Getting a ride together is a delicate thing. The person that gets the ball rolling is always walking a tight wire between what they want, and what everyone else wants. It is a thankless job that if done well, never gets mentioned. When the problems arise the organizer gets the tar and feathers. Big Worm is our scout master and he does the job without any fanfare. He is also the best mechanic in town, which means that after organizing all the rides, he gets to diagnose every one's bike problems. Usually this all goes down without a hitch, but today there was some drama. The ride came together late, everyone had an idea of what they wanted, and we had some dissension and desertion. It was heated, but we will ride Tuesday and all will be forgiven.I have been hearing about a mythical house, from a legendary ride, I missed with Mingo and Mirco last year. I have been bugging Worm and Mingo a long time to go back out there. There was some weirdness but I was so stoked to do something different and (for the first time ever) everything rolled off me. The ride was brutal hot, the mosquitoes where Jumangiesc, but the payoff was worth it.
W.B.Z.N.
24 comments:
Lines Tract?
Where IS that?
A ride only a few and foolish would fined rewarding. We missed the ones who turned back, different goals for the day, different ideas of pleasure and pain. Dozens of mosquito bites, bramble thorns imbedded in your legs and tires, barbwire cuts on the clothes and skin, all worth the right to visit a place only a few hundred people in Tallahassee have seen. This place was built and burned before Tallahassee was a city, before Florida was a state, a hundred and fifty years before I was born.
These pastures gave birth to my vision of off road riding, those 8 columns inspired me to ride fewer paths and wander the woods more. The first bike I rode on those pastures was a road bike bought from 10 Speed Drive on Monroe about 1981, the next was a Ross 5sp Cruiser, followed by a Specialized Stump Jumper Sport from Rainbow Cycles. Ariel photos and topo maps in hand I rode every pasture at every time of the day and night. There were no lighting systems back in the day and flash lights you could strap to the bars lasted only moments. The full moon was the only and best option and I rarely missed the opportunity. Each soggy pasture, fence crossing, thorn bush, barbwire scratch, missed turn, cow patty and bug bite was not an indicator of bad decisions, for me it was a confirmation of what the sport is all about, what motivated me to do it in the first place, adventure and discovery.
Mingo
It must have been an awesome view from the mansion back in the day. One of the finer vistas from Cody's Scarp. Don't you love the ferns on top of the columns?
See any shrumes on your way?
Juancho, Sister Moon, I honestly don't know where we were. All I know is we came out at Tram road and we started at Tom Brown.
Dang Mingo, nice comment. That was one of the best rides ever. The adversity is what made it cool.
Sinks, ya shoulda been there, it was you're kinda ride!
Ahhh, the Verdura ruins (10 columns) and the legacy of Benjamin Chaires.
Congratulations WB, you had yourself a"Bike Church" like adventure.
-otersen
Glad you guys made it back alive Mr. O! I owe you some bug spray!
That looks like a proper exploration ride! Is it accessible via foot at all? I know a certain camera obssed wife that would love to capture some of that in three weeks when we join you
The REAL bike-churchers tracked this team down, just as they were leaving the ruins...of course, we'd already ridden to the N end of Micc. Greenway, out to Crump/MilesJ back to TB, and THEN Verdura.
Most memorable moment: Cliffy changing a flat while more than 100 skeeters bite his ass. yeow!!
How to show your non bike friends Verdura:
Have some one drop you off where Williams turns to the East.
(your at the bottom of the scarp) Hike straight up the hill, West.
Waa-La!
Take photos, say hello to a few ghosts, imagine time long gone.
-otersen
Mr. Lad! It'd be a pretty tough hike and some of it is over fences with "stay out" signs. I will consult with Big Worm to see if there is a back door we can sneak Yall in!
We are all looking forward to your visit!
Thanks Mr. O. I was typing as you posted....thx again!
There ya go FL!
We are all looking forward to your visit!
And we can't wait to get there! :D
The days are dragging more than a little slowly at the 9-5 in the build up...
A little more about the Chaires here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaires,_Florida
The Chaires boys I knew in high school were far from "aristocratic" but they was land rich!
be careful out there, the looslacoochee Skunk Ape was hung from those columns as the place burnt.
Now, it's said the ghost of it looms large at the property. You should be fine as long as you don't get slowed down by pinch-flats and picture-takin' activities.
The sound is eerie, like the whistle from disc brakes.
Hey Fat Lad, we're looking forward to seeing you and the Missus! But you might mentally and supply-wise prepare yourself for deep Amazon mosquito levels. Mom Nature has been repleneshing the breeding grounds to a degree that we have not seen in many a year throughout N. Florida. You'll be okay as long as you're prepared.
Hey Otersen, I had noticed the same geographic oddity as you.
I told my father in law to head due west from the 90 degree turn in Williams and he would not miss it and he found it easy peasy (after multiple previous attempts at finding the site).
One day this will be surrounded by beautiful stick homes - with four models and three colors to choose from!
Dibs on Seafoam with tangerine trim!
I know a guy who got arrested out there, trying to find the ruins be careful. They also plant and hunt that area in the winter months.
The not real bike churchers road up on the REAL bike churchers sitting under a tree. Looking a little haggard. I believe it was one of their crew who called for the "shortest way out, I am cooked. Is your way home in the shade?" We road to IHop on the way there and stopped at Subway on the back with moonpies and chocolate milk in between. I like members of the congregation but the church was never a welcome place.
Mingo
That is truly the Devil's Church!
Witty repartee', I do so love good discourse.
You bike church guys may ride more miles, but you will NEVER be as funny as we are.
If you like hammering your bike for hours, smoke *herb, and don't mind trespassing you are a member of the destination oriented group of riders known as Bike Church.
(*some good friends don't)
-otersen
I do *remember those rides they were worthwhile memorable adventures, the kind of ride Mtn. Bikes are made for. I was a little harsh in my pissedoffedness.
(*I must have been one that didn't)
Mingo
Post a Comment