You have perfectly good trail at home.

We bought our house for a multitude of reasons to include the school system for our then 17 year old kid, it's delightfully tiny size, getting away from a greedy landlord, and proximity to a greenway for The Pie and a trail for me.  The Backyard Trails are some of the oldest, least flowy, most technical, def shitty ones around.  I can say that fairly (I think) because I've done more trail work here than anywhere else in Charlotte that I've stuck a tool in dirt.  It's probably seen the majority of my miles, not like a landslide majority, but more like what our incoming presidential administration would call a majority that gives the BYT a "mandate."

I've ridden there a lot lately, an almost mind numbing amount of time.  Mostly because I've done a fair amount of solo rides recently, and my desire to get into a car by myself to do a "hobby" on "just another all to familiar trail" is low.  There's been a few Dr Mike rides and a Tarheel Trailblazer Social Ride, but mostly it's just been me and my shadow.

Being out there by myself so much has given me a different perspective.  I've felt less time-crunched the last couple months, so I find myself pausing to look at different lines as opposed to just ripping laps in the name of fitness.  Not being in a hurry or feeling like I'm affecting someone's happiness by titty-dicking aboot, I've leaned my bike against a tree multiple times and looked at some of the more technical sections I've ridden for years from every angle I can think of.

Like so many other parts of the BYT, anyone from the outside would look at a picture of it and think "Am I looking at part of a trail?"

This stupid corner is on the Farmbrook Loop.  You know it's coming up because you just dipped down into the ditch reinforced with the erosion-control orange milk crate and you're about to make a pancake flat, zero momentum 45° turn into a three to four foot up of rooty mess of a hairpin.  I've always taken the same outside line because it's what I always did... because it works... but I thought "what if?"

I've been doing that a lot lately.  On some occasions, I've found some better lines.  I've also discovered a lot worse choices.  Way worse.  Like, "what the fuck was I thinking?" worse.

I was having such a good day on Sunday that I decided to go ahead and ride over to the Tech Loop to make a few attempts at a much contentious (amongst us locals) bit of trail.  I was there when this tiny non-consequential climb was built.  I know what it looked like originally.  In the past, the trail coordinator (although Hubbs would never want a formal title as such) would replace the washed away dirt occasionally, being that bit of trail was just a ditch for water to drain down, with no real option to redirect the erosion issue from above.  He's moved on to other things, so without his help, this section of trail has just gone to shit... or become "more technical" depending on your perspective.

In the past, I've lobbied for a legitimate go-around to be created, if for no other reason than to keep a "concerned citizen" from removing the large rocks in an effort to make things better ITHO.  We've seen it happen a billionty times in the past, so it's just a matter of time IMHO.  The idea of an alternate line was met with a fair amount resistance.  One was scratched in, blocked, dug back out, and blocked even more enthusiastically.  Another one popped out that cut out much less of the trail, and it has remained ever since... but with an equal amount of resistance to the idea that it should exist.  To me, it was an amicable solution that had zero drawbacks on a two mile trail with probably six to eight other technical features with well established alternates.

So with the challenge still there and probably close to a hundred personal failed attempts over the last decade plus with two resulting in injury, I decided to give it a go with a more deep dive analysis, breaking it down into three to four separate problems to be solved.

I got stuck on the final crux move multiple times, stymied by the ledge rock before it, or just lost traction anywhere along the way on the smaller loose rocks.  After I have no idea how many attempts, I finally made it.  It was honestly the happiest moment I'd had on a bike in a very long time.  I threw my bike down and let out a barbaric yawp.  

"Fuck you, trail!"

While the stoke was still present, and the knowledge fresh in my head, I went back down and did it again.

I tried to position my phone to take a video, but it was quickly obvious that no angle would catch it from a static, propped in place position.  Poop.  That said, even videos taken by observers flatten the whole thing into a nothing burger that can only be interpreted as difficult by someone who has been there/done that (but more than likely not done that).

I went for it one more time anyways... and proceed to ram my right foot into the boulder at the top.

That'll do, pig.

We argue about shit trails scratched on the earth in garbage woods... or the other way around since we're building trails on the old poop plant property.  Being one of the oldest trails in Charlotte (if you count its many years of existing in a pirate status), it's had many, many, many generals and captains.  Few of the old guard remain, then there's the Gen Xers and Millennials in between them and the new generation of riders... a now a huge influx of yutes.  We're all not gonna agree, but if we spend half the time that we spend arguing about the trail actually working on it, I think we're going to be okay.*

Also, here's to slowing down and smelling to roses... or smelling the trails made outta poop dirt.

Happy holidays, you shit birds.

* I wish I woulda stopped at two** particular sections of trail (downhill'ish?) that have suffered from so much trail creep over the decades from people avoiding roots and rocks that you have about 10-15" of "trail" to choose from... and nobody ever pinched it down... but let's argue about go arounds.

** Deep local stuff, but... last super lower bit on Middle Third before the up and right hand rooty bit (on your way back up towards the Bumble Bee Jumps) and the wide, choose your own root adventure almost at the end of Farmbrook.