Short Wudi (report)

I'm terrible with names, which is evident by the many people who came up to
me and knew my name, but I had to ask theirs. Sorry.

As some of you know, the most difficult terrain during my trip was the
highways from Charlotte to Asheville. Nothing like pulling a trailer with
three bikes through about 18 inches of snow and drifts. To add insult to
injury, my copilot was on the edge of his seat the entire time with his
skeered-drunk-stoned-gassy look in his eyes. Obviously, drunk copilots
don't copilot very well. I snapped a couple photos of the snow/salt
encrusted bikes on the open trailer at a gas stop.

We arrived in the early afternoon on Friday and decided to hit some trails
before dark. All of the guides and riders were already in the woods by the
time our bikes were unloaded. So, after getting some rough directions from
Jim Cook and several other riders taking a break, Craig and I do the short
warm-up loop which is about 7 miles. The trails seemed perfect. I wanted
to get out the Trusty Tank 600 and get it dirty. We ended up doing about
half of what was called the 3rd loop. All total, we put in about 20 miles
before it got too dark. I was already in heaven. Prime riding conditions
and about 60 degrees.

After milling around and meeting both the familiar people and new folks I've
only seen here in RMD land, I heard about a caravan heading to a fish camp.
I invited myself along and met everyone at the Fish Net. As Craig pointed
out, if you don't know what a hushpuppy is, keep it to yourself. He wasn't
exaggerating when he said the waitress gave him the cold shoulder after that
point. She must have passed him by twice with an empty glass while
refilling mine. <G> Later, she even offered me Monkey Love as she
sneered at Craig. To save Craig's feelings, I settled for a piece of
Snicker pie. It's also entertaining to see a newcomer to fried pickles.

Saturday, I hooked up with a fast group of riders who promised a very fast
ride on some gnarly terrain. That lasted a whole 5 miles. A rider in front
of me missed a turn and while turning around, I was passed by Jeff
Neatherly. At the next intersection, four of us were on our own. No one
waited... This became a blessing because we ended up forging around on our
own for close to 15 miles before hooking up with another guided group.
After tailing along with a total of 19 riders for a while, we split up into
a smaller group. It's nice to ride with the fast guys like Brian Jahelka
and learn a few things. I had a blast. I couldn't go back to camp just yet
and Jeff Neatherly twisted my arm into taking the long way back to camp.
About 12 miles longer. After a PB&J sandwich and some beef jerky supplied
by Craig and Dave, I hit more trails. I ended up touching every trail on
Saturday, some several times. All total, 139 miles for Saturday.

I chowed down on Gumbo and Girl Scout Cookies by Deb before it disappeared.
Great meal. I then changed into my campfire suit supplied by Joe Rooney and
hat supplied by Brian Jahelka. Thanks, guys. Made the day complete. The
most memorable moment that evening was at the Jahelka camp. I took a chair
by the fire while a half dozen intoxicated guys were dragging dead wood into
camp and firing up a chain saw. Scarier than my outfit. One of the crew
came up, sat down beside me, opened a beer, and said hello. He second
glanced, then stared, and said "What the hell are you? You have no shame."
Just the respect I was looking for. I also chated with John and Laura
Brunsgard for a while until supper was ready. I didn't get to ride with
John, but at least I spent a little time catching up. Later in the night,
Craig Montgomery and I met Jim and Deb, Brandon and his wife, and two guys
from Minnesota (sorry, forgot the names) at the local Waffle House. I think
the smothered, covered, chopped, chunked, diced, and chili hash browns was a
new experience for a few... I made it back to the room sometime around
dark-thirty, maybe midnight, and crashed.

Sunday was another beautiful day. I followed Everett and Cameron on a loop
and was roosted at every turn. I learned to keep some distance. At a
break, he tells me he just doesn't feel like the bottom end is there like it
used to be. Hmm.. I told him I was somewhat glad, since I couldn't tell by
the amount of Arkansas dirt I was eating. Then I just missed a most
spectacular crash. I believe it was Corey ? who came blazing around the
corner where we were stopped and ran into Brandon Butler at about 20 mph.
Fortunately, noone was seriously injured. Brandon was more excited about no
damage to the new bike than no injuries. I'm not sure how many miles I put
on the RMX since it quit working at 40 miles sometime during the day. I
snagged a sappling with the cable and probably broke the cable inside.
Fortunately that's the only damage I returned home with.

This turned out to be a perfect trip with perfect riding conditions. I was
packed just before the rain hit. Thanks to Jim and Deb Cook, John and Laura
Brunsgard, the ADR group, and all of the others who helped with this event.
I had a wonderful time and looking forward to another.

Travel horror stories and hotel incidents are another matter...

John

On Wed, 3 Mar 2004, spodely wrote:

 > Travel horror stories and hotel incidents are another matter...

Since nobody else asked... tell us about these hotel incidents...

Craig<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->