Muni Gathering, Roanoke Virginia, June 2012: Pick a weekend and show up!

[Nurse Ben]

My wife just finished a batch of veggie chili, so that makes two.

Anyone else bringing chili or something to share for Friday night?

I think we need tortilla chips, bread, salsa, guac, etc... Anyone wanna bring the condiments and such?

So is this sprint boat a kayak? I'll give it a whirl, can't be too much tippier than some of the ww playboats I used to paddle; I wonder if I can get it to squirt

[paxuni]

Brick- Meet us at the beaver dam camp site. Check in is at four. You are welcome to park at the pax/upd in DSP camping site. Bert has a rental car and yellow Marmot, pax has his Limey green tent. Bert plans on being there earlier than everyone else. Although the unicycles might be another give away : )

Depends on the ranger at the check in as to how flexible the site land grab is.

Nurse Ben the 'sprint boat' is an Olympic rules K1 sprint kayak for 500 to 1000 m flat water racing. 520 cm (17'1") long, about 40 cm wide and low volume. Profile resembles the roundness of a log: )

MadF- as long as Marines have small feet and tiny bums (and madB b-for balance) it'll be entertaining. Of course a racing wing paddle is also a unique challenge even if you have kayaked before but never used a wing. I usually paddle faster than I pedal Muni.

pax

[Nurse Ben]

The wing paddle looks like a refined low profile touring blade. So is the racing kayak a sit on top or are you inside it like a typical kayak? How fast can you go?

I used to have some low profile Prijon touring boats, pretty fast for rotomolded stuff, could roll em fine, really nice to roll them over on edge and carve a long arc.

I'm betting MadFurai is gonna do some swimming, that's a tippy styled boat for non paddlers, kinda like a downriver race boat, great once you're moving, key words: once your moving

We're planning on leaving around 10am, should be there around 5pm, barring traffic and such.

@Brickman: You know it's gonna be hotter than a frying pan, right? We probably need to wait until the sun is low before cranking out for a ride, otherwise we are gonna melt! Can you hang until dark? That way we can ride the last hour or so before dusk.

We're going straight to the campground, so if you don't have a site, just tell them you're with me, last name is Kadas.

See you tomorrow

[munimag]

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

I think we need tortilla chips, bread, salsa, guac, etc... Anyone wanna bring the condiments and such?

I will bring chips and salsa.

Ben - I plan to arrive by about 4 pm. If I'm there before you I will grab a site.

[BrickMan]

Agree with the heat..its 101 with a 111 index at my house now. I will be coming later.

[jbtilley]

So... I survived Douthat Muni Gathering t-shirts? Too soon?

Just posting in case anyone there sees it. We won't be around for the Saturday or Sunday rides. We headed back. Felt it was best for our kid.

The fun really started after we left. If you have a sympathetic ear you can hear the tale of our epic 7h 45m ride back home (it only took 4h 30m to get up there). Just got back, need sleep comments later.

[Nurse Ben]

It was epic in oh so many ways

I'm checking in from Blackburg, a town with power; we lost ours, you see, we had a little storm last night, winds bursts upwards of 80mph, trees snapping off, being blown over, it all started after we go back from our first ride on Friday night.

It was hot, hot, hot! Seven riders headed off with Claude in the lead, seven riders did a bunch of uphill hiking BECAUSE Claude was in the lead It wasn't that bad, once we found out we were on the wrong trail...we were back only a few minutes when the "freight train" roared through and the trees started coming down.

Apparently we insulted the mountain gawds, so they decided to test our mettle but throwing some weather at us. We lost some tents, a few crushed by trees, a few just blown away, no one was hurt, much beer was drank, all while sitting in the women's restroom

We all finally get our camp reorganized around 10pm, but the power was out and the park road was blocked with trees. I had a nice cooool shower in the dark, then we gathered in our camper and some more beer was drank, chips and salsa met their demise...we were sleeping soundly by midnight.

In the morning we had quite a mess, limbs everywhere, big trees down on the road, chainsaw crews and heavy equipment rolled through around 7am. Got up early, set the coffee to brewing, put out a little breakfast, folks were coming together, we were all ready for a big ride, when the ranger came by to deliver the news: No power = No water, so you all gotta pack up and go home. Bummer!!

Well, at least we got another ride, and what a ride it was, five miles of great single track, lots of debris, quite a few downed trees to climb over, but it was a lot of fun. Pictures to follow..suffice to say, the 36ers boyz rolled the trails big! Yes, Dorothy, yes!

Thanks to everyone who made the drive, it turned out pretty good even with the hurrican winds and wet sleeping bags :0

So, next year, how about doing it in May?

[jbtilley]

We were able to "get out" that night.

