[ButchA]

Believe it or not, I went out today and rode (93°F here in Virginia!). I drove out to Farmville, VA southwest from Richmond, and rode the "High Bridge Trail" over the Appomattox River. It’s a very, very, extremely easy, trail. I guess you wouldn’t even consider it a MTB trail. It’s a totally flat, abandoned railroad bed, that was taken over by the park system and modified to be a hike, bike, and horse trail. I packed 2 bottles of gatorade, a sandwich, and a full water bottle on the bike.

Here is a photobucket slide show that I made showing the trail. I only went from the River Road entrance, over the "High Bridge" down to the Rice, VA entrance, and turned around and came back. Total trip was a little over 9 miles.

http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q215 … =slideshow

As seen in a few of the photos, I put on one of those rear bag touring racks made by Topeak, so I could carry everything, including my digital camera, wallet, cell phone, keys, etc…etc…

Edit: Here’s a link to the High Bridge Trail: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/hig.shtml

[ButchA]

Hmmmm… I don’t really have a crash story regarding MTB’s. But I do have one to share going back to around 1976 when I was a teenager, riding my Raleigh 10 speed.

I was out riding with my best friend/next door neighbor. We’d always take off and just…[i:v20gicis]leave[/i:v20gicis]…you know? We’d both tell our mom’s "See you later! I’ll be home for dinner", and would ride 20 – 25 miles or more during the summer months.

Well that one fateful day, it had rained the day before, but was okay and the roads were dry. There were a few puddles on the sides of the roads though. We were cruising along and my best friend laughed at me, as I veered off to the side and went through a puddle and got my bike wet, my brakes wet, and put a wet stripe up my back. I slowed down and let him go ahead and then raced to catch up. Just up ahead, we descended down a WICKED steep hill. I’m talking so steep, that they’d probably close the road in the wintertime or heavily sand/salt it, so people could get up it. Anyway, my best friend whipped down the hill and then slammed on his brakes at the bottom at the sharp T intersection and turned left and stopped. I came flying down the steep hill too, but, my brakes were still soaking wet and my Raleigh 10 speed couldn’t stop. You can just guess what happened next…. [i:v20gicis](Now remember, this was the 70’s… No helmets, no anything…)[/i:v20gicis]

To this very day, all these decades later, all I remember is my Raleigh 10 speed trying to make that left turn with me dragging my left foot like a motorcross/dirt bike racer. Next thing I remember, I woke up being wheeled into the ER of the hospital with a neck brace on and my left hand all bandaged up and a huge bandage around my head!

My best friend said that I went off the road, went airborne like Evel Kinevel, and me and my Raleigh 10 speed crashed into the woods and my bike went head-on into a tree! 😮 What saved my life is that my left hand got caught in the handbrake, pulling me over the handlebars to the left side and not into the tree. I was told I dislocated my left thumb, ripped the webbing between my thumb and index finger of my left hand, and when I went over the handlebars, my head landed on a big rock, knocking me out cold, and caused a massive gash in my head. My best friend ran to the house nextdoor and the family all came running out and dragged me out of the woods and called the ambulance and called my parents.

[u:v20gicis]Damage assessment[/u:v20gicis]:
8 stitches in my left hand.
My left thumb popped back in place and all bandaged up.
13 stitches in my head and all bandaged up.
A foam neck collar due to a mildly sprained neck.
A stay in the hospital (just overnight for observation).
A totally trashed, twisted and bent, Raleigh 10 speed bike.

[ButchA]

Thanks…

Yeah, I’m riding a Schwinn Alum Comp (Wally World bike) that my brother-in-law gave me, after he bought a nice Trek police bike. One thing he did with the Schwinn after he bought it, was take it to a LBS and get some components swapped out/upgraded. So, now it’s a really sweet bike!

It rides nice and does what is expected of it. I’m just a little hesitant of really riding it hard over some of the rock gardens and going airborne with it (being that I’m 51 and 6′ 0" and 208 lbs.)

