On the drive down to Virginia Friday night, I had some notions that the trip was going to turn sour. About an hour into the drive, I started to think about some essentials I forgot, tp, paper towels, heart rate monitor strap... Luckily these are all sorts of luxury items when your living out of your car anyway. Another hour down the road and I see a flaming rectangular outline in the median. Hmmm that looks a little odd. Driving on about a mile down 81 and traffic comes to a halt. As ambulances, fire trucks, and policemen squeeze their way through the maze of cars I catch a glimpse of the action. What I see looks like a bonfire, but I soon recognize that it's just another burning 18-wheeler in the right lane. What!?!? From a distance this looked pretty scary, and after a half hour of wondering about whether everyone was alright, I began to think a little more selfishly. When the hell are we going to get moving again? I turned off my car and made a few phone calls to ease my boredom. It wasn't too much longer that I saw the flames put out and the truck still pouring smoke. More waiting, more boredom.... I couldn't wait to actually see the extent of what had happened, but in my intense focus to get moving again I forgot to take a closer gander as I passed. Oh well, I finally reached the park by about 10 p.m. By 10:30 I was curled up on my air mattress in my cozy sleeping back in the back of my car sawing logs.
Wake up time was at 7, and when I got out of the sleeping bag, damn was it cold. I ate some cereal and made some coffee, then started to get ready for the ride. All bundled up, I headed out for my first of several laps. After the first lap, I had to peel off my windstopper base layer, after lap 2, I shed the booties, leg warmers and skull cap. Another short lap went by and the arm warmers disappeared. Alright, what’s going on here? It's February and I'm in shorts, a jersey, and a tall pair of Smart Wool socks. Oh yeah.... I'm not in PA anymore, more commonly known as Antarctica according to Matteo.
So the trails at this park were sweet and as I was riding I realized my self-proclaimed profession: Freelance Nomadic Trail Connoisseur. I've been working at this job for the last nine years doing side projects for personal records. My proven experience and track record has caused me to offer my services to the public. An example of my work can be seen below.
Location: Walnut Creek - Near Charlottesville, VA
Trails: All of em
Conditions: Dry but not dusty
Description: These trails are fast, twisty, and slightly technical. One side of the park offers steep ups and downs that take no longer than a minute or two to climb. This is the more technical side and can be identified by red, green, yellow, purple, white and orange markings. The other side of the park is faster and can be distinguished by orange, yellow, and blue markings.
Distance: The total distance is 15 miles. The more technical loop, which I started out on is shorter, and about 5 miles.
Trail Type: 99% singletrack, 100% fun
Similar Trails: Tsali, NC; Cowbell Challenge Trails - Charlotte, NC; Danville, PA
Notes: Go there when it snows in PA
2 comments:
That must have been nice... I went to Greenbrier and to a very snowy ride at Pine Grove this weekend. You know that there is a lot of snow on the ground when it takes you the better part of 30min to climb up Community...jeesh...
wow.... im actually surprised it was ridable at all with the ice! i just hit the trails today and they were perfect.. better get out before it snows again on friday.
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