Well today was a morning ride with Rob up at The Woodlot. It had been quite some time since I’ve been for a spin with Rob and it had been several weeks since he had been on any sort of ride at all. He had finally got the itch back to go for a spin and I was glad to slip out in the AM with him for a ride.
It turned out a couple cars were already in the parking area so we were not the first up the hill. It was a gorgeous day today. There was not a cloud in the sky the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. I arrived at 8:30am and Rob arrived soon after. So up the hill it was at a nice leisurely pace. You know the pace you can keep up all day where you can talk comfortably and keep moving without really having to stop for a water break.
I let Rob decide the route today as I had been riding regularly and it had been a while since he had been able to ride. As a warm-up we did upper and lower Toadstool. I must say that they are a great way to get into the groove and have a bit of fun riding on natural terrain for the most part. Rob rode really well considering he had been off his bike for at least 3 weeks. I swear I rode the log on upper Toadstool the fastest I ever have. I will not say that I am and outstanding on log rides, but lately unless they are really skinny and wet, I have had good luck on them. Lower Toadstool was a nice change from my regular trail route and I really had a blast.
The next trail for the day was Blood Donor, so up the hill we went once again. Upon arriving at the trailhead, we took a short break for water and I had a bite to eat. In that time a couple guys arrived that neither Rob nor I had seen before. They were quite friendly so we talked for a minute and they were on their way their names were Lance and Jordan. Rob and I then put on our helmets and headed down the trail. I must say I was on. Everything on BD just flowed for me today with ease. I guess riding it 3 times in a week makes a difference. We caught up to the other 2 guys at the short gap where we were told to pass on by as we were covering the ground a little faster than them. That was cool so we just cruised down to the gap at the bottom of BD. Rob did it again (the gap) for the 2nd time and did it with ease. I am really glad to see him stomp jumps like that. We then thought we would go up and do the jump again, but the other 2 guys were on their way down the trail. Therefore we waited at the jump for them to pass. One guy went and landed nicely, then his buddy went and landed nicely but soon after touchdown, his bars were sideways and he was going over the bars crashing quite hard. The 3 of us all checked on him to make sure he was okay, which he was and he was just sat there wondering what the heck happened. He landed okay with good distance, but soon after he was on the way down to the ground...hard.
So Lance and Jordan went down Giant Killer ahead of us as they wanted to see me do the gap at the bottom of GK. Rob and I gave them a good lead and headed down the trail. I could tell Rob was having a good ride and so was I, we didn’t even have to say a word. Once at the gap, I let the 3 of them get in good viewing position and then let her fly. Unbeknownst to me, there had been a little extra dirt put on the take off lip of the jump but I just took off over the jump. I knew in the air that the extra dirt had kind of affected my attitude in the air and I was a little nose heavy so I got my ass way back on the bike and rode down the nice and steep tranny. I will admit I was a tiny bit worried as my nose was about to touch, but I knew I could correct it. So I came to a nice easy stop just past the berm and we were on our way to the next trail. I did however mention to Rob that ‘Yes, I was a little nose heavy’.
Rob and I invited Lance and Jordan to join us on Snakes and Ladders. Neither of them had ever ridden it or heard of it so they were eager to give her a spin. It doesn’t really take much time to get there and is well worth the traverse over to it. So once we arrived at the trailhead we were on our way with Rob and I calling out the stunts to the new guys. We all just flowed the trail from top to bottom enjoying all the new work we had done to the trail as of late. It was a sweet, sweet ride all the way to the bottom. One of the guys even did the crappy drop to flat as I did not yell loud enough to tell him not to do it. He said it was rough, but he did it without harm to him or his bike.
So then it was Shotgun, another blast from top to bottom and to the cars. I gave either Lance or Jordan Rob’s and my number (I can't remember who I gave it to) as one of them is always looking for people to ride with. Rob and I then discussed our possible next ride and I was homeward bound to my wife and daughter.
