F.A.T.S. in November

When a relatively new, and important, automotive customer “invited” me to an all-day workshop on Friday (of all days) in South Carolina I was not real enthused. My enthusiasm quickly perked up when I looked at the map and realized that the Forks Area Trail System (FATS) was only two hours away. Combine that with the fact that I had a use it or lose it night coming up for the La Quinta Inn (Augusta, GA 20 minutes away from FATS) and it was cancel the plane flight and give me the keys to the company Highlander.

(Had camping been available at FATS I would’ve posted and offered a free ride up and back for any takers. I could’ve dropped off any passengers Thursday evening and rejoined the group on Friday evening after the seminar.)

After a quick visit to sorbacsra.org, to print out some color-coded trail maps (the same map that was posted at the trail head) I was ready to go.

The seminar ended at about 2pm on Friday, so it was down scenic SC28, pass FATS and into Augusta, GA to spend the night.

Saturday morning (after an uncharacteristic light frost in the area) I made it to the trailhead at around 10 am. Fortunately, one of the locals had just arrived, and being short on time said he was going to do a quick loop of the Brown Wave and then return to the trailhead and I could tag along if I liked. I accepted the offer, and at a pace a little faster than I would’ve rode on my own, we were off.

Not five minutes into the ride I came to a large log crossing on the trail (one of only two on the entire trail system). Carrying a little too much speed and with the rear wheel bouncing off the log, I proceed to do a nice endo and end up with some nice abrasions on one shoulder and my face (nice start!).

Brown Wave- clockwise – 5.5 miles
The fun starts as soon as you hit the trail. I remember almost all of the Brown Wave as being within the tree line (cover) along with numerous opportunities to get some air. I just tried to keep my guide in sight to make sure that I made it back to the trail head. A little over an hour had ticked off the clock when we rolled back to the trail head and I showed over 10 miles on my computer (you have to use a connector trail to access Brown Wave which accounts for the mileage).

Deep Steep – counter clockwise – 6 miles
I turned right as soon as I entered the trail system and was on Deep Steep. After only a few hundred feet the singletrack ended on a Forest Service dirt access road. Fortunately I remember the local telling me to turn left at that intersection, as there’s currently no signage indicating which way to turn. A few hundred feet later and I was back into some nice single track.

There’s also one road crossing in which I didn’t see the flagging indicating the trail that was located several hundred feet to the left. Naturally, I turned right and road down a half mile or so searching in vain for the entry.

I remember a bit more climbing and some steeper sections on Deep Steep, as well as several spots where you were out in the sun crossing the power line cutout. There’s also ample opportunity to get all the speed rush you need, mostly just by coasting on the downhill sections. There also seemed to be a little more leaf cover on the trail, so I made sure to observe a high level of caution on those short sections. By the time I made it back to the parking lot to fill up my water bottle again, I had almost 17 total miles for the day.

Great Wall – counter clockwise – 7.5 miles
The entire FATS trail system flows very smoothly, so I decided to put the Great Wall to the test. As soon as I veered right to start back on the trail, I decided to see how far I could coast and rolled 3/4 of a mile without turning the pedals. I then came to a couple of sharp 180° turns and after only a couple turns of the crank, I had covered over 1 mile. I remember the Great Wall as having a great deal of variety; excellent flow combined with the occasional climbing or twisty turn to navigate along with rock gardens. After finishing Great Wall, I decided not to return to the parking lot for more water, as my energy level was dropping and decided to just go ahead and do the final loop (Skinny).

Skinny Loop – counter clockwise – 6 miles
With fatigue setting in (I was well into my winter riding mode prior to the trip, which means virtually no saddle time) I just kept turning the cranks to make it back to the trail head. My total mileage for the day came to 31 miles.

FATS Summary
FATS is a very well-designed and built trail system that offers something for everyone (from the novice to the expert). It’s so well built in fact, that it appears as though very little maintenance will be needed in the years ahead.

There’s numerous sections on all four loops where you’re riding some very nice trail and before you know it, it’s time to hold on for some rolling jumps and high speed maneuvering. Once you clip in, you can ride virtually the entire trail system without clipping out.

While there’s some climbing, it’s nicely spaced out and you usually don’t have to turn the pedals more then 8 to 10 times to take care of the upward sections.

I stayed in the middle chain ring the entire time, and I have no doubt that experienced riders could easily be pushing the big chain ring around the course.

The only thing missing at FATS is adequate signage (even though it’s a very easy trail system to navigate for new riders). It’s my understanding that the Forest Service is waiting on grant money to properly sign the trail system (which will hopefully include some type of signage for the trail head, as I went whizzing by in the car my first time by).

Note- it's an all day drive from Louisville to FATS. For the return trip, I started in Augusta, GA, and it took me about 9 hours to cover the 560 miles back to my house (throw in a meal, traffic tie-up, road construction, etc. and you could easily go a little over that amount).

In conclusion, I’ve seen the future of mountain biking and it’s a very positive and enjoyable one! (Now if I can just get that customer to invite me back for another visit!)