Ok Hardy, I got the hint; hope you don't regret it! "Do not follow where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail". This famous quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson must have been uppermost in Hardy's mind as he lead 12 riders including 2 newbies out on a "slightly different" route on the cool evening of April 22, 2010.
In order not to encounter any collar-bone-breaking rabbit holes, the usual Cruiser single-track was given a skip and we more or less went down the normal intro route and after having to turn around, struck Supertube after riding over a new rubble-heap. At the tiny drop-off onto "Wash-and-go", I was surprised that a lady with the Epic stature of D1 would choose to take the chicken run. Some riders also insisted on getting off their bikes in the middle of the unavoidable mud-pool on this section. Python was tackled without lights for a ghost ride and then it was UP Look-ma-no-brakes. I can testify that I touched my brakes not once, but I have to admit that a few sudden stops coupled with new stiff peddles resulted in a number, which shall remain a secret, of my patent graceful sit-downs which some people, who shall remain nameless, obviously misinterpreted as wash-outs. The real fun started at the top of Look-ma-no-brakes when the trail became a bit grassy and ended up being blazed as we hobbled along. Once we struck a road, Hardy had to perform an emergency procedure on QT's mouth as she refused to keep it shut while ploughing through some head-high blackjacks. Hardy tried hard to convince us that the single track used to be there, but his explanations met with a certain degree of scepticism. Then it was down Holy Trail followed by a speed zone up to the tar road, a longish break and then up in the direction of Roetter's route where QT persuaded us to take the still to be completed highway - on tar!. We humbly apologise and ask forgiveness from our trusty dirt steeds for this transgression. The nice drop-off before passing underneath the R21 caused some laughs, followed by more as we got stuck going up the steep incline on the other side where QT redeemed herself by getting up without putting a foot down. Hardy still wanted to get lost in Rietvlei, but the guard would not let us in and we opted for the Moo mall instead. As usual, the ride was thoroughly enjoyed - thanks Hardy! Oupa Gert. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/darkanddirty?hl=en.
