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Post by brianW on Nov 21, 2010 19:53:02 GMT -5
Took a quick loop of Great Wall and Skinny this afternoon. Well saddle time quick all the stopping and taking pics not so quick. Since I started taking the camera lately I notice the trail a lot different. Place was crowded. rock drop on Great Wall two lines the one over the rocks is a blast. thanks to seenvic for showing me it. approach to "rock bridge" getting closer it is a good drop if you miss your line nice and flow-e (is that a word?) looking at the bottom of "the Great Wall" looking down at "the Great Wall" DIRT and LEAVES and TIRES oh my!
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Post by rsmith on Nov 22, 2010 6:56:23 GMT -5
Great pics. enjoyed ! Like the comment regarding camera / moment to appreciate, etc. Personal solo rides are typically full-bore, under control, with rest stops at favorite places to take in the scene. Problem with CSRA, there are so many places to stop.... a good thing....
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Post by dgaddis1 on Nov 22, 2010 7:35:25 GMT -5
Agreed! Great pics indeed Brian. Again, some of these will go on the site.
Hope to get all the new stuff up on the site thanksgiving weekend.
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Post by azdrawdy on Nov 22, 2010 9:26:52 GMT -5
The more you take pics, do some post-processing, and take the time to post pics, the more your eyes will understand and "take in" the light/colors/angles. I have also read about every book written Ansel Adams. He was/is the epitome of stunning photography. It's fun, isn't it? MD
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Post by brianW on Nov 22, 2010 9:27:44 GMT -5
thanks. hoping to do Bartram/Keg Creek this week.
It was my first time I ever stopped at "rock bridge". You go off the your line you are either going to hit the tree or take a good fall.
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Post by OopsFellDown on Nov 22, 2010 16:30:51 GMT -5
Hmmmm, so is the line over the rocks the intended line, and the more defined dirt path a "ridearound", or is the dirt the intended path and the straight line over the rocks a ridearound, or is there another way to look at this? Nice photos by the way, this is a beautiful time of year to be on any of our trails. Bryan B.
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Post by OopsFellDown on Nov 22, 2010 16:31:20 GMT -5
Hmmmm, so is the line over the rocks the intended line, and the more defined dirt path a "ridearound", or is the dirt the intended path and the straight line over the rocks a ridearound, or is there another way to look at this? Nice photos by the way, this is a beautiful time of year to be on any of our trails. Bryan B.
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Post by JIMMYC on Nov 22, 2010 16:58:04 GMT -5
the intended line is, in the first picture, over the rocks. the line that dips into the ditch is a ride around.
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Post by azdrawdy on Nov 22, 2010 17:50:47 GMT -5
There is only one line, and can be only only one line on any trail in the CSRA. Any other line is a cheater line, and those should be banished immediately, very quickly, although the IMBA Trail Solutions book states otherwise.
MD
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Post by OopsFellDown on Nov 22, 2010 19:11:40 GMT -5
So the morons and idiots generally go around the rocks? In the 3rd photo, which appears to be looking at the same place from the other direction, I can say that if I were riding in this direction, it would never even occur to me that I was supposed to go over the rocks. I think I am one of the morons... Jimmy, I'm not baggin on you, just having a little fun with this post. I think MD gets it
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Post by Angela on Nov 22, 2010 20:26:55 GMT -5
I'd like Bill V to weigh in on this one because I always thought "the wall" was a trail feature...........coming on the trail clockwise I always ride the rocks and that seems most natural to me but coming counterclockwise the natural flow takes you to the right of the wall and that area has well defined rocks as well. You can get up on the wall from that direction but it isn't a natural movement. There are other places on these trails that have trail features you can ride if you like but the main trail is general right next to it and are not bypasses.........
