Skeggs Trailwork and ride
Hey Team,
A great day of trailwork, riding and meeting new folks. Saturday I headed up to do some trailwork with the collaboration of REI, ROMP and MROSD. The goal was to work on some new singletrack as part of a reroute to "Disneyland". Our group was Amanda, Jeanine, Chris, John(?) of REI, Josh and Sheila from ROMP, and Chris and Steve from MROSD, oh an me flying the TWW colors.
As I knew I wouldn't have much time for riding after trailwork I decided that riding up to skeggs would be the ticket. I hopped on my bike at 800am and was on my way. I'd never ridden my mtb up to Skeggs so wasn't really sure how long it would take, but I figure with all the extra gears of an mtb an 1:30 would be plenty of time.
I gotta say I really miss doing long solo pavement\dirt rides from the convenience of my doorstep....no 45 minutes commute, just ride ;-) These types of rides leave me with a sense of accomplishment when the adventure is over. While I wasn't on my bike the entire time, the combination of riding, shoveling dirt and tree stump removal left me with the feeling of having done an epic. LONG LIVE LONG RIDES.
The new singletrack we worked on was off of Methusala trail. Eventually it will be some sort of reroute, away from "Disneyland", between South Leaf and Methusala. We accessed the worksite by driving up Starhill road to CM08 trailhead. We hiked down the trail a bit and then took a sharp right hand turn down a really steep hillside. It was cool to suddenly stumble on to the beginnings of a new singletrack. Our job for the day was to extend the singletrack in the direction of Southleaf I believe.
Check this image for a better idea of the re-route.
The major accomplishment for me that day was helping Josh and Steve remove a gigantic tree stump that was in the path of the envisioned singletrack. Envisioning how the singletrack will roll through mountain side is always hard for me. So I just focus on doing the grunt work. However, when you finally step back and see an actual trail emerging from the mountain you can help but smile and be proud of the fact that helped build a new trail.
We finished up around 130ish. I managed to get in an hour ride in. I had a totally different perspective riding the trails on my own. Since i'm usually following somebody during our group rides I've never really gotten a good feel for how the trails interconnect ;-)
I popped out on Skyline, hit skeggs point on last time to stretch and then head back down to Kings Mountain thru Woodside to Canada and then Up and over Jefferson to Alameda de la Pulgas. Then just a short jaunt down Brewster and I was nearly home.
As I rolled into the driveway, Meredith and some other 'cross mates, John and Lander, were just arriving from the CCCX race. Purfect timing. A quick shower and change of clothes and off to my 10yr reunion.
This weekend I realized that there is so much more to cycling than racing. I loved meeting new people who share a similar passion for the outdoors. I really enjoyed giving something back to Skeggs for all the fun time had there and look forward to more trailwork.
I'll post some picture as I get ahold of them! Got one shot from the REI folks (Thanks Jenine)!
(me, Jenine, Steve - the trail architect, Josh and John- way back there)
A great day of trailwork, riding and meeting new folks. Saturday I headed up to do some trailwork with the collaboration of REI, ROMP and MROSD. The goal was to work on some new singletrack as part of a reroute to "Disneyland". Our group was Amanda, Jeanine, Chris, John(?) of REI, Josh and Sheila from ROMP, and Chris and Steve from MROSD, oh an me flying the TWW colors.
As I knew I wouldn't have much time for riding after trailwork I decided that riding up to skeggs would be the ticket. I hopped on my bike at 800am and was on my way. I'd never ridden my mtb up to Skeggs so wasn't really sure how long it would take, but I figure with all the extra gears of an mtb an 1:30 would be plenty of time.
I gotta say I really miss doing long solo pavement\dirt rides from the convenience of my doorstep....no 45 minutes commute, just ride ;-) These types of rides leave me with a sense of accomplishment when the adventure is over. While I wasn't on my bike the entire time, the combination of riding, shoveling dirt and tree stump removal left me with the feeling of having done an epic. LONG LIVE LONG RIDES.
The new singletrack we worked on was off of Methusala trail. Eventually it will be some sort of reroute, away from "Disneyland", between South Leaf and Methusala. We accessed the worksite by driving up Starhill road to CM08 trailhead. We hiked down the trail a bit and then took a sharp right hand turn down a really steep hillside. It was cool to suddenly stumble on to the beginnings of a new singletrack. Our job for the day was to extend the singletrack in the direction of Southleaf I believe.
Check this image for a better idea of the re-route.
The major accomplishment for me that day was helping Josh and Steve remove a gigantic tree stump that was in the path of the envisioned singletrack. Envisioning how the singletrack will roll through mountain side is always hard for me. So I just focus on doing the grunt work. However, when you finally step back and see an actual trail emerging from the mountain you can help but smile and be proud of the fact that helped build a new trail.
We finished up around 130ish. I managed to get in an hour ride in. I had a totally different perspective riding the trails on my own. Since i'm usually following somebody during our group rides I've never really gotten a good feel for how the trails interconnect ;-)
I popped out on Skyline, hit skeggs point on last time to stretch and then head back down to Kings Mountain thru Woodside to Canada and then Up and over Jefferson to Alameda de la Pulgas. Then just a short jaunt down Brewster and I was nearly home.
As I rolled into the driveway, Meredith and some other 'cross mates, John and Lander, were just arriving from the CCCX race. Purfect timing. A quick shower and change of clothes and off to my 10yr reunion.
This weekend I realized that there is so much more to cycling than racing. I loved meeting new people who share a similar passion for the outdoors. I really enjoyed giving something back to Skeggs for all the fun time had there and look forward to more trailwork.
I'll post some picture as I get ahold of them! Got one shot from the REI folks (Thanks Jenine)!
(me, Jenine, Steve - the trail architect, Josh and John- way back there)
Comments
I saw a gaggle of your TWW boys out at Skyline Park. Sounds like you had a good time.
10yr reunion! Man I'm getting old LOL....