King Kong

When you bring a knife to a gunfight. #followcamfriday riding trail bikes with James Weingarten on King Kong. 

It is worth noting that this is James' first run down the infamous " Kong". If you look closely, you will notice that I am leading and James is trusting me to NOT kill him. This is a proper role reversal. Usually I am the one, blindly trusting someone to show me how NOT to die. How refreshing. 

This trail is an absolute work of art. It was originally constructed by Josh Bender. Interestingly enough, Josh was my neighbor for a year and we got to know each other quite well. I had the unfortunate luck of breaking my ankle that summer and Josh came over and made me laugh every day, while I was pilled-up, laying on the couch. He even left me his Trailer Park Boys collection to watch. Those dvd's are still somewhere in my house... Bender is a fucking legend. Respect. 

Some people like to trash-talk Bender. Saying he is a hucker, cant ride, whatever. Those people can fuck right off. Just because you are on the Pinkbike forums, doesn't give you a right to be a complete douche. If you can't say something to someone's face, it probably doesn't need to by typed on your keyboard either. This current trend of keyboard douchebaggery is getting on my nerves.  If it wasn't for Josh, mountain biking would not be even close to what it has become today. The man was a pioneer and paved the way for this style of riding. Trails advanced, bikes advanced, the general skill level was elevated. Again, Josh is a god-damn legend. Respect. Thank you. 

It wouldn't be FollowCamFriday without James manualing off into the sunset. Front wheels are stupid. No point in mulleting your bike if you don't use your front wheel anyway. Let that sink in. 

The only part of my kit I had right was the pants. For this trip, I didn't have a full face helmet, or my new DH bike. Blowing it. But that wasn't going to stop us from having way too much fun on this Hurricane classic. Fair warning if you want to ride Kong, it is better on a DH bike, there are mandatory 10ft plus hucks to tight landings, this is not a flow trail. If you cannot accept all of that, please just stay away. You will get cliffed out and have to hike back to the top. Fair warning. 

If I am being honest, I don't ever need to  ride a flow-trail again. If there are not rocks, trying to stop my wheels from rolling, I don't need to ride that trail. I am not trying to sound elitist or arrogant, but I just don't give a shit about riding smooth trails. I have a "gravel" bike for that. *Jump trails being the one exception. I still love you, Dirt Merchant. But seriously, what happened to all of the rocks? Bikes just keep improving and trails keep getting easier. Long live jank. Break my wheels. I dare you. 
End rant. 

So yeah. Go ride this one. Or don't. It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea. Which is perfectly fine. The beauty of King Kong is that it actually can't get easier. No one can sanitize, make go arounds, or chicken lines. It's just some sweet cliff hucks, linked together by some exposed ridge lines. So simple, so beautiful. Nothing more. Thanks Bender, you fucking legend.