324: Don't Like Trees No More

Well, that's not true, but it does rhyme.
The title should rhyme, you know. :p

I went for a Pachaug rock pile ride today on the ol' WR-250FY.
I knew that this would basically be a recon mission of sorts because it was the first time out there since the stupid hurricane came through blowing shit around.
See, I didn't feel good about riding the usual pace in case there were a tree down across the trail around a blind corner or over the crest of a blind hill, so, it was basically a slower pace and a cautious one for much of the way.

There were a few spots where a good-sized tree limb (or even a whole tree) was blocking the way, and on a few occasions I had to find a way around the blockade by scouting through the unbeaten woods like Davey Crockett with his 'coon skin hat and trusty muzzle-loader.
Only with me, I had a great dirt bike as my ammo.
The last big blockage had me ride a fair distance in the woods in order to navigate around the stupid downed tree, blazing my own trail along the way through the picker bushes, ferns, and poison ivy.

Those times were the sucky parts of the ride because they interrupted my usual pace and rhythm that I like.
Al least now, I know where the blockages are and how to get around them next time out there, and I won't feel so much of a need to back the pace down for the whole ride.
That, my friends, should make things a whole lot better.

I'd rate today's ride as only fair, all-in-all, due to the cautious feeling I had and having to learn where the trouble spots were and how to deal with them.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 4.5 or a 5 at most.
Considering that the usual ride out there would rate a 7.5 to 8.5, that's not all that great.
But, I had to get the recon ride over with to learn the lay of the land.

I imagine that in the next few weeks, other trail riders will be out there at some point working to clear the downed trees that can be cleared without resorting to a bulldozer of some kind of nuke.
I stopped a few times today, myself, and moved trees out of the way that I could do by myself.
Hey, I want to contribute to the clearing of the Pachaug rock pile, too, you know. ;)

Since this is Saturday afternoon of the Labor Day weekend, I have Sunday and Monday off from jerk.
That is fuckin' cool.
Will I go out for another ride tomorrow?
Remains to be seen.
I'm honestly a bit bummed about the shit across the trails in certain spots, but, I just have to remember that now I at least know where they are and how to get around them.
I'll see how I feel in the morning.
At least the bike has already been washed and lubed squeaky-clean.

-John