair share of the 3rd trail system we decided it might be a good idea to head back before we were out of water and with the amount of wrong turns we had made there was a good chance of a couple more.
We rolled down a gravel road which dumped us onto a paved road all of which were not marked and then Shane announced we were to turn left back onto another graveled road. After a few minutes of this I began to question him since nothing was marked and how was he so sure about this specific turn. Shane rambled on in a way that only Shane can and he did make a very convincing point but before he could finish the road ended. I laughed nervously as Shane added another beer to the first one he promised to buy me for leading us astray. As we back tracked he found another turn and decided to follow it. Anthony and I decided to wait as it didn't look like much but surprisingly he found singletrack. Still no markings but it was singletrack so we rode it, how Shane found it and figured out which way to go I'll never know. It was either shear luck or maybe my guardian angle was whispering in his ear.
This singletrack was obviously not built by mountain bikers as it went straight up and down the steepest sections of the hills but we found the river we that was pictured on our map so knew we were headed in the right direction and we finally ran into another rider who confirmed we were on the right path. About another mile of billygoat style singletrack and we dumped out onto a paved greenbelt and simultaneously my Camelbak ran dry. I was never so glad to see a paved path while riding my mountain bike. Out of water and legs made of toast I was ready to find the car and refuel.
Shane announced that he felt he had redeemed himself and took back one of the beers he promised me, I agreed and looked for a tow rope to attach to his handlebars. Anthony and I were ready to get back to some water but Shane felt the need to keep stopping for stretching, gels and bird watching.
Once we finally reached the car I grabbed my extra water bottle I had left in the car, hot water never tasted so good. We made our way home but not without stopped for beer and pizza, I highly recommend the Tomato Head and it has nothing to do with the fact that there is a Marble Slab Creamery right next door.
Friday, August 26, 2011
getting dirty a bit further south
As promised, I finally had a little time to squeeze together this short video of the slip n slide. It was a blast!
Earlier this week Anthony, Shane and myself hit Knoxville early one morning to attend a grant workshop. Writing grants is something we know little about but something we plan to take advantage of, especially if we want to get into the wonderful world of mechanized trail building.
We weren't about to drive all the way to Knoxville just to attend a boring meeting, Anthony put in a call to the local mountain bike club and asked if we could get a fully guided tour of Knoxville's "Dirty South Ride".
The Dirty South Ride is a group of 3 trail systems all connected by residential roads, green ways and older trail networks built with the hiker state of mind, straight up and straight down. After the grant workshop we hooked up with our guide only to find out he had to bail on us. Luckily another fellow from the club volunteered to escort us to the trailhead, loan us a map and point us in the right direction.
Our map was somewhat sketchy and falling apart but we weren't about to let that deter us from riding. We were riding within the city limits so how lost could we really get?
The first trail system started right out of the parking lot we were parked at and it lead us right past an old rock quarry which was interesting enough for us to stop and snap a few pictures. The trails were tight, twisting and fast. Feeling fresh and rested we probably rode them a bit too hard not realizing we needed to conserve energy for the extra and unnecessary miles we were about to ride. Once we covered all of the trails we popped out into a neighborhood. Shane was manning the map and pointing us in the direction of our next destination. After about 2.5 miles of pavement we realized we had missed our turn somewhere and ended up back tracking all the way to where we started. Shane realized he was looking at the map upside down and we went left where we should have gone right. He acknowledged his mistake and stated he owed us a beer at lunch.
Once back on track we found our next trail system quickly. This trail system was better than the first with a bit more rocks to keep things interesting. The heat and extra mileage was starting to take it's toll on us, it was then that I began kicking myself for not filling my Camebak completely full. The semi weight weenie inside of me hates lugging a full Camelbak around and the JET only has one water bottle cage which I stupidly decided not to use. What was I thinking?
I really enjoyed the 2nd system but not to it's full potential. Once we finished we opted to take a break, measure our water levels and have a snack. So far both trail systems had detailed maps at the trailhead, something our pocket map lacked. Once we felt rested and somewhat rehydrated we saddled up and hit the pavement in search of the 3rd trail system.
too be continued..........
