Hey Kyle. Had an interesting ride Saturday morning. I decided to try some single track riding in the local state forest. Some of the guys that ride out there are crazy, even racing downhill on some of the steepest, rockiest trails I've ever seen.
As I mentioned above, I began by pushing the bike up a trail called Teaberry Rock, which has a pretty nice cliff line near the top. Very steep and rocky, it was a bit of a struggle getting The Beast to the top. There I picked up a forest service road, and occasionally took a loop on a single track that weaves back and forth across the ridge line. Mostly not too technical. but there are a few climbs on it. I had stopped at the bottom of one of those climbs where another trail splits off, and that was fortunate for me, because another biker suddenly came over the top, pumping hard as he picked up speed down the slope. That would have been a nasty surprise had I continued up that rise.
The trail off the hill was just as difficult as the trail up. Steep, rocky and with a lot of switchbacks, I saw skid marks where people had ridden down the trail. Nuts! I tried part of it, but was just picking up speed too fast despite riding the brakes. Didn't want to smash into boulders or go over the hillside. It was a lot of work getting the big bike down that trail.
About 11 miles total, and I unfortunately had a hard wipe-out within sight of my car. I was crossing a small drainage ditch that I've crossed several times before, and misjudged my speed and angle. The front wheel stuck hard, throwing me over the top, and all 225 pounds landed hard on my right leg. It hurt so badly I thought I'd broken it at first, but I was able to stand and brush myself off. It kind of spooked me because my entire leg below my knee went numb for a while, like it does if you sit the wrong way for a long time. I also discovered the fall had removed the entire epidermal layers from my knee in an area about the size of a dollar coin. I'm fine though, aside from being a bit sore this morning and having a sore and bruised right knee with a large gauze patch over it.
Worst part is I had the X-T1 with the 50-230 slung around my shoulder. I thought it had slammed into the ground, because the hood was laying a few feet away. Nothing appeared to be broken or scratched, though. A further examination yesterday afternoon revealed what felt like a piece of grit in the lens as I zoomed in and out. I gently worked it back and forth facing downward, and it seemed to work its way out. The action is smooth now, but when I look through the lens at a strong light, I can see what appear to be dust particles inside the lens. Makes me sick thinking that could have been my fault, or it may have been the result of using the lens as I was working my way through the woods. There are no scratches or scuff marks, and everything worked fine walking around the yard and testing the setup. To the naked eye, the glass looks immaculate. As long as it still works, I guess I should be content and just be glad there was no damage.
This wasn't the first time I've ridden single track, but I've come to the conclusion it's not for me. I much prefer the more phlegmatic pace of a nice rail trail or river trail. I enjoy the wider forest service paths, too. I'll leave the single tracks to the young hot-shots.