Got out to BM today. The standard section was fast. Decided to give Holy Schist a try. It was pretty tough going and there were a set of fresh footprints that didn't help matters. There was a fair amount of walking involved going up the main climb. Once I was to the top of the main climb things got a little easier. There was actually more foot traffic that did seem to help, of course it was more level also. Home Stretch had no footprints, just the 2 inches of fresh snow. Some walking was involved but overall I thought it rode pretty good up the climb. The second half of Home Stretch was snowshoed in pretty good so coming down was pretty fast.
Once back at the parking lot I felt I wasn't done riding yet. Thought about doing the standard section to Holy Schist out and back, but decided to ride Holy Schist backwards instead. Somebody should have hit me over the head and knock some sense into me. Although the beginning of Home Stretch was snowshoed, it was still a little soft and I had a hard time getting the tires to hook up. A fair amount of walking was involved up the first climb. The second half of Home Stretch and into Holy Schist I was once again rolling along. After coming down the main climb in Holy Schist Things started going bad. My legs were tired and my shoulders were aching and I was starting to bonk from powering thru all this soft stuff. The last couple miles of Holy Schist took forever as I struggle along. Little climbs that should have been ridable found me walking. At one point I finally pulled a gel out of my backpack to try and get me over my bonk. Exhausted but feeling a little better when I got to the end of Holy Schist. Knowing that I had 3 miles of fast easy singletrack to the end gave me a mental boost also.
At some point before 5 corners I came across 3 other riders. I asked if they were going to do Holy Schist. Their reply "Is it ridable?" I said "yeah it's tough going but ridable". I guess "ridable" is somewhat subjective depending on ones skill and ability. I think deep down I just wanted to get more riders on Holy Schist because I know how fun it can be when it's good.
