Fall Riding for my first time ........

[Webby]

REMINDS me of a song I once heard in a movie,,,,,,, "Just follow the Yellow Brick Leaf Road".   
WOW,,, I finally made it to BCSP Monday and was in awe of the colors that were once on the trees above. Yes,, ONCE on the trees and now on the ground.  Awesome,, just as beautiful on the ground as they are on the trees I might add ! (up to a point)
These leaves made the trails very interesting to say the least.  I was only about 2 miles in on my ride when I encountered my first UNSEEN (covered with leaf) root.  Almost wiped out !!!  Kept the rubber side down tho !!      OK, I now have a new respect for mother nature's splendor.  Much like my first ride on acorns MARBLES a few weeks ago @ Muscatatuck Park !  lol  She sure keeps it interesting !   
Can't wait for the WHITE stuff if I can tuff it out !!! 

[Draggon]

encountered my first UNSEEN (covered with leaf) root.  Almost wiped out !!!

Grats on keeping the rubber side down!  I was on Green Valley today and rolled onto an unseen 1-1/2" diameter, 3 ft long stick that way laying parallel on the trail.  Of course, the stick rolled, and my bike was thrown off course.  Before I knew it, I was staring into the abyss of a very steep decline into a ravine.  I immediately laid the bike back against the hill and managed to backslide down the hill.  Finally came to a stop and watched my bike slide another six feet before hanging up on a tree.

I crab-walked/slid down to my bike and surveyed the situation.  At first, I thought there was no way back to the trail and that I'd be hiking the ravine until I could find a way up.  Undaunted, I tried the ascent up the 12'-15' steep-arsed hill.  I grabbed my seatpost in one hand and the headset in the other, faced the hill, and used my bike as leverage by placing it about chest high up the hill while I hung on and dug my toes into the hillside.  Step by step, I made it up that dang hill and got back to the trail.  As I stood at the top sucking wind, another rider coming from the other direction nearly lost it on a rock hidden in the leaves.

No noticeable damage to either myself or the bike, so I took off and proceeded to roll much, much slower.  Be careful out there, folks.  Those leaves are treacherous!   

[Webby]

Wow,, I'm still waiting for the day I find myself at the bottom of one of those DEEP ravines ! I figure it'll be on Walnut when it happens !    GULP ! 
Glad you weren't hurt and your bike escaped injury as well. 

I didn't have any problem on GV that day. My ALMOST mishap was on the Aynes to Hesitation Point.

[ScottC]

Ok, I decided to go ahead and admit it.  I wrecked yesterday on North Gate about 30-40 yards from North Tower.  Yeah, I know, nobody wrecks there.  This was the first time I ever rode with leaf cover on the ground.  I got a little off line and hit a root sideways that was hidden under everything and over the handlebars I went.  In hindsight, I was riding too relaxed and not prepared for the bike to get a little unstable in that area.  I guess I did not learn my lesson quick enough, because I did the same thing on an even easier section of trail on North Tower.  After that, I got things figured out a little better and had a good ride on Green Valley and Aynes.  The first wreck hurt and the second wreck was just comical.  My wrist and a couple of fingers on my left hand are really sore and stiff today.  It is almost impossible for me to grip anything with that hand right now.  It did not bother me for the next couple of hours when I was riding, but started to stiffen up on the drive home.  The lessons learned for me were NONSTOP focus is required when the ground is covered with leaves and expect to ride noticeably slower.

[Webby]

I'm sure we aren't the only ones that have or almost lost it on those slippery leaves.   
BUT it sure is fun trying to navigate thru the unknown !! 
And yes,,  we need to be careful for sure !

[ess121212]

Don't feel bad about going down. I went down hard last night on Green Valley myself. I was going around a burm and the next thing I knew I was making leaf Angeles. Got a good case of trail rash on my hip and leg. I still had a great time.

[Webby]

Don't feel bad about going down. I went down hard last night on Green Valley myself. I was going around a burm and the next thing I knew I was making leaf Angeles. Got a good case of trail rash on my hip and leg. I still had a great time.

   Leaf Angels      Made me laugh with this one !  lol  Glad you weren't hurt too badly ! 

Thanks for sharing the stories folks !