Thursday, August 25, 2011
NTMBA goes camping
So I guess I've been slacking again, I've been very busy even though I've been off all week. Meetings the past 3 days in a row, but luckily for me and you they have all been mountain bike trail related. More trails are coming to our area and we are working hard to see this done. Unfortunately it takes paperwork and meeting before tools or machines can hit the dirt but we'll do what it takes.
On the home front I've been dealing with a couple of jack asses who think they can get away with taking my money and not doing the work they were paid for. Evidently there are several of these people in our area and I'm taking steps to see the fools who thought they could pull the wool over my eyes won't do it again to me or anyone.
Even though all of this has been going on and taking up a great deal of my time I have managed to get in some great rides. A little over a week ago our local club hit Wilkesboro NC for a weekend of camping and singletrack action. The weather last year was a washout but this year we had near perfect weather.
Friday night started off with a bang, a group night ride on the Warrior Creek trails. Those trails are a blast during the day but riding them at night put a whole new perspective on things. I opted to go with one of my new LED flashlights zip tied to my helmet as my only light for the ride. It worked pretty well even though I mounted it a bit too low. It was plenty bright but not quite as bright as my Magicshine.
The weekend seemed a bit too short with all the fun we had, I almost cried when it was time to go home but a stop at the new Mellow Mushroom in Boone made everything a little better.
On the home front I've been dealing with a couple of jack asses who think they can get away with taking my money and not doing the work they were paid for. Evidently there are several of these people in our area and I'm taking steps to see the fools who thought they could pull the wool over my eyes won't do it again to me or anyone.
Even though all of this has been going on and taking up a great deal of my time I have managed to get in some great rides. A little over a week ago our local club hit Wilkesboro NC for a weekend of camping and singletrack action. The weather last year was a washout but this year we had near perfect weather.
Friday night started off with a bang, a group night ride on the Warrior Creek trails. Those trails are a blast during the day but riding them at night put a whole new perspective on things. I opted to go with one of my new LED flashlights zip tied to my helmet as my only light for the ride. It worked pretty well even though I mounted it a bit too low. It was plenty bright but not quite as bright as my Magicshine.
Saturday we hit Dark Mountain for a change of pace and ran into a couple of the BMCC guys who were kind enough to show us some of their favorite loops. I pretty much rode the JET9 the entire weekend, that thing is so much fun to ride I'm afraid all the squish is making me soft. Near the end of the ride we hit the downhill section and I was able to stay off the brakes a bit more than normal but I doubt I'll ever see big air. It was so much fun some of us pedaled back to the top for another run. Did I mention the JET pedals uphill almost as well as down?
After Dark Mtn we broke for lunch, refueled and then broke out the Big Mtn Slip N Slide to cool off a bit before heading back into the woods. With almost 80 foot of plastic and 5 bottles of baby shampoo to make things good and slick, all paired with a really long hill, we had a ridiculously fast slip n slide. It was so fast there was no stopping you once you ran out of plastic. Everyone who wasn't chicken and dared to give it a run hit the grass at high speed at the end leaving you with a grassy assy. Some walked away grassy, some muddy and even a little bloody but everyone had a smile on their face. Video footage to come soon.
Even Jackson enjoyed himself, he really wanted to hit it but I was afraid his claws would rip the plastic.
After everyone had there fill of the slip n slide we headed back out into the woods for another round of the Warrior Creek trails. The weatherman was calling for rain on Sunday so we didn't want to waste a chance to ride.
Saturday night we had a cookout of record proportions, I've not seen or eaten that much food in a long time.
The weekend seemed a bit too short with all the fun we had, I almost cried when it was time to go home but a stop at the new Mellow Mushroom in Boone made everything a little better.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
nada
10 Things I have learned about Mountainbiking from Filme von Draussen on Vimeo.
A nice little video I ran across cause I got nuthin' to say, too busy preparing for an epic weekend railing some sweet singletrack.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
all the cool kids are doing it
A little bored the other day and I was cruising the internet and I ventured over to mtbr.com. I rarely read the forums unless I've got nothing better to do. Usually there are a bunch of folks doing nothing but arguing about what is better than what and a bit of trash talk. I was looking down through the 29er forum when a kid asked the question, "Why is EVERY manufacturer moving their line-ups over to 29er?" This of course sparked the huge debate over which is better the 29" or 26" wheel. The thread being 2 weeks old really left nothing for me to say, not that I was going to argue for the sake of 29er's. I'm pretty neutral on this issue. If you want to ride a 26er be my guest, if you think they handle better in the tight stuff that's great. I really don't care, I've had both and my preference is the 29er. Usually when a new rider asks me for advice on what type of bike to buy I give them this suggestion. Shop around, and do it at your local bike shops, haggle a bit, then pick the nicest bike for your money.
