Day 5 - part 2

So after lots of work and varied terrain the "ultimate singletrack experience" begins. Technical chop climbs us up along a ridge which becomes more packed and flowing. Lots of man-made bridges. These are typically well constructed of slats of split wood and usually range from 1-4 feet wide and from 4-20 feet long. They can just go accross a boggy section or cross a massive gorge where falling could result in death. In some instances they are just large logs with the tips flattened. While riding them close to the ground is no big deal, it gets trickier when you're high in the air. After working my way through several teams - found myself alone flying through a roller coaster of singletrack. You could hammer and flow, hammer up shoots, weave between trees, nail sharp switchbacks and dance the bike through rooty sections. At one point banks had been built up on the corners so you can lean your bike way down as the centrafugal force would allow you to rise and shoot out to the next corner. It was like being on a louge. After a very long descent it was some high speed paths which lead into the finish area. Wow - that was fun!

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sent by Blackberry