# Nassahegan - 10/13/08



## Greg (Oct 13, 2008)

Sick friggin' ride this afternoon. I pulled in (right at 3 pm as usual :roll: ) and saw gmcunni and rueler were already suited up. We got rolling pretty quickly after I showed them my helmet cam rig job. We headed straight to the swamp warm-up and aimed for the A frame and ladder drops. I tailed rueler and hit all three, wheelie dropping the drops since I knew I was going way too slow. I survived though. We then looped back north and hit another little loop with another skinnier A frame (hit it) and a ladder to rock drop (skipped). I futzed around with the camera while rueler sessioned around. We then looped back to the first A frame and drops and I tailed rueler again, this time shotting vid. Gary hit the A frame both times!

We then crossed Scoville and south towards E. Chippins. At the 4 way we bee lined it back to Lamson Corner. I actually took the bridge over the river right near the lot without hesitating. Check another off the list. We then headed into the cemetery and did the big loop. I cleared both ledges up by the forest acces road. Gary did great on what is a pretty kick ass route. I was tailing him on the downhill and he was killing it on that hard tail. He flew into the steep washed out section right before the little bridge holding on for dear life it seemed.. Awesome! I think I got it on vid.

We paralled 69 back and we all hit that little log ladder (check another off the list!) just up from the radiator skinny. We looked at the skinny, but all skipped it. Once back near the A frame/drops, rueler split and Gary and I hit the ladders again to shoot some vid.

Great to have rueler on point much of the ride. He's very fast and kept us moving quickly. We finished the whole ride in under 2:30 and logged 9-ish miles. I'm relying on Gary for the GPS track. The verdict on the helmet cam footage so far looks good. It stayed pretty solid for the whole ride. The only issue I see in the little bit of footage I look at is it seems the angle is pointing down too much. Good for the downhills, but not so much on the flats and ups. I'll put something together tonight. I have a 6 pack of Sierra Nevada Pale Ales to rip through tonight along with the editing! :lol:

Awesome ride fellas! The colors in the woods are great!


----------



## powhunter (Oct 13, 2008)

nice report!!   wish I could have joined ya!!!!

steve


----------



## MR. evil (Oct 13, 2008)

You guys suck!
I wish I could have ridden today but I had to work.

Good good hitting those stunts. I will be checking those off my list next time I am there.


----------



## 2knees (Oct 13, 2008)

nice job hitting those three.  the root messes you up on the approach to the first ramp which in turn makes it hard to get enough speed to properly drop the ladder thingie.  I thought i was gonna endo off that ladder the first time i hit it.  just not enough speed.


where are the 2nd a-frame and rock drop?  i'd love to check those out sometime.


cant wait to see your footage.  should be sick.


----------



## rueler (Oct 13, 2008)

Really nice ride Greg and Gary! I had fun out there with you guys. Wish that I could have stuck around for some more jumps...:sad: 

you guys were moving fast today...especially on the cemetery and scoville twisties...anybody can go fast on the downhills, you guys were cranking on those flats too!! Nice stuff! :beer:


----------



## rueler (Oct 13, 2008)

2knees said:


> where are the 2nd a-frame and rock drop?  i'd love to check those out sometime.



about a 2 minute ride from the 3 stunt area (a-frame, jump, ladder drop)...when you get to the bottom of the drops trail bang a right avoiding the clapped out swamp bridges....when you get to the next trail intersection take a left...ride that trail for a bit and look for an entrance on the left....it's a quick little horseshoe loop that goes right back onto the main trail. 

The stuntry is mostly natural rocky features...but, there's a narrower a-frame,  a highly technical ladder roller down a steep face...the exit runoff doesn't have a good angle and no flow...there's also a techy rock roller (did this one) and a table top rock roller (the exit sketched me out today...it seemed to lose some deadfall that made the tranny smoother).


----------



## Greg (Oct 13, 2008)

Ack. :blink: The footage is not so great. Way too much of a down angle. I'm not going to go through with as complete a vid as I anticipated. Overall though, pretty stable footage and once I get the angle right, it's going to work well. Still cool to watch. I'll put together a highlight reel.


