Met up with Bvibert and Mlegg a little after 8am this morning at our new parking spot. We geared up and rolled onto the trails around quarter past eight for what would turn into a very lengthy and eventful ride.
This is the loop we rode:
E. Chippens>4 Way>Downhill>BSB>Jug>Hinman>Johnnycake Climb>Orchard Downhill>New S.T.>Scoville Twisties>Jug (rode the least riden loop)>Cemetery Twisties>FKC>Fire Road>Ridge Trail>Bypass Downhill>Reservoir Road>B-Street>4 Way> Back to E. Chippens and the cars.
The entire loop came in at exactly 11 miles with 1700 feet of climbing. An ambitious route for such a hot day.
The first part of the ride was great! The temps hadn't really heated up to much and we rolled the Johnnycake Climb pretty quickly and flew through the new trail and down the Scoville Twisties. Lot's of fun for sure and really liking how this loop rides. Great flow!
Anyway as soon as we head into the Jug I hear a loud BOOM from behind me. Mlegg had blown a tube pretty badly and as we all helped to repair it we discovered a huge slit in the sidewall of his tire. Anyway we cobbed a decent enough fix to get him back to his car and Bvibert and I continued on.
We really flew through the Cemetery with one quick stop. I almost cleaned the techy climb at the end other than one spot where I had to put my foot down near the end. At the end of the cemetery we met up with two guys we had chatted with a week or so ago in the parking area. They are new riders to Nass so we offered to show them the route up the FKC and along the ridge.
By this point in the ride Bvibert and I are about 8+ miles into our ride and the temps are really starting to heat up. Regardless, we charge up the FKC a both make it about the same distance up the steep section with the ledge. Having cleaned this climb last night I was a little disappointed today but was really sucking wind pretty hard at this point. Anyway we continued on and I attempted and cleared the up and over on the big downed tree on my first try which I was pretty stoked about.
We get to the top of the climb at the fire road and head over in the direction of the bypass. I'm moving a pretty good clip and I can hear Bvibert right behind me, then nothing. I get down to the intersection with the trail coming up from Stone and run into Rueler's group, say hi for a moment and wait for B. Well a few minutes go by and no Brian? I turn around head back up the trail several hundred yards to find him fixing a broken chain. Apparently the quick link just popped off. Even stranger was that it happened when he wasn't even pedaling.
Anyway Brian get's the chain fixed and we're getting ready to head down the trail when something really frightening happens to me! All of a sudden I get dizzy, light headed and can't breath and practically collapse in the middle of the trail. Although I'm not exactly sure what happened I'm going to chalk it up to a combination of heat stroke/exhaustion and dehydration.
Anyway I sat/laid down and just relaxed for a good half hour, drank some water and just tried to cool myself down a bit. Finally got back up and started walking the bike for a few hundred yards and then jumped on and rode nice and easy the rest of the way and was fine. Hope I didn't scare you too much Brian. Anyway, thanks catching my bike and hanging with me much appreciated!!! :beer:
The rest of the ride was pretty much uneventful. Had a fun fast rip down the bypass downhill and just cruised back up B street to the cars for a couple well deserved cold ones!!!
On my way out, I noticed the loggers where busy at the south end of the Scoville Twisties taking down a sizable tree close to the road. :angry: Also didn't see a single car in the Scoville Road parking area around noon today. There must have been at least a dozen or so when rode past early. Humm?
This is the loop we rode:
E. Chippens>4 Way>Downhill>BSB>Jug>Hinman>Johnnycake Climb>Orchard Downhill>New S.T.>Scoville Twisties>Jug (rode the least riden loop)>Cemetery Twisties>FKC>Fire Road>Ridge Trail>Bypass Downhill>Reservoir Road>B-Street>4 Way> Back to E. Chippens and the cars.
The entire loop came in at exactly 11 miles with 1700 feet of climbing. An ambitious route for such a hot day.
The first part of the ride was great! The temps hadn't really heated up to much and we rolled the Johnnycake Climb pretty quickly and flew through the new trail and down the Scoville Twisties. Lot's of fun for sure and really liking how this loop rides. Great flow!
Anyway as soon as we head into the Jug I hear a loud BOOM from behind me. Mlegg had blown a tube pretty badly and as we all helped to repair it we discovered a huge slit in the sidewall of his tire. Anyway we cobbed a decent enough fix to get him back to his car and Bvibert and I continued on.
We really flew through the Cemetery with one quick stop. I almost cleaned the techy climb at the end other than one spot where I had to put my foot down near the end. At the end of the cemetery we met up with two guys we had chatted with a week or so ago in the parking area. They are new riders to Nass so we offered to show them the route up the FKC and along the ridge.
By this point in the ride Bvibert and I are about 8+ miles into our ride and the temps are really starting to heat up. Regardless, we charge up the FKC a both make it about the same distance up the steep section with the ledge. Having cleaned this climb last night I was a little disappointed today but was really sucking wind pretty hard at this point. Anyway we continued on and I attempted and cleared the up and over on the big downed tree on my first try which I was pretty stoked about.
We get to the top of the climb at the fire road and head over in the direction of the bypass. I'm moving a pretty good clip and I can hear Bvibert right behind me, then nothing. I get down to the intersection with the trail coming up from Stone and run into Rueler's group, say hi for a moment and wait for B. Well a few minutes go by and no Brian? I turn around head back up the trail several hundred yards to find him fixing a broken chain. Apparently the quick link just popped off. Even stranger was that it happened when he wasn't even pedaling.
Anyway Brian get's the chain fixed and we're getting ready to head down the trail when something really frightening happens to me! All of a sudden I get dizzy, light headed and can't breath and practically collapse in the middle of the trail. Although I'm not exactly sure what happened I'm going to chalk it up to a combination of heat stroke/exhaustion and dehydration.
Anyway I sat/laid down and just relaxed for a good half hour, drank some water and just tried to cool myself down a bit. Finally got back up and started walking the bike for a few hundred yards and then jumped on and rode nice and easy the rest of the way and was fine. Hope I didn't scare you too much Brian. Anyway, thanks catching my bike and hanging with me much appreciated!!! :beer:
The rest of the ride was pretty much uneventful. Had a fun fast rip down the bypass downhill and just cruised back up B street to the cars for a couple well deserved cold ones!!!
On my way out, I noticed the loggers where busy at the south end of the Scoville Twisties taking down a sizable tree close to the road. :angry: Also didn't see a single car in the Scoville Road parking area around noon today. There must have been at least a dozen or so when rode past early. Humm?
