One week to train for a hundie

Once again, Todd snared me with his timing and cunning.  A few beers after work Friday night to drown the sorrows of the Saturday Pisgah ride that got hurricane drowned with only the hope of maybe getting out for a local before the rain hit here (no ride, meh), Todd called.

Something, something Wilson Creek...or was it Wilson's Ridge... something Sunday. 

I'm in for whatever it is, despite having to refamiliarize myself with setting an alarm.

Meet up, get in the car, "What are we doing?"

"Wilson's Ridge."

Ahhhh... I tried riding the whole thing with The Dude a million years ago.  Lost the trail, lost ourselves, lost hope, lost the day to a shit ride but a hell of an adventure.  Bikes falling apart, water running out, One dem kinds, but that was a lifetime ago.

The only person on this ride that has tried this route has failed as well.  I've heard good things lately tho.

Good things.

Next time, I'm bringing an eye sticker and a heart sticker.

Fifteen miles of gravel to get to the top of the ridge itself and then fun and then more fun and then this girl shows up.

She rode with us for most of the length of Middle Wilson's Ridge, which I'm pretty sure she knew better than we did.  Discussions were had as to whether or not if we took her back to Charlotte, would we be stealing her or saving her, and if we were saving her, how do we even start to look for her owners (beyond hoping she's chipped).

Because helmet mounted pizza has been requested.

iT's a fEatUre.

Big 'n Buttery pushing his way "down" lower Middle Wilson's Ridge... mebbe?  Doggo knows.

It looked down on the map anyways...

Terribly hard to get stunting images on the climb down the mountain.

Ripping ruts and nailing butts.

In the end, the doggo was eventually dropped when we got to an extended descent.  Mebbe I'm comforted by the fact that this wasn't the first time I'd seen a loose no collar/no tag canine wandering about in the area.  That and the trail did drop out to a well used gravel road that does have people living on it (a few miles away tho).

In the end, we did get the whole ridge, confirming what I'd heard some years ago that work was done to open up the lesser used pieces.  Thirty miles and 3,600+ feet of going up and also down followed by a very nice socially distanced Chor-weasel burrito.

Buenos.