Ridin' Dirtay!

As you can tell this isn't a song by Fidy Cent. Today's ride was actually fantastic. The threat of rain loomed all morning - in fact we felt a few drops from the trailhead to the start of Rock Garden. Today some new folks joined us, Donna and Eric, friends of Jason's from work and surprisingly, a lawyer from the State Attorney's office. No mixed company there! We started out with Rock Garden so that the newbs could get a feel for some of what Alafia had to offer. After a quick run through there we headed down Sand Pine. At the end of Sand Pine the Prosecutor challened us to a race back to the trailhead. Now this is where the entertaining part comes in. He was on a 26er but has been riding for 4 year. I am on a 29er and have been riding for 4 months. Now off the line he will be faster, but once I am rolling I can carry much more speed because of the larger wheels.

If we were rolling a straight section (takes his skill out of the loop) I highly suggest I'd have been faster, but since I don't have the skill to ride dirt curves nearly as fast as I can straights, he did come in first by a narrow margin. None the less that was fun!

After the mini race we headed back to the trailhead for a few minutes to rest. Since I am not one for the more difficult trails (I like fast and flowing, not crazy technical) I headed for SandPine and Rock Garden and told the rest of them I'd see them on the other side of North Creek.

This is where the dirty comes in. About the time I hit the middle of the section of Sand Pine that takes you from the trailhead to Rock Garden and Sand Pine, it began pouring rain. Not small drops, bucket sized drops. I had initially planned on riding Sand Pine into Rock Garden and then into River Loop to get to the other end of North Creek. Well, I recalled how much burned forest I had seen on the last path through (from lightning strikes!) so I decided just to hammer the pedals and go down to Rock Garden (thick forest). About 1/2 way through Rock Garden I had to stop and take off my riding glasses because they were just covered in water and I couldn't see a thing. It was about this time I saw another rider come up and he stopped and asked how to get back to the trail head. I gave him directions and got back on my way.

The trails as it seems becomes so peaceful but so alive at the same time during a downpour. The whole forest seems closer to you - and everything is moving. The percussive nature of rain drops crashing down on the leaves creates a form of white noise that soothes the ears.

While peaceful, it becomes unbelievably slippery and muddy. When I finished Rock Garden and headed to River Loop, I forgot how long the distance was to get to North Creek this way. Normally it isn't an issue, but due to the rains, most sections were muddy, and by muddy, my tires were sinking 2-3" inches into the ground (deep enough in some sections my pedals and feet were in the mud!).

By the time I hit North Creek the rain had subsided for the moment. I did the last drop on North Creek about 10 times while I was waiting for the rest of the group. After the group appeared we headed out and called it a day (albeit a damp and dirty one!)






Ride Stats:
Started: Aug 8, 2010 9:09:23 AM
Ride Time: 1:54:53
Stopped Time: 6:58
Distance: 6.19 miles
Average: 3.23 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 13.66 miles/h
Climb: 1818 feet
Calories: 392

Ride Map:

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