I watch some of the younger guys out there and just have to ask: How do you [i:3s0ekg50]DO[/i:3s0ekg50] that ?!?! 😎

[ButchA]

"jtorlando25" wrote

Good work my man. That ride is tough. Last time I rode there I took home a sprained rotator cuff as a consolation prize.

Did you happen to check out the skills park? There’s some fun stuff there too.

Thanks… Yeah, when I was on Belle Isle I looked over at the skills park. There were two sets of parents over there (on MTB’s) with a bunch of young kids on BMX bikes. It looked like fun though!

[ButchA]

Thanks… Yeah, some of those nasty rock garden sections were unbelievable! If I had a FS bike I would have gone through them. But I chose to walk over/through them.

Doing that whole loop around the James River really gave me a boost of confidence. But at the same time, made me realize that I have to seriously upgrade my current bike!

[ButchA]

"CraigCreekRider" wrote

No kidding. Digital is da bomb. If I recall it used to cost $5 or so for 24 pictures or something like that. Now you snap and delete as desired. Even the on-line pic storage sites are free or at least low cost.

+1

I remember back in the day when digital cameras first started coming out. I had an old, ancient, Canon A-1 35mm SLR camera, lenses, filters, etc..etc.. A buddy of mine bought a brand new Nikon {..something} [i:3i9zzlug]digital[/i:3i9zzlug] SLR camera.

We conducted a "test" by ourselves. His camera vs mine. Digital SLR vs 35mm film SLR. Nikon vs Canon. Outdoor shots overlooking Richmond’s city skyline. Outdoor shots in the country of a fenceline with horses & cows. Close up shots of my wife’s rose bush in the backyard. All sorts of different things. Long story short: same settings, same F stops, same exposure meter, same everything, same photos taken side by side. His Nikon digital SLR blew away my Canon A-1 35mm SLR film camera – and I was using quality film and paid the $$ to get the film professionally developed, and not by some cheesy dept store or drug store, 1 hour photo junk.

Digital camera are amazing and became the nail in the coffin to all 35mm cameras!!!

[ButchA]

That’s true… I *tried* riding at Powhite Park earlier yesterday before it got way too hot, and as seen in my post about it, the place was TRASHED by the storm!

viewtopic.php?f=88&t=8341

It’s going to take a while for the place to get cleaned up… 😢

[ButchA]

Fleetwood…

I found a link to a "free" topo website. Check this out… Here is Pocahontas State Park in Virginia:
[url:1pus3f75]http://mapserver.mytopo.com/homepage/index.cfm?lat=37.389047&lon=-77.565303&scale=24000&zoom=100&type=1&icon=0&searchscope=dom&CFID=15481542&CFTOKEN=94878551&&latlontype=DMS[/url:1pus3f75]

You can zoom in, zoom out, search another area, search another state, etc… Once you find what you are looking for, you can click on the "Waterproof print" link for $9.95 – – – [i:1pus3f75]BUT[/i:1pus3f75] – – – you can, um, uh, …well you know, click on "Start Your Custom Map"…
Click "View A Full Preview".
Let it go… It will create a new internet browser window…
Maximize the new browser window.
Click on the map.
Slide your scroll bars around, from the sides and bottom, to center your map.

Hold down "Ctrl" + press "Print Screen".

Paste the image into Photo Shop, Paint Shop Pro, Windows Paint, etc…etc… whatever photo editing software you have.

Voila!!! You just got yourself a, *ahem* [i:1pus3f75]"creatively acquired"[/i:1pus3f75], free topo map… 😎

[ButchA]

I have a few topo maps of the GWNF, the other of Staunton in Augusta Co. Mostly the maps are around the Great North Mt / Elliot Knob area.

I remember a topo website, where you could view topo maps. (You also were able to go cheap and hit Ctrl+screen print and make a copy of the map. Then paste it into Photo Shop or whatever photo edit software, and save it). I’d have to surf around and find the site again for you…

[ButchA]

"maddslacker" wrote

What brands do you have a available locally?

Agee’s Bicycles carries Trek, Fuji, Diamondback, and Raleigh.

