Final '08 PMBAR CP pickup
Erinna and I just got in from yet another excellent ride. We met up with Bill 'Big Worm' F. and Josh 'the Wonderboy' N. at 10AM. We started at Yellow Gap and our route for the day: 1206->S.Mills River Rd.->5018->Horse Cove->Squirrel Gap->S.Mills River trail->Buckhorn Gap->Black Mountain->Club Gap->276->1206 back to the Jeep. Erinna and I picked up the last CP out there from last weekend along the way. We ended up having to take 6 of 7 checkpoints in and 3 of 7 checkpoints out. whew.
30 miles, 6000' climbing

FS1206 in the morning:
So, what happened today? Erinna and I were running late so rather than buying gas we trudged-on, met up with Bill and Josh, and made it to the top of the hill. We decided to park at the top... no reason to get further from the gas station. The plan was to pick up the PMBAR CP and climb Pilot/ descend Laurel. Rain and temps in the 50's greeted us for the first descent... and the first climb.... and the next descent.... We made it to SMR Road and turned onto 5018. 5018, by the way, is a definitely a road you want to know about. i.e. the grassy gravely road of never ending death....
Anyway, the climb wasn't full of death and we made it to Horse Cove in no time. Next was Squirrel to S. Mills. Bill took the lead and soon had the most spectacular crash that I've seen in a long time. His front wheel washed off the side and his body’s first impact site was 10+ feet down the hill. It was almost like he was laughing along the way as he bounced once, accelerated, and flipped again down the hill. When he came to a sudden stop I knew he was OK. Sometimes you just know when it's bad, and when it's not. After that Josh and Bill took the lead while Erinna and I wallowed in our lack of fitness behind. Squirrel Gap is one of the best sections of singletrack around and big smiles were all around after the big descent into Wolf Ford. S.Mills to Buckhorn was next, 3.5 miles of eroded sandy doubletrack then 2.5 miles of hardpack old roadbed (with the greenest views ever) to Buckhorn Gap. Bill accessed the morale and condition of the troops along the way: Me: Moving slow after yesterday's ride, but in it for the duration. Erinna: She mentioned that, well, she was bonking. We stopped at the shelter and took a long breather. Forward to Club Gap where we packed up the PMBAR CP.
More later.
30 miles, 6000' climbing

FS1206 in the morning:
So, what happened today? Erinna and I were running late so rather than buying gas we trudged-on, met up with Bill and Josh, and made it to the top of the hill. We decided to park at the top... no reason to get further from the gas station. The plan was to pick up the PMBAR CP and climb Pilot/ descend Laurel. Rain and temps in the 50's greeted us for the first descent... and the first climb.... and the next descent.... We made it to SMR Road and turned onto 5018. 5018, by the way, is a definitely a road you want to know about. i.e. the grassy gravely road of never ending death....
Anyway, the climb wasn't full of death and we made it to Horse Cove in no time. Next was Squirrel to S. Mills. Bill took the lead and soon had the most spectacular crash that I've seen in a long time. His front wheel washed off the side and his body’s first impact site was 10+ feet down the hill. It was almost like he was laughing along the way as he bounced once, accelerated, and flipped again down the hill. When he came to a sudden stop I knew he was OK. Sometimes you just know when it's bad, and when it's not. After that Josh and Bill took the lead while Erinna and I wallowed in our lack of fitness behind. Squirrel Gap is one of the best sections of singletrack around and big smiles were all around after the big descent into Wolf Ford. S.Mills to Buckhorn was next, 3.5 miles of eroded sandy doubletrack then 2.5 miles of hardpack old roadbed (with the greenest views ever) to Buckhorn Gap. Bill accessed the morale and condition of the troops along the way: Me: Moving slow after yesterday's ride, but in it for the duration. Erinna: She mentioned that, well, she was bonking. We stopped at the shelter and took a long breather. Forward to Club Gap where we packed up the PMBAR CP.
More later.






































