I am writing this as I leave my door heading for Ruston LA the location of my very first MTB race on November 6-7 1998 back when I was the ripe ole age of 17.
I will post an update and try to mention the ins and outs of the MTB race on Sunday as well as the Duathalon National Championships tomorrow.
LAE,
JR
Friday, October 13, 2006
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Where it all began.
So we spent the night in the forest and got good and drunk. We talked a lot about thing of little gravity avoiding politics, religion and anything that can be described without concrete words. All this was done with the attention span of three year olds chattering amongst each other. For hours we all had not a care in the world except that our fire stayed bright and that the dogs (Tusk and Tomba) remained cordial to one another. This morning the sun came up, bright as ever, it pleasantly warmed the surfaces of our tents and evaporated the early morning dew and signaled time to wake up and go riding.
For the first time in several years I revisited the first trail that I ever rode my GT mountain bike on. Actually, I have ridden other trails at Clear Springs and frequently do, but never do I ride Tally’s trail. This is the longest and most technical of all the trails in the Homochitto National Forest. I love the woods, well I love that forest. Riding Tally’s today was like visiting an ole friend. Though its appearance has changed, since a couple of other easier trails have opened, it is still my favorite. It will never get the number of riders it used to. It’s just a little too rough for the faint or the weak. I have raced all over the southeast of the US and in Cali and this is still my favorite trail. The leaves are falling from the trees, foreshadowing the rapid approach of cooler weather this autumn, and the end of another hurricane season. Clear Springs was this year unscathed by another disastrous storm. We lost access to this little jewel in the hills of southwest Mississippi for all of seven months following Katrina. The only part of the trail system that is not fixed is Tally’s. Still in existence are the rustic remnants of bridges and hundreds of hours of hard labor, utterly destroyed by the colossal winds of a storm long gone. Fallen trees still litter the trail and provide a technical break from the hard labor of pedaling on a mattress of dead leaves, aerated soil and exposed tree roots. The roots are the worst part of the trail; it seems as if each one is strategically placed to change your direction to the perilous descent of a hill side. The only things to stop your acceleration towards hell are unfriendly trees. They will stop you but not the way you want to stop.
Yeah I ate it today. I was cruising down a hill side covered by pine straw and my front wheel was completely swallowed by a hole. Then the slow m o t i o n crash began. My friend David said that I just disappeared. Well actually I kind of pseudo chest planted into some soft leaves and sandy soil that had been recently turned by heavy machinery. I barely missed a piece of rebar as we detour a dismantled bridge. That was on Richardson’s Creek Trail. Prior to vaulting the down trees of Richardson’s I rode the Mill Branch. This is probably the fastest trail in the forest. It is also the shortest. Mill Branch lacks the longer climbs indicative of the other trails. It is tight and rocky at times. Richardson’s Creek is the new preferred trail at Clear Springs. This trail is a little too perfect. It is a 15 mile loop (including access via Mill Branch) with big rolling hills and some fast descents but nothing too technical. If you ride slow and watch for obstructions you can ride it however, if you ride too fast it will place you in check. Tally’s is not like that. It is a rough ole mean dog unwilling to heed your command. You don’t ride Tally’s, Tally’s rides you.
Now I remember the first thing to get me hooked on Mountain Biking / Trail Riding. Camping, Friends, Stories by the roaring camp fire, assing around, getting drunk and riding the hangovers away the next day, are all vivid yet distant memories of my past. I relived those many weekends as a freshman at LSU last night. Though the conversations and people have changed the mood and enjoyment has not. I went camping with two of my co-workers (Brennan, Patrick) Jodie, Jessica, David and myself. My only complaint was that the weather was a little warm for the big ass fire that two former boy scouts decided to get roaring.