There’s another shop called Conti’s [i:p89nxn7y](..I think)[/i:p89nxn7y] somewhere in town, but, I have never been there and don’t know what they have.

[ButchA]

Thanks guys… That’s what I was wondering. I guess you can take a mountain bike anywhere you want, and it’ll do fine. But you can’t take a DS or obviously, a "Lance Armstrong racing bike" out on a rugged singletrack trail. It’ll get bent/broken all to hell.

Here’s the Trek DS 8.2 that I was looking at originally.
[url:95na2r0z]http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/dual_sport/ds_series/8_2_ds/#/us/en/model/details?url=us/en/bikes/mountain/dual_sport/ds_series/8_2_ds[/url:95na2r0z]
It looks nice, but then again, it doesn’t look rugged enough like you could go over tree trunks, rock gardens, etc… without it getting twisted into a pretzel.

The inexpensive Specialized Hardrock has caught my eye, but I don’t think my local bike shop carries Specialized…
[url:95na2r0z]http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/hardrock/hardrock[/url:95na2r0z]

[ButchA]

Thanks… I heard about the new skills park at Belle Isle. I have to get down there and check it out. The last time I was at Belle Isle, I rode around the place and it was really nice – small, but nice. The MTB trails at the top were insane and no way would I even think of doing what some younger, more skilled, riders were doing! 😮

[ButchA]

"fleetwood" wrote

Welcome back ButchA. I noticed you are from Richmond. What is your go-to trail?

Thanks…

I have a bunch of trails that I like around Richmond, VA. I recently did Forest Hill Park and like that, but had to bail out of Buttermilk, but, it was a little out of my league.

My local trail is probably Deep Run Park, because it is so close to home – I mean, heck, I can ride my bike to it from my house. But then again, the park is real easy and good for a quick ride.

My favorite "go-to" trail out of all the trails in the area is Pocahontas State Park. I love it there… There’s something for everyone in that place. It’s fantastic! 😎

[ButchA]

Speaking of brakes…

How about when you are cruising along a trail and it starts heading downhill. You pick up speed, go around a corner, and then see a shallow stream crossing (2" deep, 4′ wide) up ahead that you have to navigate through a few rocks (some sticking up about 4", others are just small rocks and stones). So do you just plow through it, or do you hit the brakes like I do ( 😳 ), then cautiously make your way through it?

[ButchA]

"JarheadMtnBkr" wrote

I have a Garmin ETrex Vista (B&W screen) that has made 2 combat tours to Iraq, and definetly seen it’s fair share of abuse. I think it’s safe to assume that they will keep on trucking after a few spills and tumbles.

+1

I have an old Garmin eTrex Legend (also B&W screen) that is like the energizer bunny. It just keeps going and going…

My eTrex hasn’t seen combat (BTW, thank you for your service, JarheadMtnBkr! 😎 ), but it has been dropped, stepped on, …you name it, and it is still going strong.

I have it mounted on the handlebars of my mtn bike with the Garmin eTrex handlebar bracket and battery backplate/mounting clip.

You can’t go wrong with Garmin. Top notch GPS units! 😃

[ButchA]

Welcome from Richmond, VA. Semper Fi, my friend… 😎

"Semper Paratus" here (retired US Coast Guard). I have been all up around and through Northern VA. Nice area, but the traffic is horrendous! 😠

This forum is great and there’s a ton of excellent info on here! Enjoy!!!

[ButchA]

Can I vote for 1 and a 1/2 ?? 😆

Main bike
Schwinn Alum Comp [i:3b6s63tv](yeah, yeah, I know it’s a Wally World bike 😏 )[/i:3b6s63tv]. But then this ain’t your ordinary dept store bike. I was my brother-in-law’s bike which he had upgraded by a LBS (new crank set, better derailleur, better brakes, etc…). He gave it to me for my birthday after he bought new Trek police bike, for both duty and off-duty.

Backup/Project bike/$25 yard sale P.O.S.
Triax vbx3000 (never heard of it). It is a 21 speed mountain bike, unknown year. I picked it up last weekend at a yardsale. I figured I could make it into something. $25 bucks…hey, I couldn’t pass it up. The rear brakes are shot, and rear derailleur is horribly rusted up, and the front tire loses air, and the front fork suspension looks rusted too. Who knows… Maybe with a little TLC I might be able to make this into a pretty sweet ride.

