First Day of Summer..... MUD!!!!!!

Apologies for the lack of updates of late. I've been out playing. I'd post pics, but for the most part, they are on Matt W and Matt H's cameras, and they've not burned CDs for me yet (hint, hint) Been doin' some climbing at Yonah, Foster's Falls, and Lost Wall (I led Guzzler, a 5.8!! knocked that puppy off my life list), doing some caving, which is SOOOOOOO FUN!!!!!, some kayaking with Ash and then Ryan, and today, back on my bike. I had been debating how to spend my first day of summer (pagan holiday, of course): the Muddy Buddy Atlanta was today, some friends were talking about caving again, a few people were discussing plans to take a trip to a local swimmin' hole, and then Thurs eve at Taco Mac with a bunch of REI people, my friend Doug says to me hey, ya wanna go check out the new North Loop at Blanket's Creek?

Ooooh yeah. So Doug woke me up at 830 this morning and i hauled it outta bed to collect my toys. Siren has not been out to play since January (tragedy!!!) and all of my bike stuff is therefore strewn about. Un-caffienated, I threw a bunch of stuff in my camelback, we tossed the bikes in the back of Doug's new Xterra, and off we went!

Doug flatted about 1mi into the trail, he hit a sharp rock while crossing a creek. Sssssssss. Come to find out that my tire levers were, well, not in my bag, and since the tires on his 29er were new with a wire bead, pulling them off without leverage was not possible. That'll learn me to pack without coffee. After some consternation and help from several passing riders, we got it taken care of and continued, but not before this exchange:

Doug: "Is that thunder?"
Me: "Nooooope."

The new North Loop at Blanket's is also called Area 51, the Van Michael trail. Tee hee. It's marked as an "advanced" trail, ie beginners turn back here. I, of course, assume that even without biking for 6mo, I can ride it no prob. Sorta like I always expect myself to climb 5.10 and 5.11 after a hiatus of any length. Thank goodness for muscle memory - I may not have much anaerobic capacity, but I can still handle a bike! The new trail is SCRUMPTIOUS oh my goodness DIVINE i think it is the most fun trail I have found on the east coast!!!!!!! SORBA did an absolutely *fantastic* job on the Van Michael trail, and it was worth the wait. I hate to say it but I think it's better than Tsali. Just shorter. Twisted singletrack, creek crossings, switchbacks galore, 2'wide hillside crosscuts over 20 -foot drops, hurl-inducing climbs, and jumps ALL OVER the place. Siren was very happy.

And then it got even better. Mountain biking ethics dictate that on a well-traveled trail, one should not ride in the rain - it causes too much erosion. But hey, if you're already out on the trail...

WHOOSH! Soaking rain. And you know how much I love riding in the mud. We still had about 5mi to go. My legs were nearly dead, the slightest uphill was eliciting a throbbing burn. Muck from red Georgia clay was running in rivulets down the center of the singletrack and splashing back to cover us both head to tail. The trail was nearly empty, due to the afforementioned ethical consideration.

Me: "Are you as happy as I am right now?"
Doug: "Oh yeah!!!"

I have to let you in on a little something here. Doug had a massive brain aneurysm less than three months ago. He should not be alive, by most standards. He had been out biking, and all of a sudden felt warmth in his head, and then developed what he described as "the worst headache of his life." Because it was caught early, he got treatment within the VERY short time limit for success. Doug had three surgeries (two involved removal of and then replacement of part of his cranium) and was in a coma for ten days. When he woke up, he was so weak he couldn't walk. That's some kind of hell, for someone who has hiked the AT and lives for filling his soul with fresh air.

So we fed his soul today a bit, I think. Did I mention that he is an absolute monster on the trail? Laid up for as long as he was, he still just smoked me. Given, I'm not in 100% of my best shape, but Doug is amazing.

We had post-ride burritos at Willy's and a beer, sitting on a patio on Barrett Parkway. It was a lovely way to welcome in summer.

This eve I think I will hang with the Moose. I had had tentative plans with my friend Baker to go caving again this evening (yeah, since there's no light in a cave, it really doesn't matter whether you go at night or during the day!) but his group's timeframe changed and we missed one another since Doug and I got back from riding mid-afternoon. So I decided to take a nap, now I will make some dindin, then I think I'll curl up on my sofa and read some more of Atlas Shrugged.

Oh yeah my latest quarter is over, finished finals on Thursday. Not sure yet but I think I pulled a 4.0, waiting on Jurisprudence. Moral of the story: Work hard, play harder, it'll all work out :)