StOnEd ImMaCuLaTe: ThE DlT WrITe Up Part1

Im milking this aint I.

I never had to go this alone. Mucaro said he would do a bikepacking trip with me. That's cool, but I see things. And I saw a chance to make a weekend out of it, a mini Escape from reality.

The footing of a Samurai is never to be too hesitant or over think a decision. A warrior when he sees an opportunity he will sometimes go with his gut, and my gut said, ride to Santos, camp, hang out with your excellent team mates, ride some more, drink, eat, pump track, Camp, fire, wife, great tent fun, watch the race, shred the singletrack with said wife, banquet, top it off the biggest moon in 400 years; IM IN!

Over the past couple of years I have worked hard. So mapping and cue sheet creating was a breeze. Had maps and back up maps. Got my bike all packed and set the day before. It was heavy, probably too heavy, but I am a first timer.

I was never concerned about my legs. I am not fast, I don't think, but I can ride for a long time, very long, like several days I think. The cold didn't worry me too much, I know the way to beat the cold is through technology. My bike the Salsa Mamasita, aka the Black Beauty, is a real thoroughbred and has NEVER let me down in a race or a ride. In fact my only concerns were Hunters and Bears; in that order.

To defend myself from the bears I was going to use a very eco friendly technique of playing my blue tooth stereo music as loud as possible. Not only did I have the sound to scare him off, but I had evil blue tooth death rays irradiating from my bicycle.

For Humans I had to get more creative. I would like to get a small pistol and a concealed weapons permit for protection, but for now, I had a ninja knife that fit very creatively on my hip belt in a very inconspicuous fashion. It was not meant to be used as a threat but more like a close quarters weapon. I also had Mace which works on all beast, and I also had my intellect, I had a story.
I figure I had enough gear and I was packed up tight enough that I looked pretty official. So my plan, if I encountered any rowdy types, was to go immediately into an aggressive authoritative stature and spout about how I am a Wildlife Officer on a routine nighttime environmental impact survey. Then Flip it on them and ask for I.D. and what they are doing here, and mention casually that I have a GPS locator Beacon that once activated will have law enforcement in the area within minutes stopping any and all vehicles.

I think it would have worked, I am a pretty good actor. I think way too much, Anyhow...

The ride started 1 hours and 20 min late. I had agreed with myself for Laughs to video blog some of it. I was going to have to send it to the bird and she would have to add it. But SP led me in the direction of using my Iphony to do it myself. We tested it and it worked. I made the first clip. And I thought it was pretty funny.
I took off, settled in, I knew I was going to be on the bike for a long time. Had to do a stop here and a stop there and get this and that always happens when you start a long trip. Anyhow I was settled in, using the Aero Bars, listening to music. All is going good, I jam on down the road and eventually after being passed like 100 times I was tired of hearing cars go by and I was yearning to make the trail before dark. I made it, decided to take a break, update my GPS coordinates and eat a little bit. I had only eaten once that day, I started the day way light on calories, anyhow, met Jim Savage.

Jim is from Colorado. He was a park ranger out there. I guess for winter he comes to work at Clearwater Lake in Paisley. We chatted. He asked me about my destination, I told him, he asked me where I was sleeping, I said a campground and he left. I ate some jerky, one bar and a half a bar of chocolate. Drank some of my ice coffee and then rolled out.

Paisley was SooOoo Nice, I was having so much fun. The bike felt similar to how it felt when I rode it threw Pisgah forest. So I was fine with the handling of it and learned to finesse the bike. I was doing climbs and descents working hard and using the Momentum to keep the bike going. Eventually it began to get dark and as the sun was setting on my west, the moon was rising on the east. I am so fortunate to experience such blessed experiences. It was awesome to watch the night and the day change positions like guards at a palace.

The Moon was extraordinarily large. Which Later I learned, Sandpine told me, it was the closest the moon had been to the Earth in like 400 years. For a second inside the Paisley trail I thought I was getting lost. But then I remembered, the moon is on my right, if I was going back toward the trail head , it would be on my left, and kept on riding.

