The Devil Went Down to Georgia

Well almost. There was no duel and we did not get to Georgia (just to the boarder), but I had to sell my soul and/or services to go.

Motivation to ride lately has been hard to come by. It could be that the majority of my mountain bike miles have been in Dupont, Pisgah, and Clemson. That makes it really hard to get excited about local riding at Harbison or Sesqui. Due to the fact that I am in Charleston during the week Marrington is another option that I exercise once a week, but that becomes painful after a while. Road riding is out because it sucks, and it sucks even worse in the cold. It is only worth doing if training is required. So due to the lack of motivation, time, and a number of other excuses, the motor for my bike is running pretty poorly.

Turns out J. Laroy came to town this past weekend and we made plans to go out to FATS. It had been about 15 months since my last visit, and they have cut some new trails out there. Sounds like the perfect remedy to a boring bike life.
Of course we nailed down the details before I proposed the trip to the war department. I knew it would be a difficult sale with Christmas around the corner and a baby due in March, but it was worth a try.
As any good salesman does, stay away from questions. Questions leave the door open for the answer to be “No”. Instead make statements like, “Jonathan is coming in town and we are going to ride out at FATS on Saturday morning”. That way the only response is, “Oh Really!” Then you start the bargaining process. 1st you must reason that it will not affect her in any way. “We are leaving before the sun comes up and I should be home shortly after lunch”. Even if this is not completely true, your intentions are good and sometimes it is easier to ask for forgiveness.
The conversation ended in me performing many hours of manual labor in the form of painting, drywall work, and finish carpentry throughout the remainder of the weekend. The list is so long that I will be working on it well into the work week.

So was it worth it? Selling your soul to the devil for a ride? (She is not really a devil) However one of her favorite quotes is, “When her feet hit the floor every morning, the devil says, “Oh shit, she’s up”.
YES it was worth it. The temps were low, but the trails were in great shape. We did not even pass one rider the whole day. The new trails are very FATS like, but not as wide. So if you like BMX style trails in the woods, there is 50 miles of it out there. If you are more into the hand built single track with “real” trail features then all you have to do is go 10 minutes away to some of the older stuff, Modoc and all.
We got about 3 hours of ride time in and decided to celebrate with some beverages and then head to the house.
I got home around 2:30 and went on a ride around the neighborhood with Logan. An hour later I was on work detail until bed time.