In the picture on the left I have stopped for a hydration break at a trail junction. Usually at this location I opt to go left on the North Loop. Today I opted to take the bypass to the right.
Rather than riding all the loops today I decided to bypass the loops that are not all that much fun and re-loop the loops that are fun.
In the open zone of the Prairie Loop, where the trail is not very treacherous, I steered single-handed for a short distance whilst my other hand held the camera. In the video I mention having spent some time stuck behind a slow poke. At the point where the video ends a trio of new slow pokes passed me as I put the camera back in its protective cover.
The lack of rain has large sections of the trails cracking into pieces. Those pieces make for an increased chance of suddenly losing control. It has been awhile since I've had a bike wreck. I'm due for one.
I had no problems today with a speed demon coming up behind me. Today I had multiple incidents where I found myself behind a slow poke, or a group of slow pokes, like the aforementioned trio consisting of two guys and a girl. I was an unnoticed 4th for quite some time, listening to them chatter. Then one of them noticed me, apologized for holding me up and let me by.
About a mile later I was at the entry to Fun Town, contemplating the fact that I have yet to find the courage to enter Fun Town, even after I was told by a pair of reliable sources that Fun Town really is a fun town, and without expert level difficulty, for the most part. It is the red arrow, meaning experts only, entry option to Fun Town which causes me hesitation. It is virtually vertical.
So, I'm standing there, hydrating and thinking about my Fun Town cowardice when suddenly the aforementioned trio of slow pokes showed up, rolling fast, with the two guys zipping down that vertical Fun Town entry, whilst the girl opted for the more sedate blue arrow entry.
Even with a demonstration of Fun Town's doability, I still opted out and continued on my way.
A couple miles later I was zipping along at high speed, made a tight corner, than had to slam the brakes. A dad with three kids were blocking the trail. The dad apologized for blocking the trail. I asked what they were looking at, which had one of the kids moving out of the way of a BIG turtle, so I could see it.
Soon additional bikers showed up and halted. What's going on one asked. I said we have a wildlife in danger situation with a HUGE reptile blocking the trail. And none of us is brave enough to lift the turtle off the trail and send it on its way back towards the river.
So, this very muscular, heavily tattooed lady in colorful mountain bike regalia said something like clear the way, I'll take care of the problem. She proceeded to pick up the turtle and not too gently send it on its way.
All in all I had myself a mighty fine time rolling my wheels today....
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