Wow….I knew there’d be some rust, but this felt like I’d never ridden before. It was a really odd and unsettling afternoon, even the simple act of balancing the bike required thought. Rode around the parking lots for a bit to get familiar with the feel of the bike, positioning of the shifter and rear brake levers, and to see what, if anything, would need to be adjusted (bars/levers/etc…). After twenty or so minutes of this, it was time to hit the woods.
I hadn’t ridden these woods in almost a year. Much had changed – many of the trails I had ridden were closed off in order to self-repair, and the new loop was pretty much the course Mark (Czysz, owner of North Carolina Motorsports Park and one of the best trail cutters you’ll ever find) put together for the summer VXCS race.
I probably shouldn’t have expected much, but this was pretty bad – I was stiff, hesitant, thinking too much…..and afraid of hurting my leg. The topper of it all was when I came to a small creek crossing. The bridge that is normally there was gone (washed away? who knows…) and in its place was a 2×6 plank. Normally I’d sail over something like this with nothing more than a minor line adjustment, but I hesitated, blew the line and ended up in the creek. No biggie, it wasn’t deep, but it took me maybe 10 minutes to get it out and get rolling again.
Despite all of it though, I could not get the smile off my face. Yes, I sucked out loud today, but it was only a few short months ago that I thought I’d never ride dirt again. In that context, this was one seriously awesome day.
Anyway, did a total of about 5 miles before heading back to the pits and loading up.
Got some more work to do. The forks are too stiff even on the softest settings and the carb jetting is way off. As for the rider, got some work to do there as well.
But it’s great to be back on the dirt again!
-Bob