We left the camp a little before 10:00 PM and I joined a chainsaw crew for an hour or so to clear a path wide enough for one car all the way out of the park. We eventually met up with some firemen sawing their way into the park from the far side, they were there to get injured people out.

You would not believe the number of trees down on the road that night. Maybe you would, you got to see it in the daylight, I only saw what was visible in the rainy dark.

We had an hour detour just before Roanoke, then traffic was completely stopped just south of Roanoke. After an hour of that (it was another downed tree - the storm reached that far) we were on our way.

Almost 8 hours on the return trip - I drove straight through, we got home a little after 5:00AM. The ride and storm adrenaline (and after moving trees, etc.) the back pain kept me awake.

Yes, next year winter or something. Maybe a place without trees as well... like Utah.

MadFurai, thanks for bringing your kids. I'm sure the trip would have been nothing but terrible for our kid if he didn't have at least a few fond minutes to look back on.

[MadFurai]

Originally Posted by jbtilley

MadFurai, thanks for bringing your kids. I'm sure the trip would have been nothing but terrible for our kid if he didn't have at least a few fond minutes to look back on.

Great times were had even though the trip was cut short. My wife (who doesn't even ride a Uni) is already telling me she wants to do it again before the summer is over. I guess she is a glutton for punishment (1st clue was she married me).

Jbtilley, my son had a great time with yours and my wife enjoyed talking to your wife, too. We should get together for some riding in Raleigh soon. I have tons of family there I could stay with and visit. And you can refresh my memory about the trail systems in the area. It's only a 2.5 hour drive, so a weekend is definitely do-able. I hope your back and your knee recover quickly.

[paxuni]

Wow, I spent less than 24 hours at Douthat from check-in to escape and got a life time of memories...

Best night ever of drinking beer in a dark ladies room.

Watched UPD in Utah's tent blow away twice (and helped him recover it).

Discovered that wearing a bike helmet in the middle of a storm isn't just a fashion statement.

Found thirty or more trees blocking the trails this morning that weren't there the night before and countless limbs. We cleared what we could.

Now know 90 plus temps and Munimag's ability to find steep loose terrain puts pax on the edge.

100 oz of hydration is better than 50 when it's 'warm' outside.

Witnessed great riding from skillful obstacle negotiation to displays of climbing power. Even had a coupe of moments myself to feel good about my riding. Barreling through recently downed sticks, branches and leaves was a blast.

Spending time with other riders and their families is a great way to share a weekend.

Thank you everyone for a memorable 24 hours. Specially those whose plans got messed up. I can't wait to see the pictures or maybe a video.

pax

[rolandisimo]

sounds like an adventure, sorry I wasn't able to join you guys.
Ro

Originally Posted by paxuni

Wow, I spent less than 24 hours at Douthat from check-in to escape and got a life time of memories...

Best night ever of drinking beer in a dark ladies room.

Watched UPD in Utah's tent blow away twice (and helped him recover it).

Discovered that wearing a bike helmet in the middle of a storm isn't just a fashion statement.

Found thirty or more trees blocking the trails this morning that weren't there the night before and countless limbs. We cleared what we could.

Now know 90 plus temps and Munimag's ability to find steep loose terrain puts pax on the edge.

100 oz of hydration is better than 50 when it's 'warm' outside.

Witnessed great riding from skillful obstacle negotiation to displays of climbing power. Even had a coupe of moments myself to feel good about my riding. Barreling through recently downed sticks, branches and leaves was a blast.

Spending time with other riders and their families is a great way to share a weekend.

Thank you everyone for a memorable 24 hours. Specially those whose plans got messed up. I can't wait to see the pictures or maybe a video.

pax

[scha6645]

This was a very adventurous weekend. I met a awesome group of people and had fun riding the trails.

Dealing with the storm damage was an adventure too.
I eagerly await the next trip.

[haskinsc]

I too had a blast. Quite the adventure.
Here's the video I put together: https://vimeo.com/45020928

And here are the pics I shot: http://www.mediafire.com/?z7vgdu1gew3p9

I hope to ride with you all again ... in less heat ... with no storms preferably.

- Chuck

[haskinsc]

Oh, and according to numerous web sites (it's on the Internet so it must be true right ) it was a derecho that hit us Friday night.

[jbtilley]

Originally Posted by MadFurai

Jbtilley, my son had a great time with yours and my wife enjoyed talking to your wife, too. We should get together for some riding in Raleigh soon. I have tons of family there I could stay with and visit. And you can refresh my memory about the trail systems in the area. It's only a 2.5 hour drive, so a weekend is definitely do-able. I hope your back and your knee recover quickly.

Any time! Just let us know when you're in the area. We could probably even scrounge up a group of 5 or 6 riders.