Uncle Don's Unnationals Report

Five showed, four rode, one got temporarily lost when downed trees detoured him to Possum Lake (which was gorgeous in its ice-covered splendor). The weather was chilly, but the riding was fantastic and the scenery downright awsome. Ice encased every tree branch, leaf, and blade of grass, and transformed the woods into a shimmering, glistening wonderland.

I got sidetracked on the way when a crew detoured motorists toward Possum Lake due to a downed tree that blocked McClure's Gap road. I drove right past Mr. Laser who was traveling incognito in Mrs. Laser's Taurus. Trees were bent over at crazy angles from the weight of the ice, and I had to swerve all over the road to avoid smacking into them. When I realized I was at Possum Lake, I pulled over and snapped a few pics. While I was engrossed in the sights, I heard loud cracks all around me. Ice was causing trees and branches all around to snap like toothpicks, but the sound was deafening. Pretty cool, but scary at the same time. I got going right away, but had a tough time finding McClure's Gap Road again, and by the time I arived at NF Gary Kelley was on his way out. He'd scouted the area, but decided he didn't want to be bouncing his noggin' off the ice covered trails. Wise choice G-Dawg, but good to see ya out.

Mark, Zach, and Josh were already tooling around on their bikes when I got there. I quickly dressed and we rode for well over an hour, exploring every trail we could, and some we probably shouldn't have. As the ice began to melt a bit, we got completely soaked as we were constantly smacking into the foliage that was bent over and into our path from the weight of the now melting ice. We still had a blast, and I can't wait to get out there again. Zach lead a great ride/race, Mark delivered humor and entertainment the entire time, and Josh had to be peeled from the icey underpinnings when he flipped backwards after an errent attempt at a wheelie. Mr. Laser awed us with his skill as he shredded the super slick trails on his cross bike!

Thanks to Zach for coming out and putting it all together. Hope to see more fish out there next time. I snapped some pics of the scenery - no action though, sorry! They can be found here: http://singlespeeder.smugmug.com/gallery/4033201#234778919

Uncle Don