Roots 'n Returned Ride

Today was the same plan as last week. Hit The Woodlot with Tim in the early a.m. and build until about noon and ride out.

Timmy arrived precisely at 6:30a.m., 2 XLDD's in hand and a smile on his face. The kids were up already so I said goodbye to them and the wife and off I was to go build. At this time of day we were once again the first ones to go up the hill this fine pre-long weekend Friday. Tim had with him a can of gas for the saw so rather than ride to the top then down to where we are building, we decided to push up to where we are building.

Once at the spot we got out the tools and started working on the line. Tim worked above me buffing the line and fixing a pinch in the trail where we need some more room to get between some trees. I was at a spot that needed a lot of digging to get rid of all the duff, then a pile of rock, then gold dirt to cover dress it up. In the end it was 8 feet of trail that took 2 hours to complete, but it is rock solid and will never need any attention again.



After my section was done both Tim and I pre-rode the next turn on the trail to make sure we cut the line correctly so that we have a good radius to the turn in the trail and ensure that the line flows well and follows the fastest line possible. Once we decided on the line, I cut it and Tim continued working above me buffing everything up............that is until I encountered the root.

Now when I say the root, anyone that has ever done any amount of trail dirt work will know what I mean by the root. This root was a labyrinth of 8"diameter arms of old hard wood that would not let go of the earth. Both Tim and I worked on the root for and hour and a half with the pick axe, the shovel, the axe and the chainsaw. It finally decided that it was time to go and we got that thing out of the ground for good. Once the root was gone the corner came together perfectly; she is gonna rail.

One kind of funny thing happened as we were building. 2 guys came down Snakes and Ladders and Tim spotted them so we both went into stealth mode as not to be noticed. It was fun crawling on the forest floor in commando mode to prevent detection.

Well after the root was out and the corner raked and buffed we were spent and it was time to leave. As we packed up the tools we got a phone call on Tim's cell from Rob with great news; Rob had recovered his stolen bike!!! He was one happy fella and I am ecstatic he got back his ride.



After all the tools were away we rode out to the bottom of Snakes and Ladders and then ripped Shotgun. I have been trying to hold back on using my brakes and letting my bike roll on the trail more and more and today was no different. Back to Tim's truck and back to my place. All this before noon.