Eric's Ride Log

Got a quick 75-90 minute ride in yesterday at Bent Creek. Bent Creek is so freakin fast now that all the trail work has been done. I'm not going to say I love it because I miss the old Bent Creek. All the technical stuff is long gone but you know, you can't cry about it. It's just like getting a bad haircut. It's all awkward and you miss the way it was... but it'll grow back soon enough.

Started at the new parking area->Ledford Gap Road (?)->Sidehill Road->???->Ingles Field->Tony Michaels->Green's Lick->Sidehill->Little Hickory Top->Ingles Field->???->Sidehill Road->Ledford Gap Rd.

 Started at 4 P.M. with threats of rain. Two guys got out of a car that said 'Drill Sargent' on the back and ran up Ledford Gap Rd. doing the hup-two-three-four march chant thing. An odd sound in these woods for sure. Once on the bike I immediately noticed the two pound difference between the rigid and the suspension forks. Combined with the singlespeed I was in for a quick climb. Up to the singletrack and up to 5 points. I had to walk a little bit there but not for long. Rode right through 5 points and continued up to Green's Lick. I felt great there and stood up on the single gear almost the entire way up. I was surprised by how quickly I made it to the top. I think I even said out loud 'No Way!' because I had ridden by the spring that signifies the top for me without even noticing. Next I started down Green's Lick and decided to give the new fork a good test. I cranked down the hill, made it past the tricky outside turn, and then really started to rail. I hit a jump bigger than ever before for me on that trail, swooped through the berms, really started to get comfortable and it started to rain cats and dogs. Green's Lick should be called Red and Slick because once the ground got a little wet all that newly exposed clay got really nasty. Hardpacked, yes, but slick as phil wood grease. I made my way to the bottom and the rain had let up a bit so I turned onto Sidehill. Climbed that pretty fast but had to get off once or twice. I was wondering if I was going to eventually snap my pedals off with the SS thing. Anyway, I continued up Little Hickory top and the rain had pretty much stopped. To 5 points again and back to the car the way I came in. I didn't get to test the fork on the second downhill because the trail was filled with water. Respect the trail, don't rail it in the rain.  It was a great first ride on the new fork. Here's what I had to say about it on mtbr.com:

 Hey everybody! Thanks for the kind words. I got a quick 90 minute ride in yesterday afternoon and man o man this thing rides sweet. The tubes are a bit thicker than the last fork and I can feel a bit less movement during climbing singletrack and descending gravel roads. It's crazy how much it still 'absorbs shock' though. Tons of Fore-Aft movement (which, as I said, is good) even though it'd thicker and has the TA. This fork really shines (pun intended) during singletrack descending. Actually, I'll go so far as to say: If you're riding rigid in the mountains and are not a racer looking for ligtning fast tube changes... Your fork is obsolete. Drop everything and order one of these from Walt. While descending the front wheel tracks better than ever before. When landing jumps the wheel doesn't want to wobble all around, it just makes contact with a soft feeling 'THUD' rather than the sharp 'SMACK!' then trail wiggle that I'm used to. I had thoughts of the feeling of being a kid on a bmx bike on a bmx track. I had memories of the hopey damper... The fork legs are working as one. I even thought to myself 'I've found the replacement for sliced bread!'

So, there ya go. First impression of the fork? Two thumbs up.