I went out for one of the Tuesday night rides at the Donaldson Center in Greenville. I have been thinking about doing the ride a number of times, but doing these things for the 1st time is always so much easier with a friend. In this case my riding buddy Andrew had called me and invited me to go along with him. I am so glad I did.
The Tuesday night rides are organized by ability groups. The cool thing is, that each group is still quite large because there are hundreds of riders that show up each week. I chose to ride in the C3 group. The "C" stands for country, and it is a 34 mile ride. The C1 and C2 groups would most likely be faster than i could handle. The "A" and "B" groups ride a 7 mile loop that they race around 5 laps on... very very fast. I didn't want to overestimate my abilities, so staying with the C3 group would be fine.
We didn't have much time to spare when we arrived. By the time we got the bikes unloaded the riders were about to go. Quickly we lined up and took off on our way. The group was quite large and I had an absolute blast. There were a few sprint points that the group surged out at 27-28 mph, then calmed down and spun along at a reasonable 18 mph pace.
I am looking forward to going again. I may have been in the upper portion of riders for the C3 group, but I haven't gotten the age and wisdom yet of some of these guys. They knew just when to attack, and just when to ride on my wheel and let me do all the work out front. I love it. The strategy of it all is addicting! Maybe the C2 group next time?
I had the most incredible ride last Saturday morning with my friend Austin over on the Isaqueena trail. It was a beautiful morning... the calm AFTER the storm. The night before there was a big thunderstorm, and it had even hailed in some areas. But this morning was just perfect. The leaves were still wet, so they hit you with a plump smack as you went by. The trail was slick and a bit slow, but the morning was so peaceful I didn't want to ride that fast anyway.
Isaqueena is a great place to take riders who don't have as much experience, but still get in a good ride yourself. The asphalt road runs across the top of the hill, and two long dirt roads run down to opposite ends of the lake. This creates a box with a grid network of trails in-between. The great thing is, that if your buddy gets tired and wants to go home, just send him up the road. If he wants to go off by himself, he really can't get lost. Just meet him at the car when your done.
Austin and I started out by taking some logging roads off to the the side of this main trail block closest to the Six Mile Water Tower. This ride is an an enjoyable logging road on the way up, and some fun single track on the way down. I noticed that the trail has been modified to adjust for some big trees down after a big storm last year, and I really like the new trail route.
After tooling around over there for an hour or so, we made our way back into the main block where we picked up the lake trail. This trail is gorgeous.... and fast. But man, if you don't like riding on the 18 inch path, you may find yourself over the bank and in the drink in a hurry. I like "the rock" crossing about halfway down the trail, a technical spot testing your balance and use of momentum.
After passing the rope swing by the time we made our way to the dam and climbed back up the other dirt road. At the top of the main climb we turned back into the woods onto a trail we call "center line" trail.... I'm not sure what the real name is. This trail is flat and fast. Again, this is a perfect trail for a beginner to leisurely ride if they choose, or for a more advanced rider to really drop the hammer and fly!
This trail carried us back across to the parking area we began at. It took us just 4.5 hrs to get around the trails that morning. The fun thing is, there are still many more trails to add into the ride. Maybe next time we can go for longer!