I didn't read the entire thread, because it got a little ridiculous but I did see something of interest on the 26' hardtail. Someone stated it seems as if the high end 26' hardtail is starting to be phased out. I honestly haven't noticed this and yes I'm sure there are plenty of manufacturers who still make them but I'd say this is starting to be the case. Not because one is better than the other but because the high end 26" hardtail isn't really selling anymore. I know of a couple of folks who still ride them but most have switched to 29. You can still find plenty of 26' hardtails in the lower end models and I doubt that will change anytime soon. Honestly if I ever went back to a 26" it would be an FS, I can't imagine ever riding a XC 26er hardtail again.
I've always liked being a little different, kinda going against the flow and while the Niner brand was popular when I bought mine not many people had them in our area. None of the LBS's carried Niner but once one of them had the opportunity to I jumped at the chance, I really don't like buying bike frames online. Now with a local dealer, Niner's popularity in my hood has really taken off and I'm no longer one of the few. It kinda sucks but I'm not about to sell my Niner's just to be different.
Speaking of different and cool things, I was looking for something like this but couldn't find it until now.
I was having trouble finding a bashguard for my 2x10 system and I ended up ordering an MRP taco but had this little jewel came out a couple week earlier I would have bought it instead. I will admit I'm a bit curious how well the duel sprocket chain guide works but it sure looks cool.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
the future is so bright I gotta wear shades
Actually the future looks like hard work, sore muscles and a sore back, blistered hands, sweat maybe a little blood and a whole lotta dirt and fun.
Last night I attended the the meeting of the minds, the minds that make our local mtn bike club the well oiled machine that it is. There were many topics on the agenda last night, one topic that was not but always seems to creep unexpectantly into our conversations was that of trails, new and old. It seemed that almost everyone in attendance has one or two projects up their sleeve. I have a good feeling it's going to be a very busy fall/winter/spring.
I have my eye on finishing the Chestnut trail at Bays Mountain as soon as the temperatures allow. That and adding some new features to existing trails and fixing some water drainage issues. I also would like to see another trail extended to make it sooo much more fun to ride and eliminating a nasty rutted fireroad.
Fat Tony is on the ball getting us in on the grant writing scene so maybe one day we can incorporate some heavy machinery to take some of the work load off our over burdened shoulders. He also has his sights set on a new downhill trail at Sugar Hallow park. Evidently a group of riders took it upon themselves to create their own trail without asking the park's permission. What they created had good intentions but didn't workout so well. The park found out about the illegal trail and has asked us to go in and create something along the same lines but more sustainable. We obviously have no experience in building a downhill trail and so far our cries for help has yet to awaken the gravity crowd.
Then there is also the land adjacent to Warriors Path, on the other side of the interstate. All we really lack to begin building is permission to access it via the land under the bridge/interstate which connects the two pieces of land. We've been waiting patiently for some time but it looks as if the ball might be rolling again.
All this and a couple of other small projects are looking like a super busy year for the small trail building crew that shows up consistently at the workdays. If only I had a magic wand to wave over the hundreds of riders in this area that take our cities trails for granted but never lend a hand and give back. Many have no idea what goes on and many do but just don't seem to care. I lie awake at night and dream of what could really happen if we could get these folks on board and coming out to workdays. Oh the trails we could build!
Last night I attended the the meeting of the minds, the minds that make our local mtn bike club the well oiled machine that it is. There were many topics on the agenda last night, one topic that was not but always seems to creep unexpectantly into our conversations was that of trails, new and old. It seemed that almost everyone in attendance has one or two projects up their sleeve. I have a good feeling it's going to be a very busy fall/winter/spring.
I have my eye on finishing the Chestnut trail at Bays Mountain as soon as the temperatures allow. That and adding some new features to existing trails and fixing some water drainage issues. I also would like to see another trail extended to make it sooo much more fun to ride and eliminating a nasty rutted fireroad.
