There’s no doubt Chewacla was even better than we hoped for. We got there midday and the early morning rain was still draining off the land. The attendant at the gate was super nice and gave us the scoop – trails open at 1pm due to the rain. We were ready to go!
We have arrived!
Setting up camp was cake with our first pull-through site. Although getting the RV level is still not as simple as we’d like. I’ve gotta up my game a little on that. (Readjusting at bedtime so my head doesn’t fill with blood when I lay down is not ideal. My plan is to get a real level instead of seeing if a Dos Equis rolls around in the kitchen floor) Around 12:30pm we were on our bikes and by 1pm we were headed down some sweet single track. The kids and the grown ups were all high on life. We had made it to the trails.
We found a lot of spots that we really liked while we were there. I’d say the top four were …
Top 4 must see features at Chewacla:
- The dirt jumps ( About 10-15 huge jumps that allowed all of us, even the small riders to really get some confidence on steep ups and downs. Located close to the camp grounds)
- The pump track ( Just across the road and up the hill from the dirt jumps. A oval course with multiple jumps and berms. Also, graduated drops so you can build up and some skinnies that get progressively more narrow. )
- Dell’s Trail with the “Wall of Chewacla” and the “Lochness Cobra”( This wooden feature is behind the main office when you enter and we played here for a long time. It looks super cool but beware of a wet wall, right Jojo? Sorry I don’t have a video of that wipeout!)
- High Gravity Trail (After the kids called it, Jojo and I headed up a long climb to the High Gravity Trail. Although most of the features were outside of my skill level, it was cool to see them and dream. This trail lead us to Tiger Woods trail and the insane wooden road gap jump.) Even seeing isn’t believing on that one.
The girls hit the trails
Pamela and Allyona spent a lot of the day at the camp playground making friends. We came back to visit and check on them and they hit the trail in the afternoon. Allyona tried to take out every tree she came upon. Turns out she’s a relentless trail grinding machine! Every time she’d fall, she’d get up again and get right back to it. Makes a Dad proud and also terrified at her fearlessness.
The boys were happy whatever we were doing. We rode awhile and then they ended up building monuments in the sandbar next to the creek. Next, we were on the Kick Six trail rolling along. We all had to dismount multiple times and admire some really tough features. So much to see and work toward here. It was great to be here, tired and dirty, and happy and grinding through the woods with the people I love.
By dark we all felt like we had be hit by a train. Jojo and I both had a couple of hard falls but luckily just soreness at the end of the day. The kids rode solid and no one was injured more than a few scrapes here and there. The day was a great success.
A long night!
It was, however, a tough night. It was clear that we put out an enormous amount of effort. There was tossing and turning and seizing of the muscles. A good sign that we had rode well. The next morning I was determined to avoid getting on my bike. My plan was to eat and just relax for the day. So, after breakfast, we all got on our bikes and rode our asses off for another 8 hours! It was glorious.
Chewacla was awesome. There were so many trails and so many memories made. I wish I had taken more pictures! Here’s a few more from the trip!
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