Beware of the Tamarancho Teeter Totter
Yesterday Kent, Bret and I rode at the Tamarancho Boy Scout camp in Fairfax. Since we all were going to smoke crack the night before, we agreed to a late start -- 11:00 a.m. Bad idea #1.
Earlier, I had foolishly agreed to drive, since I had a third bike tray that I could install. However, upon further inspection (on the morning of the trip), I realized that there is no way you can fit three bikes on top of a Jetta. So there were some last-minute calls to Bret to get him to drive. Since there is no way he can fit three bikes plus three people in his Outback, he spent some quality time re-installing his bike trays. Needless to say, we didn't leave the city until well after 11:00 a.m.
We finally got to Fairfax and proceeded to get lost. Fortunately, Fairfax isn't that big and it wasn't long before we rolled up to Sunshine Bikes and paid our $5 for day passes to Tamarancho.
It seems that the Boy Scouts are running quite the racket at Tamarancho, because the place is CRAWLING with riders. The way that place makes money, it wouldn't surprise me that the scouts are lighting their campfires with a fistful of benjamins.
We left Sunshine Bikes around 12:30 p.m. and headed off to Tamarancho. We had just entered the camp when my drivetrain began to make this weird grinding noise. Then the drivetrain locked up completely. Turns out one of the rear swingarm bolts had worked itself loose and was jamming the small chainring.
After some valiant attempts to make a quick trailside repair, we quickly realized that the crank arm wasn't budging. Fortunately, the road to the bike shop was mostly downhill and I was able to coast most of the way.
The good folks at Sunshine jumped to my aid and I was out the door in under 15 minutes and only $5 poorer. These guys rock!
We head back on the trail and this time we make it to the trailhead. After a run-in with a couple of chuckleheads who don't know that Uphill Has the Right Of Way, AND THAT MEANS ALWAYS, we hit the beginning of the Tamarancho Loop. We're sitting at the junction, picking our butts and wondering which way we should go, when two guys pass us.
"Hey, which way should we go? Clockwise or counterclockwise?"
"You guys from out of town?"
"Nah. We're from the City."
"Well, both ways are good, but if you've never ridden here before, go counterclockwise. It's more flowy. Plus you'll pass the teeter totter in about a quarter mile."
"Cool."
So off to the teeter totter we went. And what a teeter totter it was.
Now, I'm just an ignorant city boy, and I've never done seen a teeter totter like this. It was a DOUBLE teeter totter joined at the center by an old piece of rubber with a long run-in coming from the uphill side. Bret and Kent take one look at it and wisely decide to steer clear. I, on the other hand, am a veteran of two (count 'em, two) teeter totter adventures, so I decide to check it out.
Make no mistake, this thing is a Death Trap. Rideable? Yes. Fun? Yes. Death Trap? Claro que si. For one thing, every board on the structure is off-camber. For another, the teeter totters don't join properly, so you must hop a small lip to get to the second teeter totter. Finally, the teeter totter is built on the side of a steep, burr-filled hill. If you run (or fall) off the teeter totter, you (and your yard sale) will be making a quick trip down that hill.
I make a couple of exploratory runs. Kent tells me that if I either (1) clear the teeter totter, or (2) spectacularly wipe out he'll buy me lunch. Since that's the adult equivalent of a Double Dog Dare, I take him up on the offer. And I bite it. I get to the top of the first teeter totter and freeze. Bad idea #2. Five seconds later, I'm 20 feet down the hill, bloodied and covered in burrs.
Kent ups the ante. If I either (1) clear the teeter totter, or (2) spectacularly wipe out he'll pay for the bridge tool, too. This time I make it to the second teeter totter and am almost to the end when I realize (too late!) that the teeter totter itself is off-camber and I am headed for Yard Sale #2. Oops.
After that I bow to the victorious teeter totter and head off to further adventures, including the Involunary Re-route Around the Annoyed Rattlesnake and the Trailside Maintenance to Repair Rear Derailleur Jacked Up From Messing Around With Aforementioned Victorious Teeter Totter.
