Night riding. There really is nothing else like it. How many sports are there out there where people participate in by the light of the sun but when the sun sets a whole different breed of folks come out to the play in the dark. Tim and I had a wicked night ride. It was like the night ride gods had issued us a free pass and covered us with flow and a positive vibe that radiated from our beings. The location was The Woodlot, the route was Krazy Karpenter, Blood Donor, Giant Killer, Snakes and Ladder and finally Shotgun.
The last time I was up riding these trails last week, the upper trails were covered in wet compact snow which made riding the woodwork quite treacherous but since then we have had some rain and warmer weather so the trails were free of snow. Riding with a HID on the handle bars and a 50W headlamp is an absolute dream so shredding the trails at night is a total blast. Krazy Karpenter has recently seen some maintenance and a very classic wood structure has recently been fixed and is now again safe to ride. Tim and I rode the ladder around and through stump a couple times each and even and went on to inspect the handiwork of the builder (Bill). The wood work on his structures is unlike any other I have seen. Rather than using round stringers or poles for his support beams he mills his own beams into 6"x6" or larger. If I ever wanted a rustic log house built, I would call on Bill to build it for me.
Well after Tim and I had a good look at all the woodwork we continued on down the Karpenter to Blood Donor. The gaps are not something we hit in the dark, but the drop into the compression is always fun in the dark. Doing a 7 foot drop into darkness takes a little getting used to. After Blood Donor we hit Giant Killer and then on over to Snakes and Ladders. Cat and mouse as always on Snakes and then a quick pedal over to Shotgun where we played cat and mouse once again.
