This morning I rode the first real MTB ride I've done in several months. I joined two friends to drive about 40 miles to a great system of trails near Jackson, Ga.,
Dauset Trails.
We rode for about two hours at a moderate pace and I used up just about every bit of energy I had. I had forgotten just how easy road riding is.
Good thing we skipped the hardest section, appropriately named "Huff and Puff". The weather was warm but not hot during our morning ride. The trail was in good shape but a bit dry as we haven't had significant rain in several weeks.
The only thing wrong with the ride was that we all had too much attraction to the ground. I fell twice, both Tombay type falls where I ran out of power on a climb just as the front wheel hit a rock or root and stopped rolling. The first fall made a small scrape on my left knee but it bled impressively making a trail of blood most of the way down the front of my shin. The second fall was a bit more spectacular. The back of my helmet saved me by taking a hard hit from the tree I fell into. Made a nice dent in the helmet which is now in the garbage. I got another minor scrape on my right knee to match the one on my left. I have a deep scrape just below my right elbow that looks just like road rash. Less deep but still painful scrapes are all along my right upper arm and on the back of my right shoulder. I'm lucky not to have been hurt beyond these superficial scrapes. The helmet really saved me as it made a loud thump when my head hit the tree.
I need to do more MTB riding so I can get good enough to avoid silly falls like these.
