After meeting with Jeff, we began preparations for the ride. We drove the motorhome to the campground where the Just Outstanding trail ended, and dropped Sean’s dirtbike there.
We then drove the RV up to the trailhead, which took about 35 minutes.
The main trailhead was actually at a ski lift area known as Shirley Meadows.
We parked the RV in the main lot, and took a few minutes to admire the views from the top.
We soon got underway, and the ride began with a short fireroad climb that quickly took us to a singletrack offshoot that constituted the remainder of the trail.
Fortunately, Sean was right in front of me and had me take off my shoe. He separated the pedal from my shoe, and put the crank back on the bike while I observed. Fortunately, the bolt that holds the crank on had stayed inside the crank, otherwise this trip would have taken a seriously unfortunate turn for me.
After just a few minutes, thanks to Sean’s help and God’s
At the top of that climb, the views were amazing and we took a minute to enjoy them. We also tried to take an action shot of the four of us using the timers on Doug and Sean’s cameras, but that didn’t really work.
At that point the main portion of the Unal trail began, it was amazing. Almost entirely narrow singletrack, that was swoopy, undulating, and amazingly scenic, it was one of the most beautiful sections of trail I had ever ridden. There were moderate techy spots that were a lot of fun, manageable switchbacks, and peek-a-boo views of
The early part of the trail was largely downhill, which was a blast. As we shed elevation at the beginning, however, I knew we would be gaining it back at some point, which we did. The climbs weren’t technically difficult, and franking weren’t even that steep, but between the elevation and my lack of riding the last month, I was battling pretty quickly. I had some early HAB, which was frustrating, but I was having too much fun overall to get too discouraged. Also, Doug was mostly hanging back with me, so at least I had some company.
Eventually we reached the end of the uphill section, and rode back down the steep, loose section that we had HAB’ed earlier in the ride. From there we had another short fireroad that quickly dumped us out on the paved road near where we had parked the RV.
As we got back to the RV, I had several mixed emotions. The first ride was absolutely stunning in terms of scenery and atmosphere. And the downhill/swoopy sections were probably the most fun trail I’d ever ridden. But I was also worried about elevation, endurance, and fatigue. I hadn’t been an anchor on the ride, but was concerned that on an even longer and more difficult trail, I could have some real problems. But I had come this far, and Doug seemed to be pretty much in the same situation I was, so I figured I’d be ok.
We hung around the RV for about 20 minutes, refilling our camelbaks and re-stocking snacks for the second ride of the day, Just Outstanding. After everyone was settled, we got ready to head out for ride #2.
Here are the stats for Ride #1, the Unal Trail:
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