Banner Ride Report

I had put out the call to ride Banner on Saturday morning. When Saturday came around, it was damp and dreary but since I had put out the offer, I figured that I better show. It was a good thing that I drove down as Zac had ridden down and was waiting for me in the parking lot.

I'm glad that I made the trip as the trails were in great shape and obviously hold up to the rain nicely. All of Coal Miner's Daughter was rideable and we didn't leave a trace. We then rode over to Riverside to see how it was holding up. Again, we were surprised to see it in good shape. The last 50 yards (after this photo of Zac) were sandy and then squishy/muddy. Surprisingly we didn't leave much of a track, but the tires picked up a lot of mud and leaves. We placed the bridge at the end of Riverside. One hour with 2-3 people would finish that section of trail work.

Speaking of trail work, someone had removed and tossed the bridge on the ridge line that is just after the twin bridges (over water). We were able to get it back in place, but it needs a shovel to set it better. If anyone else goes down there, bring a shovel and it could be fixed in 15minutes.

At the infamous Fuller's Drop, I was experimenting with new lines. If you carry a lot of speed through the drop and transition (before the log drop), then your line takes you higher than what we have built. If you click on these pictures, you might see the line that I was taking. I think that we should continue to ride this line and let an alternative track burn in.

The exit point sets you up perfectly for Fuller's Drop, which I took the next picture from. There is an eerie presence in those woods as this picture shows. When I shot the picture, it was just Zac at the transition. When I upload it onto my computer, then an image of Fuller's landing area appears. Maybe it is just the impression in the earth that he left :)
Overall, it was a great ride. Zac and I explored a few more ridges for additional singletrack and tried to figure out how CITA might run the race course. We never really had any rain until we were packing up at the car.

Zac, it was great riding with you.