Posted by Buoyed by yesterdays explorations, today I decided to tackle another black run – Credit Line.
Credit Line chewed me up, spat me out and told me not to come back until I was ready to play with the big boys.
Thankfully, the ride up to the start of Credit Line was absolutely beautiful as I again found myself turning the pedals up a gently climbing gravel road marvelling at the pine forests, lakes and squirrels. I’ve decided I want a squirrel, not in a cage or anything, a live one running around outside. I mean wallabies and possums are all fine, but squirrels are just cute.
At the top I got to enjoy a great run around Mike’s Loop, a nice flat intermediate trail with lots of easy riding and a few bridge features thrown in for good measure, but then I turned off onto Credit Line and although it started out promising, I got munched in the middle by steep, slippery rock sections and deep roots and sharp drops. I walked lots of the middle section, but still ended up taking a nasty fall coming down some flow stone. Thankfully just bruises, nothing broken or sprained.
However, something strange happened near the bottom, I got sick of pushing and being a wimp, so instead of taking things slowly and picking my line, jumping off the bike if I wasn’t certain if I could make it over an obstacle, instead I just eased off the brakes and decided to see what would happen … as I picked up speed I found myself being able to pick better lines, act more decisively on drops, hit root obstacles better … I was, for the briefest moments, in control and it felt great.
That said, I was still very happy to finally drop out onto Jack’s Trail (easy grade) which I followed back up to Alice Lake where I had started.
After a swim in the lake, I headed up to Whistler, 50kms up the road, where I’ve booked myself three nights accommodation. I figure I’ll explore those trails for a couple of days, maybe have a day off to put my feet up or do something different, and then decide where to spend my last couple of days in Canada.