Fat Tony is on the ball getting us in on the grant writing scene so maybe one day we can incorporate some heavy machinery to take some of the work load off our over burdened shoulders. He also has his sights set on a new downhill trail at Sugar Hallow park. Evidently a group of riders took it upon themselves to create their own trail without asking the park's permission. What they created had good intentions but didn't workout so well. The park found out about the illegal trail and has asked us to go in and create something along the same lines but more sustainable. We obviously have no experience in building a downhill trail and so far our cries for help has yet to awaken the gravity crowd.
Then there is also the land adjacent to Warriors Path, on the other side of the interstate. All we really lack to begin building is permission to access it via the land under the bridge/interstate which connects the two pieces of land. We've been waiting patiently for some time but it looks as if the ball might be rolling again.
All this and a couple of other small projects are looking like a super busy year for the small trail building crew that shows up consistently at the workdays. If only I had a magic wand to wave over the hundreds of riders in this area that take our cities trails for granted but never lend a hand and give back. Many have no idea what goes on and many do but just don't seem to care. I lie awake at night and dream of what could really happen if we could get these folks on board and coming out to workdays. Oh the trails we could build!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
more Tsali but of the whitewater type
In all honesty the price for a guided trip down the Nantahala was a bit more pricey than I really wanted to pay, $38 per person and for $23 you could go it alone with all the gear and a ride to the top. Like I said before, the Nantahala is considered one of the more tame rivers for big monster truck rafts like what we had so we figured our lack of skill in the rapids might bring a little more excitement to the table.
They had us watch some silly movie, showed us how to properly fall out of the raft and of course how to wear a life jacket but I was more concerned about losing my sunglasses than going for a swim. The bus ride up was pretty entertaining or I guess our bus driver was entertaining. Jose Paco Sanchez Julio was his name or so he said and his personality was just as large. We had a few laughs on the way up, in hindsight he might have been working for tips but we didn't tip him.
As we loaded into our raft Andy and I argued over who was going to be the raft leader, you know the person in back doing the least amount of paddling, all the steering and the guy who gets to bark orders at everyone else. We decided to arm wrestle for it but after 15 minutes of neither of us pinning the other we settled on sharing the job which worked out good.
The river was packed full of rafts, some guided, some not and a bunch of kayakers. It wasn't hard to tell which way to go as everyone was taking the same line and the pre-trip video show us in detail which line to take in both of the big rapids. In all reality it's hard to screw up bad, those rafts are huge and will pretty much roll right through anything. Just point them straight and paddle, worse case scenario someone goes swimming or you get hung up on a rock.
With both Andy and I in the back, the raft sat a little lower in the rear, maybe it was designed to do that, I'm not sure but we were ankle deep in ice cold water which made my feet go numb. Walking around with numb feet is harder than you would think and I'm sure pretty funny looking. Being that the river was so crowded with rafts we tried to give ourselves plenty of room as we went through the rapids. At one point we back paddled trying to let the boats in front of us get though and two boats behind us came up beside of us one on each side of us. They both just kind of looked at us funny and then all of the sudden started splashing us from both side with the cold river water. It was pretty funny and really we couldn't get away so we just fought back as best we could. One of the rafts in particular, a group of young guys, seemed to be the ring leaders and were doing the same to other unsuspecting rafts.
A little later on down the river we came across a stranded guy alone in the river, his raft of campadres a couple hundred yards down the river. He had obviously gotten tossed from his boat and they were having a hard time trying to get him back due to the current. Being the nice people that we are we scooped him up and carried him downstream to his raft. As we bussed him down I recognized him from the group of guys who had splashed us earlier. We thought about tossing him out but decided against it with a better idea. As we approached his raft we picked up a little speed maneuvering through some light rapids. Rather than back paddle before reaching his boat we rammed it at full speed. Funny thing was, the guy jumped from our raft into his perfectly just as we hit. The impact shoved their raft up on some rocks hanging them up and we bounced off of them and continued downstream laughing as we watched them trying to get off the rocks.
