Going Buggy, But Not At Graham's Swamp

There's nothing lovable about love bugs.  

They blossom here over pavement whenever the temps are just right, mostly in May.  They hover in tandem, unwittingly awaiting messy deaths on bumpers and windshields.

Geesh.  Get a room.

At least mountain bikers can smile.  Poor roadies!  

It is so worth getting out on the road this time of year, though.  Especially if you are heading to a trail in a Honda Elephant with your mountain bikes on the inside.  (And the bugs on the outside.)

You'd think these grossest of bugs would be found in a place named for a swamp.

But no.  They were all out on the road.

We did our best to take out our share.

After a night of rain, the best trail around is Graham's Swamp. 

The dozen or more climbing challenges are pretty evenly interspersed along the 6 and a half mile course. With lots of twists and turns, rock options, bridges, and on dryer days, plenty of sand.

By Sunday afternoon though, the rain had cleared out.  Clouds puffed white in a suddenly blue sky.  Temps landed somewhere in the high 70's.  And best of all, the sand was damped down.  

Graham's Swamp.

80% easy, winding singletrack.


20% hard, sweaty climbing.  

100% non stop fun. 

Because, of course, what goes up must come down.

Taking the bailouts is a no-brainer for me. 

Not everyone does, though.

A big fresh gouge in the trail at the bottom shows where somebody landed less than gracefully.

Impressive. 
 
I take a picture.

A disturbance in the force.

At the end of the loop, I catch up with Popeye and Krafty, surprised to see them at the trailhead when I get back.

So.
 
Krafty. 
 
Going for the gusto and gaining a gouge.  
 
That endo was probably spectacular. Sorry I missed it.

Checking for cracks.

Yep, he hit hard.  Needs replacing. 

The helmet, not his head.  :)

Bloody knee, maybe a cracked rib or two.   But no permanent damage (readily apparent, anyway). 

Whew.  So much cheaper to replace a helmet than your head.  And way less messy.

By the time we leave Krafty getting into his car, and get ourselves back out for loop #2, the sand is starting to dry.  

I'm not making all the climbs I made the first time around. 

Popeye is out of sight in no time.

Loop #3.  I am eyeing a narrow, wooden bridge over a sinkhole maybe eight or ten feet deep. 

Thank the trail-builders, it's easy enough to bypass completely. 

As a matter of fact, one might even wonder why it's there at all.  To boost helmet sales at the local bike shop?

Then I remember seeing the trail crew putting it to good use when we were here in February.

Perfect for lunch break. 

Now in my book, that's a useful bridge.

Home sweet home.   Get out the hose.  The splatter of a thousand Love Bugs is a nasty sight.  

But at the end of the day, that's the only splatter we've seen. 

And we're good with that.