Monday, April 16, 2007

Cannock Chase in the sunshine...

This Sunday 10 Carnival riders joined Eamonn and his two boys Tom And James for a great blast around Cannock.
Weather was sunny and very warm.
Trails were as dry and dusty as I've ever seen there.
That made the going super fast and flowing.
Eamonn took us on a tour of some of his "special" areas.



All the tracks were riding fast and flowy with the odd surprise to keep us on our toes. One actually didn't keep me on my toes. It kept me on my backside.
There were a few stacks during the morning.
I saw Tracy sliding off on a loose off-camber corner.
Stevo fell in the woods on one of those tricky rooty corners and had a quick roll around in the dirt.
Both jumped up smiling.
I missed James and Eamonn coming off but heard about it later.
I lost it big time while thinking to myself how well I was riding (as you do).
Probably the largest stack I've had in a couple of years.
I has to happen every now and then eh?
Hung up a front wheel on a fast descent and off I went in amongst roots logs and something hard and pointy that hit me right on the right-hand side sitting down bone.
I did have a bit of bother sitting down in the saddle after that but there were no volunteers to inspect the damage so I just had to guess all was still intact down there. This was the outcome of the incident.
It wasn't easy riding side saddle for the last hour or so.
:O)
Moments to make you smile were plenty.
Seeing the whole group going off a random set of steps that were just sitting there in the middle of nowhere.
Surprise!
Made me laugh anyway..
I was having too much fun to take that many pictures.
I think Gill got some nice ones though.
We got some food at the visitor centre before finishing the ride on the famous "Follow the dog" trail.
I must say that Eamonn's trails in the morning were a lot more flowy that the man made stuff.

"Follow the dog" was a fun trail but a bit lumpy and bumpy with quite bad braking bumps. Redeeming features were the wooded wiggly bits and the boardwalk that was fun.
Back at the carpark we took the time to chill with a drink and a chat before coming away.
Many thanks again to Eamonn for the guiding.
Good to see everyone having a great day.
Roll on next time.
All the pictures are on Fotopic Website now.

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