Dennis, still smiling after the initial climb.
Andy from Chucktown
Barrett, showing me the proper way to push.
Joe, at the end of squirrel gapJoe led a group of us Pisgah newbies and not so newbies to Pisgah on memorial day. I enjoyed meeting Barrett and Andy and enjoyed seeing Dennis and Joe. We started at the horse stables and immediately climbed 1000 feet to Presley gap. From there we did turkey pen and some other trails I don't remember. We ended up on squirrel gap and buckhorn gap. My final odometer said 30 miles. I didn't really know what to expect but now I know what all the talk is about. The wilderness is amazing and the trails take everything you have to give. Pisgah really forces you to leave everything out on the trail. And I think this is the essence of why we mountain bike...to see what our personal limit is. There just isn't anything comparable around here (midlands). Maybe some technical sections of spiderwoman might offer a small glimpse, but not really. Its hard to pick, but I'd have to say my favorite section of the day was s. mills river, mullinax area which was a controlled decent and some stair stepping log drop offs. I also enjoyed squirrel gap. Squirrel gap ran parallel to topo, but was a technical trail; rocky, rooty, etc.
After about 2.5 hours, I had a bonk coming on strong as a result of the initial climbing but was able to stave it off with several clif bars, gel, HEED and a red bull that Joe donated. I think the terrain also changed at this point to include less climbing which helped hold off the bonk. But I couldn't hold off the cramping that started at about the 4 hour mark. Towards the end, the only way I could stop the cramping is to get off and walk the bike. I walked the better part of buckhorn gap to finish out the ride and was glad to see the long gravel road decent back to the parking lot. The last time I experienced this amount of cramping was 28 miles of Dupont. I guess I need to try endurolytes or some other supplement. Maybe a banana or two would have been nice as well.
This was lots of fun and I hope we can do this more often. I look forward to the next time.
After about 2.5 hours, I had a bonk coming on strong as a result of the initial climbing but was able to stave it off with several clif bars, gel, HEED and a red bull that Joe donated. I think the terrain also changed at this point to include less climbing which helped hold off the bonk. But I couldn't hold off the cramping that started at about the 4 hour mark. Towards the end, the only way I could stop the cramping is to get off and walk the bike. I walked the better part of buckhorn gap to finish out the ride and was glad to see the long gravel road decent back to the parking lot. The last time I experienced this amount of cramping was 28 miles of Dupont. I guess I need to try endurolytes or some other supplement. Maybe a banana or two would have been nice as well.
This was lots of fun and I hope we can do this more often. I look forward to the next time.
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