----------



## gmcunni (Oct 13, 2008)

Here's the GPS track:
http://www.crankfire.com/trails/data.php?dataid=501

Fun ride today. Nass is huge!  Good to meet you rueler, thanks for leading the way today.

I hope i didn't hold you guys up too much. you both are freaking fast, it was like chasing two jack rabbits!!

I waited until the camera was off and Greg was out of sight before i tried that first drop after the A frame on the last leg of the ride.  I got up the ladder OK but the landing didn't go so well. OTB and a somersault made for a great way to end the day :lol:


----------



## Greg (Oct 13, 2008)

2knees said:


> nice job hitting those three.  the root messes you up on the approach to the first ramp which in turn makes it hard to get enough speed to properly drop the ladder thingie.  I thought i was gonna endo off that ladder the first time i hit it.  just not enough speed.



It is a tough approach to the first ladder after that A frame. That big ass root wants to kick you sideways. The first time I hit it, I knew I was way too slow, so I had to pedal up the ramp and wheelie drop it. By doing so, I was still way to slow for the second drop, but I was committed, so I had to go for it. Another wheelie drop. Made them both clean although I landed on the rear wheel for both. :-o

On the second run through you'll see on the helmet cam. A frame to first ramp, landed perfect. Maintained enough speed for the second, but I ended up almost riding into a little pine tree. You'll notice the footage quickly transitions there. :lol: When Gary videod the two ladder drops, I started below the A frame and landed both well. I then went back up the hill to try all three in a row. A frame and first drop.....good. Last drop - too slow, endowed, unclipped and had to put a foot down while landing to keep from going OTB. It turns out that's about the exact same time Gary endoed on the first ladder drop. I give him credit for trying! Definitely three stunts that are tricky to link together, but totally fun.



rueler said:


> you guys were moving fast today...especially on the cemetery and scoville twisties...anybody can go fast on the downhills, you guys were cranking on those flats too!! Nice stuff! :beer:



Thanks for the kind words. A lot of people tell me I ride fast, but man, you just kill it. I love having someone in front of me pulling away all the time as it helps drive me to ride faster. Thanks for all the breathing and rolling recovery tips. I implemented a lot of them today and it really helps.



gmcunni said:


> Here's the GPS track:
> http://www.crankfire.com/trails/data.php?dataid=501
> 
> Fun ride today. Nass is huge!  Good to meet you rueler, thanks for leading the way today.
> ...



Thanks for the GPS track. Glad you enjoyed the ride. You totally didn't slow us up. I was really impressed with your riding today. For a guy who's only been riding for 6 or so weeks, plus recovering from a broken shoulder this summer, not to mention being an "old" guy , you effin kill it, man. Rolled the A frames without a thought, attempted the first ladder, huffing the Cornwall hill and speeding the downhill, hitting the log ladder ride, and basically keeping right up with us? You should be very happy with your riding!

Vid is uploading to YouTube as we speak. It's kinda interesting to watch, I guess.


----------



## rueler (Oct 13, 2008)

gmcunni said:


> Here's the GPS track:
> http://www.crankfire.com/trails/data.php?dataid=501
> 
> Fun ride today. Nass is huge!  Good to meet you rueler, thanks for leading the way today.
> ...



You only saw one fourth of the mighty Nass today Gary! There are 40+ miles to explore in there...when we reached the top of that nasty ass climb we could have headed east and been in a whole other "nass network". Next time we can take you on a completely different loop and never cross any of the trails we did today...unless you want to! :grin:

You didn't hold anyone up...you rip!


