Eric's Ride Log

Wode and I went on a super chill ride yesterday, Laurel Mountain to Pilot Rock starting at Yellow Gap. We started pretty late in the day and took it easy all the way. Laurel Mountain was first. Wode was riding Mike B.'s Salsa El Mariachi so the first 20 minutes or so was dedicated to Wode getting used to the shifting, the hardtail, and the big wheels. Once we got warmed up and cruising we had a really good time. Laurel is so much easier than the trails we rode the day before and we took full advantage of the groomed trail. We were flyin'! It was a much cooler day than the day before but I still only broke a sweat once on the climb. We stopped a bunch, took a bunch of photos, and like I've already said, had a fun, chill, speedy ascent. Here's Wode describing how the 29er rolls: "Smooooooth"

I saw a few interesting birds during the ride. A grouse, a small black and white woodpecker, and a blue bird. Not a jay, One of those tiny easter blue fellas. It was a beautiful day. Cool and cludy, but beautiful none-the-less. Here's an overlook shot from somewhere along Laurel:

and here's a blurry shot of me at one of the gaps

We kept the pace right at a fast yet comfortable clip and all the gaps just kept clicking by. We even rode right through Johnson Gap (our one bailout other than doing an out-and-back) and on up to Sassafrass Gap without even noticing. The $2000 climb was tough and at the Pilot Rock connector trail it was downright cold out. We decided to head up and over to Pilot Rock trail without a break because of the cold. We got to the other side of the ridge, it was still freakin' cold, so we descended to the first overlook. We were starting to lose light but decided to take a break, eat some gel, take a few more photos:

and even shoot a quick video. The video doesn't showcase my best technical riding ever, but it's still cool. Good camera work Wode!

We kept a chill pace down Pilot. My hands were starting to hurt quite a bit and my brakes were pumping up to make matters worse. We made it down unscathed and to the road with no time to spare. By the time we had descended to Bradley Creek on 1206 it was far too dark to be in the woods. By the time we made it to Yellow Gap again, it was just plain ole dark out. 15 more minutes in the woods and we would have been stuck. Gotta remember to bring a petzel lamp on rides now! Anyway, fun, not so fast, but fun, and chill, classic Pisgah mountain biking for Wode's birthday. Happy Birthday Wode!