Nate’s finger was still busted, so he was appointed cameraman for the day and took it easy riding around on the trails. Which, by default, made me the onscreen talent. Nothing like not having a choice to make you get some Kodak courage. (As a disclaimer to those who might worry, all the stupid stuff I rode was by my choice, Nate was really good about not egging me on).
On the ride to the top, we passed all kinds of stuff that looked like lots of fun. I wanted to get my balance before trying any of it, so we passed on it for the time being. Once we finally got to the top, there was a great section of small stunts that a guy had made for his girlfriend. She must be a way better rider than me, because there were a couple things that I had to go back and try multiple times before getting. Just as I was feeling all great about myself, Nate says “okay, now come check this stuff out!” It started with two drops that took some courage to ride, but I did end up doing them. The second one is the picture on the right. The scary thing about this type of drop is that when you’re riding up to jump it (after walking it to check the landing first) you can’t see the landing until it’s too late to stop. Which makes speed judgement very important- you don’t want to come up short or it may hurt. I’m happy to say I got all of the ones I attempted (knock on wood).
After those drops, we went up to another trail where “the bigger stunts are.” Yes they were. After a good recon mission, I hit all but one a few times. The biggest of the day is on the left, and the landing was so smooth it was like creamy peanut butter (which incidentally sucks, but it’s still smooth. Give me Super Chunky or give me death!). There was also a really fun step-up jump that I kept running back up to jump over and over. I think Nate got a little bored on that one. The only time I crashed there was after a jump, walking back up the hill and slipping on a bed of needles. I’m still working on that walking thing.
After the big stunts, we cruised back on down the hill, flowing down the smooth, fast and super fun trails. Coming into a fast right-hander, I suddenly found myself sliding uncontrollably for quite a ways. I even had enough time to look down at the trail and wonder why exactly I was totally out of control. Once I finally wrecked and Nate ran back to untangle me from my bike, I looked back to see what had happened. Horse poo. A huge, nasty, stinky pile of horse poo right in the middle of the turn. We had quite a laugh about that one. Later, I found out that in the wreck I had bent my shift lever on the side of my knee. The swelling in my knee is now gone, but I still have to pound the lever back into shape.
Check out the photos section for more of Nate’s handiwork.