Gorillas in the mist
Our dank, wet, ride the other night was bad ass. As Steve commented we were one Scorcher shy of the Willits product line on our ride. It was so cool to watch all the frames we built in action. Especially because of the snotty trail surfaces we were maneuvering over. To be honest wet lime stone still scares the crap out of me, but the Trail King shod with Specialized Fast Tracks kept me from slipping over into the abyss. Literally, there were times I looked over the edge of the off camber side hill trails and could only discern that there was a precipitous drop, what lay bellow is still unknown to me. Scott and Steve were the total tough guys riding with wholly rigid setups. Wes has a mad titanium strut style fork on his Moster X that provides him with the small amount of compliance he needs to continually thread the needle’s eye. I’m glad for my Reba personally, it has saved me from myself countless times in the month or so that I have been on it. I’m from the northeast, known for highly teched out terrain, but the trails here are way harder. Descending into ravines, where most of the trails are in this area, the trails pass through numerous strata of rock, and each one posses unique qualities. On top of that the trails are carved out of hillsides where one miscalculation can lead to severe punishment. When the trail is dry the surface is littered with loose marble like rubble that can send your wheels shooting out from under you if you take a corner too hot. Then it rains and the line stone turns into a frictionless surface that bike tires seem to be magnetically repelled from. It’s good stuff! Between my new Willits and all the challenges that Austin’s trails offer I feel like I am rediscovering mountain biking all over again. Having new bros to ride with is the icing on the cake. Boyz night out will not see a new edition for a little while cause Steve in going on vacation, but he deserves it.
Drink a few for me at Octoberfest Steve.