So today was to have been Jessica’s first time trail riding. She was intimidated by the terrain and the tall tales of inexperienced people but we had a blast. Tomba was grabbing every pinecone in site and declaring his ownership over your pitching arm. We all tossed pinecones till he would realize that we were tired and he would move on to the next fresh arm. Tusk seemed to be the younger, faster opportunistic fetcher of the two. He would wait patiently and when Tomba missed his mark he would dart out and grab the pinecone that Tomba wanted. This several times caused great tension between the two. They both seemed to enjoy each other company.
Little known fact the first mountain bike trail I ever rode was Tally’s at Clear Springs. That is truly where it all began.
JR
For the first time in several years I revisited the first trail that I ever rode my GT mountain bike on. Actually, I have ridden other trails at Clear Springs and frequently do, but never do I ride Tally’s trail. This is the longest and most technical of all the trails in the Homochitto National Forest. I love the woods, well I love that forest. Riding Tally’s today was like visiting an ole friend. Though its appearance has changed, since a couple of other easier trails have opened, it is still my favorite. It will never get the number of riders it used to. It’s just a little too rough for the faint or the weak. I have raced all over the southeast of the US and in Cali and this is still my favorite trail. The leaves are falling from the trees, foreshadowing the rapid approach of cooler weather this autumn, and the end of another hurricane season. Clear Springs was this year unscathed by another disastrous storm. We lost access to this little jewel in the hills of southwest Mississippi for all of seven months following Katrina. The only part of the trail system that is not fixed is Tally’s. Still in existence are the rustic remnants of bridges and hundreds of hours of hard labor, utterly destroyed by the colossal winds of a storm long gone. Fallen trees still litter the trail and provide a technical break from the hard labor of pedaling on a mattress of dead leaves, aerated soil and exposed tree roots. The roots are the worst part of the trail; it seems as if each one is strategically placed to change your direction to the perilous descent of a hill side. The only things to stop your acceleration towards hell are unfriendly trees. They will stop you but not the way you want to stop.
Yeah I ate it today. I was cruising down a hill side covered by pine straw and my front wheel was completely swallowed by a hole. Then the slow m o t i o n crash began. My friend David said that I just disappeared. Well actually I kind of pseudo chest planted into some soft leaves and sandy soil that had been recently turned by heavy machinery. I barely missed a piece of rebar as we detour a dismantled bridge. That was on Richardson’s Creek Trail. Prior to vaulting the down trees of Richardson’s I rode the Mill Branch. This is probably the fastest trail in the forest. It is also the shortest. Mill Branch lacks the longer climbs indicative of the other trails. It is tight and rocky at times. Richardson’s Creek is the new preferred trail at Clear Springs. This trail is a little too perfect. It is a 15 mile loop (including access via Mill Branch) with big rolling hills and some fast descents but nothing too technical. If you ride slow and watch for obstructions you can ride it however, if you ride too fast it will place you in check. Tally’s is not like that. It is a rough ole mean dog unwilling to heed your command. You don’t ride Tally’s, Tally’s rides you.
Now I remember the first thing to get me hooked on Mountain Biking / Trail Riding. Camping, Friends, Stories by the roaring camp fire, assing around, getting drunk and riding the hangovers away the next day, are all vivid yet distant memories of my past. I relived those many weekends as a freshman at LSU last night. Though the conversations and people have changed the mood and enjoyment has not. I went camping with two of my co-workers (Brennan, Patrick) Jodie, Jessica, David and myself. My only complaint was that the weather was a little warm for the big ass fire that two former boy scouts decided to get roaring.
So today was to have been Jessica’s first time trail riding. She was intimidated by the terrain and the tall tales of inexperienced people but we had a blast. Tomba was grabbing every pinecone in site and declaring his ownership over your pitching arm. We all tossed pinecones till he would realize that we were tired and he would move on to the next fresh arm. Tusk seemed to be the younger, faster opportunistic fetcher of the two. He would wait patiently and when Tomba missed his mark he would dart out and grab the pinecone that Tomba wanted. This several times caused great tension between the two. They both seemed to enjoy each other company.
Little known fact the first mountain bike trail I ever rode was Tally’s at Clear Springs. That is truly where it all began.
JR
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