CSI: State Forest

My ride on Saturday was... a mix of sweet singletrack, puzzling scenes, and anoyances Mother Nature likes to throw at us.  This was the second time I've ridden Willowdale, the first time was last year in early March.  Last year the doubletrack/fire roads were in horrible condition with mud/snow/ice still littering the trails, but I remember the singletrack was magnificent.  That ride was cut short as I was bombing down a short downhill and a stick jumped up and snapped a spoke or two in my rear wheel - luckily leaving my derailleur untouched.  I had to cut that ride short, but vowed to be back....

A year later, ROUND TWO!  As I started the ride I jumped right into the singletrack and things were looking good.  Even better, things were feeling good.  My legs were feeling good (could spin class already be proving to be beneficial??) and my bike was outstanding.  As I tore through the trails I was already recognizing the route from the previous year and boy how the HiFi was just tearing it up out there!!  Short rooty inclines that I remembered as being a bastard on my hardtail weren't a second thought (except for "wasn't that an annoying section last time I rode it?").  Once again the HiFi proved to be an absolute billy goat on any climb I charged.  So happy with this bike!!  Over all the ride was eh.  The first half rocked, there was some sweet singletrack blazed with blue that was an absolute blast.  But as I got to the western side of the park I was greeted by snow.  And not just patches of snow here and there but firm, hard, not even close to being gone snow.  I came across stretches of snow that were basically telling me "come back after April vacation and maybe we'll clear out by then."  It was deep, firm snow that could handle the weight of me walking through without much sinking in.  Well, you know what snow??  I will come back after April vacation because during April vacation I will be railing smooth hard packed trails down in NC.  So how do you like me now???

The other week Big Bikes mentioned the inherent dangers of ravenous coyotes.  Which led me to make mention of coyotes here.  At the time I thought his was the ramblings of a mad man, and even pitied the rag tag life coyotes live (as evidenced by my comment expressing my hopes the coyotes had a success) but maybe Thom P knows more than he lets on??
I'm not sure about you, but I've come across evidence of animal on animal hatred on trails.  It's kinda curious and I often wonder who was involved and what the outcome was... was it just a scrap?  a courting gone wrong?  a straight up "get in my belly" murder?  Well, on this ride there wasn't just fur tossed around the trail, it went off into the woods.  So, me being me, I jumped off the bike and followed.  As I neared a clearing I saw a "chunk of fur" that I could not identify.  Was it a hurt animal?  A napping killer?  I grabbed the sturdiest stick I could find (first rule of horror movies - grab a damn weapon!!) and approached.  I had found the kill zone and it appeared relatively fresh.  What I had found was a chunk of the victims hide and nearby I found the spin/hips/leg bones.  Footprints were abound in the snow and it looked like possibly a coyote(s) had taken down a deer?  - check out 7/8 for visual evidence

To follow - a pictorial guide of my ride.

New Biker Ailments

LEGS

As mentioned in my last post, my legs are suffering. It's been two days since my last (second) excursion on a bike and this morning my quads and calves were (to borrow a saying from another Annie) singing Grand Opera. No, I'm not comparing my sore muscles to Paul Sheldon's car wrecked legs literally, but they do hurt. Walking hasn't been an issue as much as moving into a seated position, stretching to reach something off a high shelf or squatting to pick something off the floor. I feel like I could walk on flat terrain for miles (I don't WANT to...but I could) while walking up two flights of stairs is just not in my wheelhouse right now.

BUTT

As far as my ass, the soreness is somewhat recognizable. Before you start going down the wrong (inappropriate) road on that statement, let me explain. When you venture out into the sun wearing a bikini after months of covering up there's a very specific burn you ALWAYS get no matter how much you try to prevent it. That burn is the most painful right on the line where your bikini bottom separates your legs from your butt. You can put layer after layer of sunblock right there but it never helps. I have no idea why such a burn is inevitable, but now you know a little tidbit about the bikini wearing culture that you might not have been privy to before.