Made it to Alexander Springs, sat out front, ate a little bit and did another video and gps update. At that point it was dark, the moon was climbing and I still had just a wool jersey, baggy shorts and my bibs. I kept going, I wanted to force acclimation and make my body accept the cold, I turned into Billy Bay Wilderness and I felt what they mean when they say Cold Snap. I hit a pocket of cold air that had to be 10 degrees cooler then what I was in before. I immediately stopped and layered down.

Got going, Billy Bay was lovely, but it got Sandy. I know how to ride that stuff, I made it out, and updated again. I got lost for a minute when I went straight and discovered that Camp Ocala was private land. I had my first human encounter. When she asked me what I was doing on her property I simply blinded her with my light and asked for water. She pointed me to a fountain and I reloaded and headed back. Once at the road I realized where I needed to go and took off down SR 19, Aerotard time!

Got going on 595 and it was the cat's meow. Perfect dirt road for 25 plus miles. Easy to follow, I passed Farles lake camp, saw hunters and kept going. No problems kept pedaling, had some ups and downs, pretty sweet. Stopped ate some food, and pressed on.

At one point I saw a flicker of light in the road, and noticed it was humans. I had been riding with my lights off to conserve, so I went a head and light myself up. I didn't want to startle someone that may have been holding a gun. When approaching I noticed two vehicles with three men in there late teens or early twenties. It appeared they were looking for something. I kept going and put the hammer down to put some distance between myself and them.

After some more miles I saw another light in the road. A very bright one, turns out some people, men and women were having a Bon fire in the middle of the forest road. I counted 15 people, Late Teens early twenties, both men and women, This seemed like a more rowdy bunch. Regardless, I light myself up and rolled right threw the middle of their party. They jeered at me and said silly things, but I just kept the pedal power down and my mouth shut.

Eventually I decided to turn around and look and low and behold, I saw headlights. I got a little worried and waited to see if they were moving. At a distance its hard to tell if lights are moving. Instinctively I put the pedal power down. I kept checking and sure enough they were coming. I waited till I saw a good side trail and rode down into it and stopped parked my bike and took a seat. I just didn't feel comfortable letting someone ride up behind me on this stretch of back country road. So strategically my best strategy was avoidance. So I parked, ate a snack did the math, I was starting to think about going to bed, I was getting sleepy had been up at it since 5am.

Waited after they passed and then got up and took off again. Came across another truck coming towards me. I was OK with this scenario cause I can avoid confrontations better from this standpoint. They passed without incident and eventually I made the road. I really celebrated this point in the ride. I only had like ten more miles to go so I was feeling really happy. I took a moment to update the GPS location and make a video. I got on the road, thinking ya, I got some roadie miles till I am done, no more dirt no more crazies.

Turn on to NW 24th st and it turns out to be a limestone road littered with pot holes. Normally, I would be totally stoked about something like this, but instead I was like thinking about going to bed. EVERY two trees I saw about 12 to 26 feet apart looked like the perfect spot to sleep. But then I remembered my goal and my desire to sleep by the river. That was like the whole reward for the first days effort.

Made it down the road with out incident and made it to the bridge without incident, found it Lit up Bright with a huge street light. PERFECT. I scouted the Camping spot and set up my hammock. Easy, it all went easy. I went straight to bed.

Overnight I had to adjust. I put my socks back on, put a shirt back on, but eventually I got some really good sleep. Heck I slept in till about 11am. I figured, I am going to wait out the morning cold in the tent. I had cell signal the whole time so I got several calls and text messages. I let everyone know that I had made it threw the night safe and sound.

The next Morning I got up and rolled out to Santos. Ate breakfast by the river, updated the blog and rolled out. Everything was going great, when I came across a park a short distance from where I had camped. This park has potable water and toilets and its not even 1 mile away from where I camped. AND it has a trail that will get you 5 miles closer to Santos without having to ride on the road. I found that last part out today. On Saturday morning I had an inkling and idea but I was unsure to try it, didn't want to poach a trail and get in trouble.

Eventually I made it to Santos. The road was very rolling with ups and downs, but I enjoyed it I don't think I did any climb that day or the one before sitting down, even on the dirt roads I stood and climbed. I just wanted to work it..LOL. Did a victory lap around Santos and hit the campground where I found my team mates.

The ride was done and I thought it was easy. Piece of cake is how I put it.

Tomorrow I finish the Santos portion of the DLT.

Enjoy
Laters,
LOS