Great Trails Dry Fast

The trails down south dried out wonderfully after the torrential rains the weekend of the 11th and 12th. Directly after the rain it was reasonalby warm (50 degrees), sunny, and definitely windy. Strong winds and sun will dry out trails quicker than one would think. After several inches of rain on Saturday night, Ron and Scott G. and I went for a night ride at Nebo on Tuesday night (3/14). We knew that the Nebo trailhead, initial climb and doubletrack sections would be a muddy mess so we drove past Story, up Mt. Nebo Road, and onto Berry Ridge Road to where it runs alongside the trail. We parked there at about 8 or 9 p.m. and headed south on Nebo Ridge. As we suspected, the trail conditions were near perfect. The south half of Nebo is always so fast. We hot-dogged it all the way to the south trailhead at 1100N just west of Houston (that's House-ton, NOT Hugh-ston...and don't get it wrong while you're there). At the old "sit-a-spell" spot with the log benches we heard the coyotes howling at one another all throughout the valleys below. The moon was nearly full and shining strong. Spectacular! We took the road west over the bridge and into Hickory Ridge. We took gravel up to the east end of Hickory Ridge Trail 19 (the Nathan Avery). We weren't on 19 long before we suffered some shock issues and decided to head back. The gravel road downhill from 19 to the cliff camp was exhilirating and oh so fast. Back to Nebo. Why is it that heading north on Nebo from the south terminus is always so hard? After several minutes of suffering the flow got going and before I knew it we were back at the car. This was also my first ride using my new light. I picked up a new fancy Light and Motion Lithium-Ion HID. It sure is purdy, and it lights like the sun. It weighs less than most of the other junk I throw into my pack. It probably weighs the same as two bananas.