Sunday was the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures topping 100 degrees, so we thought we could sneak in an early morning ride before it got too hot. Early was only moderately early. John has been known to push for 6:00 or 7:00 start times, but Linus' appearance seemed to suggest that the 8:00 meeting time was way to early. I too was actually about 10 minutes late. We had the bikes loaded up by about 8:20. The temperature was about 80 degrees and climbing. We were squandering our window of (moderately) cool temperatures.
As both native and naturalized North Carolinians we roll southern-style. Not with stars-and-bars or NASCAR hats, but fueled on Biscuitville. Linus and Ali were already kitted-up in lycra and I didn't make them go into the store. The tally:
Dave: 2 egg and cheese biscuits
Chris: 1 egg and cheese biscuit
Linus: 1 biscuit (w/ butter)
Ali: 1 biscuit (w/ butter)
John: 0 biscuits
We finally reached the trailhead about 9:00. Temperature climbing through the 80s. After an easy non-Pirate-led warmup, and a wrong turn or two (since only Pirate knows the way around these trails), we were rolling along nicely. I was in the lead and saw a nice little mound in the trail which I thought would be nice to take a little jump over. Now know this: when I speak of a little jump, I do mean little. I'm not really any good at jumping. So it's not surprise that somehow, within the 2-inch maximum cruising altitude of my flight, I managed to steer my front wheel off the trail, into a rut of leaves, and totally bite the dust. There are no pictures, but John said it looked "totally rad". Linus, who was cruising along closely behind me, did not expect such a rookie mistake and skillfully avoided running me over, but ended up crashing as well. Unlike normal crashes (yes, I crash fairly frequently), I got the wind knocked out of me, which hadn't happened in years and was still kind of a scary experience. I think I also bumped my head, so it took me a few minutes to get myself back together and riding again. The other thing about this crash is that it's reminded me that I'm getting old. I woke up this morning sore in numerous different places.
And so we were riding again. Drinking liters and liters of liquid. Eating magic electrolyte strips. Sweating profusely. The temperature was now in the mid 90s and we were each entering our own personal hells. The tally of symptoms:
Dave: beginning to stop sweating, thirsty
Chris: bruises, minor brain damage, very sweaty
Linus: goosebumps, thirsty
Ali: still feeling injuries from previous week's crashes
John: irritable rider syndrome, still bmx-less
In summary: When it's 100 degrees, don't ride hot trails. Stay indoors. Drink cold beer. Read bicycle blogs on the internets. Shop for new headsets and 24" bmx cruisers. Please, do not go outside.
Why stand on a silent platform?
2 days ago
5 comments:
i had quite the experience at NL yesterday ... get to the trailhead early to beat some of the heat, then about 3.5 miles in my hommie went down into a creek bed and broke his wrist. after a couple blackouts and a copperhead spotting (in the creek-bed he was previously lying in) .. it was quite the hike back to the car, with temps quickly on the rise, then 7 hours at wake med. atleast there was AC in the ER, but looks like NC heatwaves and biking = carnage.
OUCH! That's bad news about the broken wrist. Hope the hospital was air conditioned.
Chris--
Sorry to hear about your friend and I hope he heals up quickly. I broke my wrist several years ago and those things can really take a long time to mend.
The Professor's crash really did look spectacular from behind, with both he and Linus doing slow-mo endos and ending up nearly on top of each other. Despite what Oishi said I think this is the first time I've ever seen him wreck.
'Tis true: I really want a BMX bike.
you clearly need a helmet cam ... think of the taunting that could've ensued upon replay
I think wearing a helmet cam would most likely result in the wreck of the wearer, and less likely to get anyone else's smooth moves on tape. Maybe that's just my stage fright, though. I usually try to take some pictures at spots that look difficult and that might lead to some attractive carnage, but this weekend things were just too for doing much more than focusing on the trail.
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