Mike Fuhrmann and myself liked Blue Mountain so much the first time we
went up there that we decided to go again last Sunday. This time Jeff
Groves and Ed Wong from the Toronto Unicyclists decided to join us, as
well as Mark Jordan on some two wheeled contraption. We made the 2 hour
trek North once again, got armoured up and rode down the staggering 900’
of elevation change. Once again the weather was perfect. It’s been one of
the best summers to date for Southern Ontario.
My legs were still a little sore from the previous week, so I was a little
worried about how they’d hold up to a brand new round of punishment. We
managed to get 5 runs in once again, which seems to be the physical limit
for us altitude-challenged folks. My legs weren’t as sore after this trip
as they were after the first, even despite the fact that they weren’t
quite 100% going into the ride. That’s not to say that they aren’t sore,
but I can at least walk down stairs without much problem.
The vast majority of the runs we did this trip were the same as we had
done the previous week … with a few minor differences …
On our first run we found an off chute trail in the forest that was marked
with a sign stating that it was a triple black diamond run and the name of
the trail, “The Wall”. We all dismounted to take a look at this beast. It
was so difficult to walk down the trail, nevermind riding done the thing,
we made the wise choice of abandoning the attempt for the less difficult
trail. Maybe next year!
The trails were still as steep as I had remembered them from the first
time! Which was good, cause there is nothing worse than an exaggerated
first impression the second time you ride a trail.
On another run we found a whole bunch of man-made stunts and structures
that we had by-passed on previous runs. A very large teeter-totter, a few
more long ladder bridges, a couple 9 foot drops (oh, they were no sweat
… just kidding!) and lots of extremely steep terrain. Needless to say we
skipped the 9’ drops!
In between one of a runs we decided to rest for a little while and watch a
video (they have quite the collection) … in went North Shore Extreme
vol. II. I had never seen vol. II, but I knew Kris was in it, so I had to
check it out. Wow, way back how ever many years ago (5 - 6??), Kris was
riding what appeared to be a 24" (maybe 26") Schwinn on the North Shore
trails with no protection except a helmet and he did it quite well. It was
definitely interesting to see that after seeing everything that has come
after that.
All in all we had a very enjoyable day and I certainly hope to make it
back up there sometime in the fall. Anyone making the trip to Ontario
should checkout Blue Mountain for some great downhill mountain unicycling.
Some pictures, but not very many, can be found online:
http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?collid=55948760203 These are all
from the first ride at Blue Mountain … more shots from the second ride
will be added soon.
Carl