It is easy to take _____ for granted. I know it. You know it. It is so evident that it's...taken for granted.
Trouble is, people forget. I personally forget, most relevantly to this arena, that there is some more riding around these local parts than what I already know. I tell myself that I am bored of the handful of legitimately interesting road loops to be had from my door. I kid myself I look real smooth on my sneaky sneaks, known only to me. I say to myself that if I have to ride another dirt loop through ___, that I may as well pay to know what I really think, because I already know it all.
I forget about those (and they are plural) trails I saw and disregarded as I pursued what I thought would be the Good Line. And, as a further aside, I know a guy who specializes in tricking the rest of us away from his Good (sneaky) Lines by routing their entrances in unappealing spots, so. Remembering to remember is tricky and it is the ticket.
This morning I awoke with a plan. Usually, given a ride from home as opposed to a ride afar, I find the ride sorts itself without conscious planning. As I mentioned, I have some excellent sneaky sneaks. Most days my wheels just end up on one or more of them and that's that; perhaps a reverse in direction or something, if I am too terribly tired of the same old. I had planned to do some more in depth investigation of an area I'd found to have some thrilling sections, but which are too short to be worth doing on their own merit. And plus there's complications.
Just let me say this: if you are riding your bike somewhere(s) from which you might need to make a quick get-away then you had best pay attention. Pay attention to the contours of the land, keeping in mind where you can see and be seen. Consider what natural features are most likely given those contours, and how they might affect you (e.g. are you going to hit a creek in that gully?). A keen eye to possible entrances (gates, roads, trails) is an eye to the good. It should go without saying that you must keep your ears open. And, finally and most importantly to my mind, know your exits.
Anyhow, ask me about lying full length behind a shrubbery to escape detection. Inquire as to whether I have broken this losing streak on the porcini front to the tune of 9 (nine!) lbs. I will answer to the effect that we all get stuck in our ruts, that- hell, they are our ruts because they are so good we've ridden them enough times to really set them in. And I will say that lifting the front wheel up out of that rut for a dedicated session of exploration can be sub-par or sublime, but it is worth doing.
Trouble is, people forget. I personally forget, most relevantly to this arena, that there is some more riding around these local parts than what I already know. I tell myself that I am bored of the handful of legitimately interesting road loops to be had from my door. I kid myself I look real smooth on my sneaky sneaks, known only to me. I say to myself that if I have to ride another dirt loop through ___, that I may as well pay to know what I really think, because I already know it all.
I forget about those (and they are plural) trails I saw and disregarded as I pursued what I thought would be the Good Line. And, as a further aside, I know a guy who specializes in tricking the rest of us away from his Good (sneaky) Lines by routing their entrances in unappealing spots, so. Remembering to remember is tricky and it is the ticket.
This morning I awoke with a plan. Usually, given a ride from home as opposed to a ride afar, I find the ride sorts itself without conscious planning. As I mentioned, I have some excellent sneaky sneaks. Most days my wheels just end up on one or more of them and that's that; perhaps a reverse in direction or something, if I am too terribly tired of the same old. I had planned to do some more in depth investigation of an area I'd found to have some thrilling sections, but which are too short to be worth doing on their own merit. And plus there's complications.
Just let me say this: if you are riding your bike somewhere(s) from which you might need to make a quick get-away then you had best pay attention. Pay attention to the contours of the land, keeping in mind where you can see and be seen. Consider what natural features are most likely given those contours, and how they might affect you (e.g. are you going to hit a creek in that gully?). A keen eye to possible entrances (gates, roads, trails) is an eye to the good. It should go without saying that you must keep your ears open. And, finally and most importantly to my mind, know your exits.
Anyhow, ask me about lying full length behind a shrubbery to escape detection. Inquire as to whether I have broken this losing streak on the porcini front to the tune of 9 (nine!) lbs. I will answer to the effect that we all get stuck in our ruts, that- hell, they are our ruts because they are so good we've ridden them enough times to really set them in. And I will say that lifting the front wheel up out of that rut for a dedicated session of exploration can be sub-par or sublime, but it is worth doing.
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