The rest of the trip went well, we maneuvered the rapids good enough that no one went swimming. We did bounce off a couple rocks here and there, some sideways. The very end just before the take out was where the biggest rapids were consisting of what they called a 4 foot waterfall. I'm not sure it was really a waterfall but it was rougher than anything I've ever done un-guided. There was a take-out point just before the falls for anyone who wanted to scope out the run or for any chicken who just didn't feel up to the run but after some debate we opted to run it blind just in case looking at it scared us into taking the chicken line. It was a little scary, I will admit and for a second I thought we were going to run it sideways, my side first. I actually almost came out but somehow we pulled it out and made it safely to the end.
I probably could ramble on about the weekend some more but I'll save you from the boredom.
They had us watch some silly movie, showed us how to properly fall out of the raft and of course how to wear a life jacket but I was more concerned about losing my sunglasses than going for a swim. The bus ride up was pretty entertaining or I guess our bus driver was entertaining. Jose Paco Sanchez Julio was his name or so he said and his personality was just as large. We had a few laughs on the way up, in hindsight he might have been working for tips but we didn't tip him.
As we loaded into our raft Andy and I argued over who was going to be the raft leader, you know the person in back doing the least amount of paddling, all the steering and the guy who gets to bark orders at everyone else. We decided to arm wrestle for it but after 15 minutes of neither of us pinning the other we settled on sharing the job which worked out good.
The river was packed full of rafts, some guided, some not and a bunch of kayakers. It wasn't hard to tell which way to go as everyone was taking the same line and the pre-trip video show us in detail which line to take in both of the big rapids. In all reality it's hard to screw up bad, those rafts are huge and will pretty much roll right through anything. Just point them straight and paddle, worse case scenario someone goes swimming or you get hung up on a rock.
With both Andy and I in the back, the raft sat a little lower in the rear, maybe it was designed to do that, I'm not sure but we were ankle deep in ice cold water which made my feet go numb. Walking around with numb feet is harder than you would think and I'm sure pretty funny looking. Being that the river was so crowded with rafts we tried to give ourselves plenty of room as we went through the rapids. At one point we back paddled trying to let the boats in front of us get though and two boats behind us came up beside of us one on each side of us. They both just kind of looked at us funny and then all of the sudden started splashing us from both side with the cold river water. It was pretty funny and really we couldn't get away so we just fought back as best we could. One of the rafts in particular, a group of young guys, seemed to be the ring leaders and were doing the same to other unsuspecting rafts.
A little later on down the river we came across a stranded guy alone in the river, his raft of campadres a couple hundred yards down the river. He had obviously gotten tossed from his boat and they were having a hard time trying to get him back due to the current. Being the nice people that we are we scooped him up and carried him downstream to his raft. As we bussed him down I recognized him from the group of guys who had splashed us earlier. We thought about tossing him out but decided against it with a better idea. As we approached his raft we picked up a little speed maneuvering through some light rapids. Rather than back paddle before reaching his boat we rammed it at full speed. Funny thing was, the guy jumped from our raft into his perfectly just as we hit. The impact shoved their raft up on some rocks hanging them up and we bounced off of them and continued downstream laughing as we watched them trying to get off the rocks.
The rest of the trip went well, we maneuvered the rapids good enough that no one went swimming. We did bounce off a couple rocks here and there, some sideways. The very end just before the take out was where the biggest rapids were consisting of what they called a 4 foot waterfall. I'm not sure it was really a waterfall but it was rougher than anything I've ever done un-guided. There was a take-out point just before the falls for anyone who wanted to scope out the run or for any chicken who just didn't feel up to the run but after some debate we opted to run it blind just in case looking at it scared us into taking the chicken line. It was a little scary, I will admit and for a second I thought we were going to run it sideways, my side first. I actually almost came out but somehow we pulled it out and made it safely to the end.
I probably could ramble on about the weekend some more but I'll save you from the boredom.
Friday, July 29, 2011
more Tsali weekend adventures
Normally my big weekend adventure posts that span across a day or two usually include a bunch of photos but for some reason we didn't take any pics last weekend. Why we didn't I'm not sure, we had cameras on hand. I guess we were just having too much fun and forgot, sorry. I do have some to share that I forgot about from the previous weekend but I'll get to those later.
