Went riding yesterday at Alum Creek State Park. I think this was the first time I had ever riden it, where the trails weren’t a muddy bog. It’s a totally different experience than riding in California. Out west, it’s mainly stony trails and large climbs, while here it’s mainly roots, logs, and tight single track. The trail has got around 25 or so bridges, that cross the various creeks and ravines that make up the trail. In addition, there are numerous ramps and other stunts, that are built so people can cross the logs that are too large to clear by bunny-hopping. The picture to the right is one of the large ramps, it’s hard to tell by the photo, but that log is slightly larger than chest level. Here’s a photo of the backside. Right after I took this photo, some guy came blazing over this, and then immediately bit it on the log that follows this one. The dude ended up dislocating his shoulder, but didn’t want any help since ‘this happens all the time’, and proceeded to knock his shoulder back into place.
Overall, I didn’t have many problems riding the trail until about an hour or so in. I was coming in a little to hot down a hill onto one of the many bridge crossings, and made the classic mistake of looking where you don’t want to go. You can guess my outcome, by the picture to the right. Luckily, after launching myself off the bridge and landing in the water and mud six feet below, I came out pretty much unscratched (except for my ego). After pulling myself and my bike out of the mud, I figured it be a good time to take a couple of photos.
There’s a race here on October 9th and after riding it this weekend though, I had my doubts since the trails are so tight, and there’s not much room to pass people. If you get stuck behind someone that is real slow, you’d be screwed. After looking at the map though, there’s a decent amount of open riding before and after the trailhead, so I’m thinking there’s enough room that I can drop most of the slow riders before even hitting the trail. Of course, this could also be wishful thinking on my part.
Here’s a few more photos from this weekend:
Defensive Belligerence 
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