----------



## 2knees (Oct 13, 2008)

Greg said:


> It is a tough approach to the first ladder after that A frame. That big ass root wants to kick you sideways. The first time I hit it, I knew I was way too slow, so I had to pedal up the ramp and wheelie drop it. By doing so, I was still way to slow for the second drop, but I was committed, so I had to go for it. Another wheelie drop. Made them both clean although I landed on the rear wheel for both. :-o
> 
> On the second run through you'll see on the helmet cam. A frame to first ramp, landed perfect. Maintained enough speed for the second, but I ended up almost riding into a little pine tree. You'll notice the footage quickly transitions there. :lol: When Gary videod the two ladder drops, I started below the A frame and landed both well. I then went back up the hill to try all three in a row. A frame and first drop.....good. Last drop - too slow, endowed, unclipped and had to put a foot down while landing to keep from going OTB. It turns out that's about the exact same time Gary endoed on the first ladder drop. I give him credit for trying! Definitely three stunts that are tricky to link together, but totally fun.



ha!  i only linked all 3 one of the 4 times.  I started below the a-frame when we went back there after our ride.  You cant navigate the turn and the root and still line up to the takeoff, with too much speed.  I found this out the hard way.  My first attempt resulted in being way off from the ramp and having to mash both brakes to keep from drilling the log.  Needless to say, i went over the bars and thankfully, over the log too.


----------



## Greg (Oct 13, 2008)

*Helmet Cam Vid!*

Here's the vid. It basically goes like this:

_Helmet cam footage of the A frame to the double drops, Cemetery twisties, Cornwall to 69 Downhill, Small log ladder ride, gmcunni on the A frame, Greg on the double drops._

I really wish I had the helmet cam set so it wasn't pointing down so much, but not bad for a first attempt...way better than the handlebar mount. The next one will be better. Anyway, here ya go:


----------



## rueler (Oct 13, 2008)

2knees said:


> ha!  i only linked all 3 one of the 4 times.  I started below the a-frame when we went back there after our ride.  You cant navigate the turn and the root and still line up to the takeoff, with too much speed.  I found this out the hard way.  My first attempt resulted in being way off from the ramp and having to mash both brakes to keep from drilling the log.  Needless to say, i went over the bars and thankfully, over the log too.



when riding the approach to the first jump after the a-frame, you obviously dealt with the big ass root that screws with all of your momentum to launch that thing properly...what's worked for me is to take the line directly to the right of the root...between that root and a smallish stump...that's the smoothest most direct line that I have encountered.


----------



## Greg (Oct 13, 2008)

rueler said:


> You only saw one fourth of the mighty Nass today Gary! There are 40+ miles to explore in there...when we reached the top of that nasty ass climb we could have headed east and been in a whole other "nass network". Next time we can take you on a completely different loop and never cross any of the trails we did today...unless you want to! :grin:
> 
> You didn't hold anyone up...you rip!



Gary's ridden the Stone Road area with us once. Brian and I linked the Scoville trails to the Stone Road network on our 2 man tour. I still want to throw Sessions into a similar route and call that our mini Tour de Nassty. You guys that do the 40 miler are friggin' whacked. Not that I wouldn't want to join you one day.... :lol:


----------



## gmcunni (Oct 13, 2008)

Greg said:


> Here's the vid.



Greg, video came out nice. 

1. my high-visability yellow shirt was highly visable ;-)
2. you were right, the ramp up the A frame looks flat on video
3. the footage of you following me looks flat too, was that the downhill?
4. you made those drops look easy


----------



## Greg (Oct 13, 2008)

Greg said:


> I have a 6 pack of Sierra Nevada Pale Ales to rip through tonight along with the editing! :lol:



I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed. Just cracked open my 6th and final Pale Ale. That on top of a sick ass MTB ride today, as well as the radical beef and chicken kabob dinner my wife was grilling up when I got home, and I'm about to fall off my chair! :lol: Gonna be draggin' ass tomorrow. 



gmcunni said:


> Greg, video came out nice.


Thanks.


gmcunni said:


> 1. my high-visability yellow shirt was highly visable ;-)


Yes. No hunters today.


gmcunni said:


> 2. you were right, the ramp up the A frame looks flat on video


Told ya. Perspective is a mind f@(k.


gmcunni said:


> 3. the footage of you following me looks flat too, was that the downhill?


Yes. That's the downhll. Like skiing vids, everything looks flatter.


gmcunni said:


> 4. you made those drops look easy


Thanks. That first one is no longer a concern. The second isn't either, but my final attempt wasn't as elegant. Can't wait to now put those together consistently. Fun stuff.


