Monday, July 16, 2007

Ride Report: "The Camp"

Check out the previous post for the visuals from my ride at "The Camp" Saturday. I got up there about 9:30 am and found the place deserted. All the kids were gone and I had the place all to myself. No other mountain bikers had been there that day either, which is strange since early morning rides seem popular out there. Oh well! I didn't mind it at all.

The day was perfect! Not too warm, not too cool in the woods. A slight breeze in the more open areas. Sunshine in abundance meant dappled trail conditions, but since it was later in the morning, the sun was high enough to negate most of "the strobe effect" that you can get sometimes. My Tifosi glasses really helped in that regard too. Love them shades!

I wasn't really on any agenda. I just wanted to ride where ever my tires took me. Then it happened. That devil cell phone went off! I was in a valley under a whole bunch of trees, so I couldn't get the call to come through. It was my wife, that was about all I could make out. Grr! Now I was wondering, "What is going on? Maybe..........." And my mind started to think up all these horrible possibilities. I was getting angry too. A great day possibly ruined! Ack!

I got to a clearing and tried calling back. Rats! Same thing! Then my bike tipped over and my derailluer hangar bent Gah! Going from bad to worse here! I applied an "equal and opposite force" which straightened it right back out. Whew! At least the bike would be okay. Me? Ha!

I huffed it up a climb to an open area. I tried the phone again. Good! The call is going through and I can hear my wife's voice loud and clear as she says, "Honey, I was wondering if you could stop on the way home to get some milk."

Cell phones are the devil! I hate them!

Okay, now I'm calmed down and free from the world again. The rest of the ride was fantastic. There is a pine woods section that has several criss-crosing trails that I spent probably a half an hour in. Going around and around trying to find the way out was fun. I ended up just going out the way I came in, which worked out just fine.

Lots of climbing, lots of down hill, and lots of river bottom twisty, fast single track was had. I even saw a young flock of turkeys which all scattered as I came up on them. They lighted in some trees above me and chirped to each other as I took the picture of the river. I also saw several deer, some with fawns. They are very red this year and were quite a contrast to the lush green under brush.

Two hours of fun later I was back at the truck and packing it in for the day. I can't wait to get back again!

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