Sunday, February 15, 2015

Haw Creek Claims a Victim

My buddy Jay and I hit Haw Creek Park for a cold riding session today. It was not intended to be anything heavy, just a chill ride so jay could test out his vintage 1991 Specialized StumpJumper which he recently converted to a single speed. I call it FrankenBike. 


This bike is pretty rad. It has a super cool lightweight tube set and was actually on the high end of the range when it was brand new. Combine decent specs, the single conversion, and the steep angles and you get one light, quick handling machine.

The ride was a short but fun one. It was fun because the locals have done some work on the trail since we were last there. We found this out when I took a new section and Jay stuck to the trail we knew. I sort of thought the new section would run parallel to the old one, which it did for a while, but then it abruptly hooked back into the woods, and I decided that since Haw Creek is pretty small, I'fd take the gamble that it would sync back up with the regular route.

The next few minutes were awesome. Very cool twisty turney singletrack with a few jumps, a wooden bridge, and rolly-poly elevation changes that made the new cut like riding a skatepark. Very fun. It did indeed sync back up with the trail Jay was on.

The ride was short because when we headed out for a second pass, about 1/3 of the way throgh Jay broke his chain. We both had no tools because Haw is so short. We just walked the climbs and coasted down the new cut section back to the cars.

Oh well.

The thing is, Haw Creek is about halfway between my hut and Jay's, so we ride there pretty often even though it is short. We use it to log miles and stay active, but it is far from a fave trail. That may have changed now that the new section has been added. It is also a directional trail so I can't wait to go back and try it again "backwards".


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