Quick hitter solo ride this evening. My original plan was to do the standard loop after work. Unfortunately by the time I got to Lamson and got ready to roll it was a bit after 5:30. I figured that I had about 1.5 hours before I wouldn't be able to see anything. For some reason I though I could do the whole loop in that time, with the option to bail down 69 if needed. However when it was right around 6pm as I was starting up the Cornwall climb I began to doubt my time estimates. The prospect of doing those down hills in low light and then riding back on 69 in near darkness with no lights or reflectors wasn't sounding all that good to me. At the top of the climb I decided to head over towards Stone Rd and hit the downhill the runs next to the kitchen, then head back on the DT/fire road. I ended up making it back to Lamson in a bit under an hour. Not feeling all that satisfied with my ride length I decided to hit up the warm-up twisties to finish off the ride. I almost turned right back around as the beginning part is all big pines and quite dark even if it's fairly light in the open.
The ride was pretty uneventful. The parts of the trails near deciduous trees are starting to take on a slightly different feel as the leaves are covering up rocks and roots that are normally visible. I flailed on all the usual spots in the cemetery twisties, and I can't even blame any of it on the leaves. I don't think I cleared anything new except for the steep little rock towards the beginning of the trail over towards Stone, the same rock that I fell on last time and reopened a wound. The trails were pretty dry for the most part, with a few more wet spots than usual. The only other thing of note that I can think of is the first bridge in the warm-up twisties is getting kind of dilapidated. The main runner on the right side seems to be rotting on the end causing it to drop down at the beginning of the bridge. Several of the cross boards have pulled out because of this. I was pretty bummed when I rode up and saw it's sorry shape.
On the plus side my wonderful wife bought me a head light for my bike today in her travels, so now I won't have to worry about getting caught in the dark on my RAW rides.
ETA: I almost forgot to add that it was definitely a little nippy at the start of the ride. It won't be long before shorts and a t-shirt aren't going to cut it anymore...
The ride was pretty uneventful. The parts of the trails near deciduous trees are starting to take on a slightly different feel as the leaves are covering up rocks and roots that are normally visible. I flailed on all the usual spots in the cemetery twisties, and I can't even blame any of it on the leaves. I don't think I cleared anything new except for the steep little rock towards the beginning of the trail over towards Stone, the same rock that I fell on last time and reopened a wound. The trails were pretty dry for the most part, with a few more wet spots than usual. The only other thing of note that I can think of is the first bridge in the warm-up twisties is getting kind of dilapidated. The main runner on the right side seems to be rotting on the end causing it to drop down at the beginning of the bridge. Several of the cross boards have pulled out because of this. I was pretty bummed when I rode up and saw it's sorry shape.
On the plus side my wonderful wife bought me a head light for my bike today in her travels, so now I won't have to worry about getting caught in the dark on my RAW rides.
ETA: I almost forgot to add that it was definitely a little nippy at the start of the ride. It won't be long before shorts and a t-shirt aren't going to cut it anymore...
