Trail Blazn' & Full Suspension

So far the last several days have been like summer here with temps in the mid 80's. It has been great cycling weather. After I took Austin back home to his mom's I proceeded to Bay's Mtn Park in Kingsport. I wanted to get some video of the new trail that the club built and to do some exploring of the back section that the park has recently opened to mountain bikes. After filming the Chincapin Trail I rode back to the exploder and did some bike adjusting and met Brian and Dave for a little "back country riding" if you will.
We left the parking lot and warmed up on the Azalea trail, rode the ridge over to Indian Pipes. Then we had a good time on the flow of pipes. When we got to the junction the only trail I had ever been on back there was Pretty Ridge. We chose R.Kiner Hollow Trail to explore. I have always heard that it's an out and back trail and the park wants a loop there. Well after going around the back side and Dave handling the mapping and reading of such map we found a trail that takes you all the way back and around to make a loop. Some of the trails are covered by fallen trees but they are easily manageable to get over or around. After returning to the junction of pretty ridge we headed down it. This trail is super technical with turns and switchbacks that give even the most experienced rider a fit. Especially this one switch back. I have never seen anyone ride it until yesterday. Dave rode up to it, sized it up and committed! He had a small stall in the middle but his gift with wheelies and balance got him through. It's a hard turn yea, but the penalty for mistake is probably being impaled by all the dead pine trees laying off the edge. You are riding on a cliff here at this point and you would probably fall 10ft or so before you hit all the dead fell pines, it's just a bad place. Anywho, I dismounted and then continued on. At the bottom we decided on M.Cross Ridges Trail. I didn't want to go up Front Hollow Rd because of the rocky jeep like trail that it is so we decided Cross to Back Hollow Rd.. I'm glad because I had not ridden these trails yet. Back Hollow has a very steep climb near the primitive camp site and it pops you out on the F. Lake Rd. that takes you back to the parking lot. Along the way we hopped up on the new Chincapin Trail and then over to the Birch trail neither are on the trail map at this time. We then turned right onto Azalea which was 90% downhill. I had lost my water bottle along the way and I was pretty parched at this point so I was grateful to see the xploder to say the least. I quickly got into my cooler for some cold refreshment. Dave had to split for a cookout but Brian hung out and chatted a minute. Then our glorious NTMBA president comes rolling in with his fiance' and says hi for a couple of minutes after their ride. It was a good day for sure, nice trails, good company and great weather. What else could one ask for?


What's this picture of a specialized enduro doing up here? You may have asked yourself? This is what I rode Sunday. Yea, maybe just maybe the 29er will be a thing of my past. Don't get me wrong I like the 29er's but a few of the places I have ridden lately weren't big wheel friendly so I think I may try to wheel and deal me another 26"er. I swapped bikes with a friend and I may stay with it, time will tell. This enduro is HEAVY, alot heavier than my 29er for sure. Oh, but the cush of a FS rig under my buttocks felt so good yesterday......GOOD I say! I would like to maybe get an EPIC or a Yeti AS-R, we will see what I can wrangle out. I will have to get VERY CREATIVE on an unemployed person's budget though. Times are tough!


Later G..............................