So where was I.... oh yeah, Tsali, I ain't gonna lie we didn't put in a bunch of miles on the bike Saturday, after riding Thompson and Mouse Branch we opted for a shower and lunch/beers on the river banks of the Nantahala river. The NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center), if you've never been there is like a small village in itself all centered around the river and whitewater. We've grown attached to the two funky little restaurants that sit on the river banks. The have pretty good food but the local brews they have on tap and the kayak action going on just a few feet from your table is what really draws our attention. We ran back to camp, swapped out sweaty, stinky lycra, grabbed the dogs and headed over to the NOC. Moonshine and Jackson love to play in the water even though it's ice cold. While Melinda stood in line geating lunch I took the dogs into the water to play. There were a couple of kids collecting rocks off the bottom and stacking them up on a larger rock just off the waters edge. Moonshine, who has a thing for rocks was watching the two kids very closely. Before I knew it she started snatching their rocks they were laying out to the side. After a minute the kids realized what was going on and gave me the stink eye.
While we were having lunch on the banks of the river with the dogs a group of guys practicing swift water rescue for the local rescue squad caught our attention. They were pretty cool to watch, especially their techniques for pulling someone out of the water in class 2 and 3 rapids. I noticed all of them were wearing helmets with their names or nicknames written on duct tape on the front of their helmets. In one particular rescue they had their biggest guy, probably pushing 300 lbs., with the nickname "ham sandwich" or "hamburger" stand facing up stream while the rest of the guys ducked in behind him in two lines. Ham Sandwich was wide enough that the rest of the guys could stand behind him and stay out of the current. They all kind of leaned into him to keep him upright against the flow and walked sideways out into the river to the person who they were rescuing. They grabbed the kid up tucked him in behind Ham Sandwich and carried him back to shore all as one unit, Ham Sandwich diverting the rapids around the group.
Sunday morning after we ate our weight in free pancakes we loaded up and headed back to the NOC for an appointment with some whitewater. It's been a long time since I rafted the Nantahala so I really couldn't remember the difficulty but everyone said it was pretty tame so we opted to go unguided. If things got slow on the river we figured our lack of experience might make it a bit more entertaining.
more later..........
So where was I.... oh yeah, Tsali, I ain't gonna lie we didn't put in a bunch of miles on the bike Saturday, after riding Thompson and Mouse Branch we opted for a shower and lunch/beers on the river banks of the Nantahala river. The NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center), if you've never been there is like a small village in itself all centered around the river and whitewater. We've grown attached to the two funky little restaurants that sit on the river banks. The have pretty good food but the local brews they have on tap and the kayak action going on just a few feet from your table is what really draws our attention. We ran back to camp, swapped out sweaty, stinky lycra, grabbed the dogs and headed over to the NOC. Moonshine and Jackson love to play in the water even though it's ice cold. While Melinda stood in line geating lunch I took the dogs into the water to play. There were a couple of kids collecting rocks off the bottom and stacking them up on a larger rock just off the waters edge. Moonshine, who has a thing for rocks was watching the two kids very closely. Before I knew it she started snatching their rocks they were laying out to the side. After a minute the kids realized what was going on and gave me the stink eye.
While we were having lunch on the banks of the river with the dogs a group of guys practicing swift water rescue for the local rescue squad caught our attention. They were pretty cool to watch, especially their techniques for pulling someone out of the water in class 2 and 3 rapids. I noticed all of them were wearing helmets with their names or nicknames written on duct tape on the front of their helmets. In one particular rescue they had their biggest guy, probably pushing 300 lbs., with the nickname "ham sandwich" or "hamburger" stand facing up stream while the rest of the guys ducked in behind him in two lines. Ham Sandwich was wide enough that the rest of the guys could stand behind him and stay out of the current. They all kind of leaned into him to keep him upright against the flow and walked sideways out into the river to the person who they were rescuing. They grabbed the kid up tucked him in behind Ham Sandwich and carried him back to shore all as one unit, Ham Sandwich diverting the rapids around the group.
Sunday morning after we ate our weight in free pancakes we loaded up and headed back to the NOC for an appointment with some whitewater. It's been a long time since I rafted the Nantahala so I really couldn't remember the difficulty but everyone said it was pretty tame so we opted to go unguided. If things got slow on the river we figured our lack of experience might make it a bit more entertaining.
more later..........
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