Fall Photo Dump

Woke this morning to find 2 new Suckapants postings and between that inspiration, and riding myself deeper into the San Fran Flu, just going to do a photo dump and steal Tod's posting style.

These photos run in reverse over the last few days.

-big 'ol sink hole at Isaqueena, the trail made sure to cover about 270^ of this from a distance of 8 inches
-Jonathon grabs a drink and ponder's if "we've been here before?" welcome to Issaqueena.
-trail bathed in pink light, a pleasure to climb through twice in 50 miles
-the 5 arrows that Joe missed, leaving Jonathon and I in his dust, and waiting.
-Joe back shelves his female alterego Nancy to grab a wall ride
-Perfect South Carolina redclay berms
-Slowly fading fall color from Bear Creek Rd on my wake up ride post San Fran
-Mills river in its quickly cooling blackness
-the view from where I landed
-treacherous conditions on Squirrel Gap. It was dry by afternoon...ambition being my biggest enemy
-a wet fall day in Pisgah. Looks a little green for this time of the year
-Don't drink from the South Fork of Mills river...that's not snow.

The boys from UpstateSORBA put on a great ride yesterday, making sense of the network of trails at Issaqueena. Its a relatively small area, and almost feels as such, except for the fact that there are so many different kinds of terrain. We road rocky singletrack, old forest roads, a downhill course, logged areas a-lah-BC, hard packed clay ascents that rode like slick rock, faint leaf trails, a bed of pine needles that provided nothing resembling traction. Did about 50 miles after doubling up the downhill course when I met Jonathon and Joe on their way up. Only had to ride a few things twice to make it all work, a testamant to the route planners. Ended at a party at one of the member's houses, where prizes where awarded/randomly dispersed, R. J. Rocker's provided beer, and cooked up some burgers and dogs and hung around a fire with a tangle of dogs, Bella being the primary instigator as usual.

Monday's are for recovery and Emergen-C as whatever I caught on the plane has taken hold.