[ButchA]

"fleetwood" wrote

ButchA – Welcome to Singletracks. I’m from the Richmond area too. Which trails are you honing your skills on?

Fleetwood, thanks… I’m in the west end of Richmond, near Regency Mall.

Trails I’ve ridden so far
Deep Run Park – I can ride to this place from my house. It’s alright, but I stay off the paved paths, due to the crowds. I go there to work on speed and control.

As far as honing my skills. I would say it would be Deep Run Park – since it’s so close to home. I know every tree root in the place. It’s an easy ride and allows me to build confidence as I increase speed and do some bunny hops over small 4" log crossings.

Rockwood Park – Just like Deep Run, it’s alright. I just stay off the paved paths, due to the crowds. I go there to work on speed and control.

Pocahontas State Park – I love this place! 😎 There are so many trails and such a variety of places to ride. It’s incredible! [i:2v4pge2c]{get’s printout of map}[/i:2v4pge2c] Let’s see… Within Pocahontas, I’ve ridden these trails:
— Forest Exploration
— Powhatan
— Lakeview 1 and 2 (I ran out of gas and couldn’t make it to 3)
— Old Mill
— Tall Oaks/Blue Mtn Bike
— Green Mtn Bike
— Muddy Buddy
— Parallel
I haven’t done the Red trail yet or the area called "Little West VA". I saw the area and had serious second thoughts. I was like, "Whoa.. Are you guys for real?" 😮 😉

Powhite – I went here and had to really be careful. This place was fun, but, very very challenging. It’s rated a blue square, but to me, it should be a black diamond. I love the "half pipe" in there – that was awesome! 😎

Belle Isle – I have ridden here, and saw the wicked looking downhill trails from the top. Somebody is either very very good with a full suspension bike, or either they have a death wish! 😆 I ventured on a few trails that wound their way up towards the top, turned around and came back down. Very nice place, but [i:2v4pge2c]packed[/i:2v4pge2c] with people on the weekends! 😮

Edit: I should add "Huguenot Trail / Pony Pasture" to the list of trails, but I don’t really consider them a MTB trail. The Huguenot Trail is just a real small singletrack through the woods under the Huguenot Bridge, and is flat with nothing special, except for serious mud after it rains. I’ve gone there to goof around in the mud and get all nasty and dirty. But, it’s sort of fun in a way…

[ButchA]

Thanks for all the great replies… I appreciate it. 😎

The green circle singletrack runs that I venture out on, are pretty easy, comfortable, and have a few tree roots and maybe a small 4" log crossing. I use them to practice my speed, control, and various styles of log crossings/bunny hops.

The blue square singletrack runs that I venture out on are also fun, and a real workout. I love the whoop-dee’s in the dried up ravines, and have actually gotten a little air time, which brought a smile to my face. 😃 But then, when I get hit up by a big log crossing/jump/homemade what-cha-ma-call-it, I tend to hit the brakes and lose all my speed.

Example: You’re cruising through the trees on a pretty straightaway trail. Up ahead you see a big log crossing. Two 4" logs, one 8" log, and one big 12" tree trunk, and again, an 8" log, 4" log, etc.. on the other side. Do you pick up speed and go for it, and become like a mountain biking Evel Kinevel?!? 😆 I find myself slowing way down, thinking to myself, [i:1m8dio1p]"WTF is that?!?"[/i:1m8dio1p] and then I have no speed to try to bunny hop or even wheelie over it. So, I end up having to walk the bike over it. 😳

I need to get back out there and practice the log crossing/jump. I know I can do it, it’s just that I have this bizarre hesitation. Like Chilipepper was saying, "I am my own worst enemy". But I know I can do it… I just have to get out there prove it to myself…

Thanks again, guys! 😎

[ButchA]

Welcome aboard! This site is a blast! I have read a lot and learned a lot from this site. 😎

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