----------



## gorgonzola (Oct 13, 2008)

nice vid - those drops look cool!


----------



## Greg (Oct 13, 2008)

gorgonzola said:


> nice vid - those drops look cool!



Thanks!

Not that anyone will be interested in waiting to download it (206 MB :-o), but the high res version is here:

http://skiadk.com/mtbvids/Nass_Helmet_Cam_101308.wmv


----------



## o3jeff (Oct 14, 2008)

Wish I cold of made it out with you guys. Video came out good and if I was videoing it you would of heard me panting like  dog on a hot summer day. You'll have to let me in on these breathing tips you mentioned.


----------



## bvibert (Oct 14, 2008)

Looks like a good ride guys.  Nice work on the video Greg.  I wish I could have joined you.  I'm starting to feel a bit left out with all this stuntry you guys are hitting...



o3jeff said:


> You'll have to let me in on these breathing tips you mentioned.



Same here!


----------



## severine (Oct 14, 2008)

Nice vid!  Great perspective for a chicken like me who probably won't try those stunts.  :lol:


----------



## Greg (Oct 14, 2008)

bvibert said:


> I'm starting to feel a bit left out with all this stuntry you guys are hitting...



Bah! Ride at your own pace/comfort/skill level. Despite all the ribbing we do online, I think we all know it's not a competition. I'm starting to get over my bridge fear so that helps. Also, those two drops at Tyler Mill made me more comfortable in the air. They're in the 3 foot range, but the approaches and more importantly the landings are wide open and smooth so they were good confidence builders. 3-4' is going to be my max for now and I'm cool with that since I'm primarily a trail rider. If you want to go any bigger you need to start hunting them out most of the time.



o3jeff said:


> You'll have to let me in on these breathing tips you mentioned.





bvibert said:


> Same here!



No big secret really, and probably stuff you already do. Really concentrating on doing it often is the key vs. just hammering the gas the whole time. I started a thread on it:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/38518-rolling-recovery.html


----------



## bvibert (Oct 14, 2008)

Greg said:


> Bah! Ride at your own pace/comfort/skill level. Despite all the ribbing we do online, I think we all know it's not a competition. I'm starting to get over my bridge fear so that helps. Also, those two drops at Tyler Mill made me more comfortable in the air. They're in the 3 foot range, but the approaches and more importantly the landings are wide open and smooth so they were good confidence builders. 3-4' is going to be my max for now and I'm cool with that since I'm primarily a trail rider. If you want to go any bigger you need to start hunting them out most of the time.



I am riding at my own level.  Riding with you guys gives me the confidence to try harder stuff, not to mention I don't like hitting too much stuff when I'm by myself, for fear of getting hurt.


----------



## MR. evil (Oct 14, 2008)

bvibert said:


> I am riding at my own level.  Riding with you guys gives me the confidence to try harder stuff, not to mention I don't like hitting too much stuff when I'm by myself, for fear of getting hurt.



My advice is to get that beefier set of wheels before you start going after more air. You have been busting spokes on trail rides. You start hitting hitting several 2 to 3 foot drops in a row and your wheel will explode :razz:


----------



## o3jeff (Oct 14, 2008)

MR. evil said:


> My advice is to get that beefier set of wheels before you start going after more air. You have been busting spokes on trail rides. You start hitting hitting several 2 to 3 foot drops in a row and your wheel will explode :razz:



It will make for some good video.


----------



## bvibert (Oct 14, 2008)

MR. evil said:


> My advice is to get that beefier set of wheels before you start going after more air. You have been busting spokes on trail rides. You start hitting hitting several 2 to 3 foot drops in a row and your wheel will explode :razz:



New wheels are definitely in order, but I'm not even really talking about the drops so much as skinnies, a-frames, rollers, etc..


----------



## MR. evil (Oct 14, 2008)

bvibert said:


> New wheels are definitely in order, but I'm not even really talking about the drops so much as skinnies, a-frames, rollers, etc..



I am starting to find drops are easier than rollers. Steep rollers really freak me out. I need to get back to Case so I can hit those two rollers I wussed out on and get those off my list.


----------