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Post by seenvic on Nov 22, 2010 21:03:57 GMT -5
I'd like Bill V to weigh in on this one because I always thought "the wall" was a trail feature...........coming on the trail clockwise I always ride the rocks and that seems most natural to me but coming counterclockwise the natural flow takes you to the right of the wall and that area has well defined rocks as well. You can get up on the wall from that direction but it isn't a natural movement. There are other places on these trails that have trail features you can ride if you like but the main trail is general right next to it and are not bypasses......... I think he is talking about the pic with the bike on the rock, not the pics of The Great Wall proper. The GW proper pic that looks "ridearoundish" used to be the "low line". Remember it? It was smaller rocks that have either pounded in or kicked to side. That area was the biggest, deepest seep I've ever seen and the GW is very deep with concrete. I always thought that one day the whole thing would be underground....30-50ish years perhaps? The pic of the "2 lines" is a ridearound. I remember building that section. We skipped over that section with the machines and hand built a short approach to the rock from both sides so the only defined line was over the rock. I remember all this because this is "Shrimper's Rock", and he built this section. Ask him about next time you see him, he will know exactly the rock you are talking about. Hey. there was so little opportunity to put spice in the trail, we rejoiced when we found some rocks to ride over. That it has a defined line around it is typical of about any trail, really. If you a local, you learn the good lines. But when you travel to unfamiliar trails, you get sucked into the "obvious path" and often miss the one or two "things" a trail has to offer. Sure, you can go back and ride it again, but that messes up the flow. Ride that line over the rock. It is good both ways.
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Post by Mark Y on Nov 23, 2010 14:29:30 GMT -5
I'm sure he is talking about pic 5 when he says you either ride the line or else... There is no ridearound; it is the tree or fall into the ditch.
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Post by OopsFellDown on Nov 23, 2010 14:45:36 GMT -5
I was referring to picture #3. Just to be clear, was Brian saying that the fun line was over the rock that the bike is parked on? That was how I interpreted his note above the photo... If I read this incorrectly, then my post doesnt make much sense!
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Post by JIMMYC on Nov 23, 2010 15:13:15 GMT -5
HAHA i has talking about the "getting closer pic" some folks have been riding through the ditch. thanks for showing us the one Bill was talking about in pic 2 & 3 i'm guilty of missing that and dropping to the low side. then the picture labled "looking down the Great Wall" i stay to the high side.
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Post by Mark Y on Nov 23, 2010 17:04:33 GMT -5
thanks. hoping to do Bartram/Keg Creek this week. It was my first time I ever stopped at "rock bridge". You go off the your line you are either going to hit the tree or take a good fall. The conversation came after this post, so I assumed it was about the rock bridge, pic #5. Sorry for the confusion.
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Post by brianW on Nov 23, 2010 22:10:16 GMT -5
pic #2 and #3 are the ones I was referring to as a line over the rocks. Since Bill pointed it out to me (yes i rode around it) I have always been hitting it. Lots of fun. "Shrimper's Rock" gotta remember that.
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Post by wooglin on Nov 23, 2010 22:16:00 GMT -5
I laugh just thinking of him. What a character.
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Post by kconner on Mar 3, 2011 18:30:39 GMT -5
Rode Great Wall today for the first time, and so far it's my favorite loop (although I've only ridden Great Wall, Skinny and Brown Wave). This loop, in my opinion, has the most character and variety out of the 3 loops I've ridden so far. I really enjoyed the rock gardens and rock features, but sadly I too was suckered into the ridearound at Shrimpers Rock and didn't realize what I did until it was too late. I look forward to next time The rock bridge was also pretty neat ;D As far as the actual Great Wall portion (which I also enjoyed!) it sounds like, from what seenvic said earlier in the thread, that there are meant to be 2 lines (a high line and a low line), is this correct? Also, I saw this rock, about 2 miles in, give or take, traveling CCW (sorry for the poor quality, the picture was taken on a phone): When traveling CCW, it appeared at first that this rock was flush to the ground, but once on top of it, I found that it had a 9"-12" drop. While I thought the natural line was straight down the middle of the rock, which would be very ridable CCW, there were 2 fairly well defined lines around it, one on either side. Which line is the intended line? While traveling CCW, it would be awesome to go down the middle and take the drop, but I'm not sure how to ride it going CW. Anyways, awesome pics Brian! (even though I'm a couple months late commenting )
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Post by oddcouple on Mar 3, 2011 23:20:17 GMT -5
I ride over the rock both ways that's my preferred line.
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