Oh, yeah, and the free double cheeseburger, fries and ice tea.
Photos to follow...
Earlier, I had foolishly agreed to drive, since I had a third bike tray that I could install. However, upon further inspection (on the morning of the trip), I realized that there is no way you can fit three bikes on top of a Jetta. So there were some last-minute calls to Bret to get him to drive. Since there is no way he can fit three bikes plus three people in his Outback, he spent some quality time re-installing his bike trays. Needless to say, we didn't leave the city until well after 11:00 a.m.
We finally got to Fairfax and proceeded to get lost. Fortunately, Fairfax isn't that big and it wasn't long before we rolled up to Sunshine Bikes and paid our $5 for day passes to Tamarancho.
It seems that the Boy Scouts are running quite the racket at Tamarancho, because the place is CRAWLING with riders. The way that place makes money, it wouldn't surprise me that the scouts are lighting their campfires with a fistful of benjamins.
We left Sunshine Bikes around 12:30 p.m. and headed off to Tamarancho. We had just entered the camp when my drivetrain began to make this weird grinding noise. Then the drivetrain locked up completely. Turns out one of the rear swingarm bolts had worked itself loose and was jamming the small chainring.
After some valiant attempts to make a quick trailside repair, we quickly realized that the crank arm wasn't budging. Fortunately, the road to the bike shop was mostly downhill and I was able to coast most of the way.
The good folks at Sunshine jumped to my aid and I was out the door in under 15 minutes and only $5 poorer. These guys rock!
We head back on the trail and this time we make it to the trailhead. After a run-in with a couple of chuckleheads who don't know that Uphill Has the Right Of Way, AND THAT MEANS ALWAYS, we hit the beginning of the Tamarancho Loop. We're sitting at the junction, picking our butts and wondering which way we should go, when two guys pass us.
"Hey, which way should we go? Clockwise or counterclockwise?"
"You guys from out of town?"
"Nah. We're from the City."
"Well, both ways are good, but if you've never ridden here before, go counterclockwise. It's more flowy. Plus you'll pass the teeter totter in about a quarter mile."
"Cool."
So off to the teeter totter we went. And what a teeter totter it was.
Now, I'm just an ignorant city boy, and I've never done seen a teeter totter like this. It was a DOUBLE teeter totter joined at the center by an old piece of rubber with a long run-in coming from the uphill side. Bret and Kent take one look at it and wisely decide to steer clear. I, on the other hand, am a veteran of two (count 'em, two) teeter totter adventures, so I decide to check it out.
Make no mistake, this thing is a Death Trap. Rideable? Yes. Fun? Yes. Death Trap? Claro que si. For one thing, every board on the structure is off-camber. For another, the teeter totters don't join properly, so you must hop a small lip to get to the second teeter totter. Finally, the teeter totter is built on the side of a steep, burr-filled hill. If you run (or fall) off the teeter totter, you (and your yard sale) will be making a quick trip down that hill.
I make a couple of exploratory runs. Kent tells me that if I either (1) clear the teeter totter, or (2) spectacularly wipe out he'll buy me lunch. Since that's the adult equivalent of a Double Dog Dare, I take him up on the offer. And I bite it. I get to the top of the first teeter totter and freeze. Bad idea #2. Five seconds later, I'm 20 feet down the hill, bloodied and covered in burrs.
Kent ups the ante. If I either (1) clear the teeter totter, or (2) spectacularly wipe out he'll pay for the bridge tool, too. This time I make it to the second teeter totter and am almost to the end when I realize (too late!) that the teeter totter itself is off-camber and I am headed for Yard Sale #2. Oops.
After that I bow to the victorious teeter totter and head off to further adventures, including the Involunary Re-route Around the Annoyed Rattlesnake and the Trailside Maintenance to Repair Rear Derailleur Jacked Up From Messing Around With Aforementioned Victorious Teeter Totter.
Oh, yeah, and the free double cheeseburger, fries and ice tea.
Photos to follow...
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