Real mountain biking

I just got back from North Carolina, and was fortunate enough to get some serious riding time in at Tsali. In three days I managed to ride all the trails...which is quite a feat considering my past luck in riding there.
Since I've only ridden Left Loop one other time, I had never taken the overlook loop. I rode to the overlook this time, and I'm glad I did!

Lake Fontana, from the Left Loop Overlook.

The overlook loop is not what you would call a beginner route, but the view is worth the price of admission. You are on a bluff that has to be every bit of 500ft above the lake. What a view!

On the whole, Left Loop is probably the hardest trail in the Tsali trail system. Don't let that deter you though, it's not to be missed.

The remains of an old homestead- Left Loop

Wonderful Tsali singletrack- Mouse Branch

While I thoroughly enjoyed Left loop, there was one dark spot on an otherwise grand ride. No, I didn't break any bones, no sprains, no bruises. It was a bee. I was stung by a damn bee. I'm cruisin' down the trail, and I'd already had some thorny bushes scratch my arm, so when the bee first stung me I thought it was another thorn bush. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something on my arm, so I shook my arm to get the bug off(I didn't want to stop, that wouldn't have been right). Well, to make a long story short, I finally realized that the pain in my arm and the bug on my arm were connected. Fortunately, I'm not allergic to bee stings(never been stung before). I hope that bee died a horrible lingering death.

I did have a brush with the more painful side of mtn biking while riding Right loop. I was nearing the Right loop overlook when...well, let's just say I wound up going off the side of the trail and damned near rolled down the hill/mtn. I choose to leave out the details of exactly how I got there. Gotta maintain some dignity, right?
Anyway, some bushes stopped my fall and no bodily injury occured. The only casualty was my bottle cage. My leg hit it or somethin', and it was bent all to sh...hell. I ended up spending 20-30min at the overlook straightening it out. AS I got back up on the trail I didn't notice that my bottle cage was thrashed. What caught my attention was the fact that my water bottle was missing. It was only after retrieving my bottle from the embankment, and subsequently putting it back in the cage, that I realized my cage was caddywompus.

Dude, where's my water bottle?

Hmm, I don't think my cage should be at that angle.

After fixing my bottle cage and was about to finish my ride, I noticed a trail I'd not seen before. I thought it might be an alternate route out of the overlook loop. I never found out where that trail came out at, or if it even went anywhere. That had to be the most technical descent I've ever seen. It started out as a tight singletrack descent filled with roots. The roots gave way to rocks and a very exposed, rock filled slope down to the lake. I decided that "discretion is the better part of valor". I took a couple of pics and then went back the way I came.

Are you f**king kidding me? look at them rocks!

As drama filled as my ride may have sounded, it pailed in comparison to the poor guy who broke his hip out on Thompson loop. I'm not sure exactly how he did it. It took rescuers 2 1/2hrs to get him out. I heard that they had to get a pontoon boat to get him off the trail(for those not in the know, the Tsali trails follow the contours of Lake Fontana), so they could then get him to a spot where a medevac helicopter could fly him out. Again, I'm not sure how he hurt himself, as I rode that same trail not 20 min after he was evaced, and the area where he went down at wasn't technical. I'm thinking he must've been new to the sport and made a noobie mistake.

I had a great time at Tsali, probably the best time since I started riding there. I'll be going back in a little over a month, this time with a buddy. Riding by yourself gets old.

Here's the final tally:
-42 miles ridden
-5000 ft of climbing
-1 bee sting
-1 bent bottle cage
-rock-fu
-root-fu
-thorny bush-fu

Can't wait to do it again!