Off to locations rarely seen via mountain bikes where the jungle is lush, the footpath gets slick
and those lonely beaches reveal themselves. The Priory and Ocho Rios trails now feature the
HOTBOX TOUR aka THE 420 DUNNS RIVER TOUR of the north coast with a journey to
BOB MARLEY'S resting place at 9 mile. A little further east and off the beaten path we
arrive at an eco-lodge in Robin's Bay away from the noise of the highways and bustle of the city.
Here we sample raw footpaths made naturally over centuries now maintained by mountain bikers & farmers.
Dead roads and trails too steep or destroyed by nature now riddled with the ruts of mountain bike tyres.
We began our day's ride in an area that one of our party, Marshall, knew quite well. I made a point of riding behind him, although I like riding trails "blind", in my hung over state that morning I needed all the help I could get! The first trail sent us into tight, jungly, dark singletrack. A lot of water flows down this trail during rainy season and this seemed to make the trail require a very distinct type of approach; ride it like you're water. Go with the flow and all that jazz.
I was spat out at the bottom into blinding sunshine with a massive grin on my face.
It's nice to impress other peoplewith your riding but there's nothing like impressing yourself.............
....Once the sun was fully up and "that" sunlight had all evapourated, our little group of adventurers
headed away, under the Pied Piper guiding style of Marshall into the lush tree canopy.
We are off to experience a waterfall known as Kwame Falls.
BENJI HAWORTH Singletrack mountain bike magazine issue 56 March 2010
