Pain and Pleasure...

Craig, Ryan, Mark, and Rob, taking a little break.

I have heard a lot of good things about riding Wissahickon, so when it was brought up as the ride for today, I was in. After meeting up with Marcus at Victory we headed for the ride. The rest of the group met us at the trail head. Things started a little strange for me. After I got dressed I hopped on my bike and there was a problem. My rear hub was just spinning. Luckily, Mark had seen this before and knew how to get it going again. Whew, here I thought my day was over before it started.

I was warned about the climbing but I still wasn't ready for it, especially when it started right off the bat. We hit 3 or 4 tough climbs in the the first 45 minutes. After that the fun really started. The trails up there are Fucking Awesome. Some of the down hills were ripping fast and others were super technical. We rolled through some pretty cool sections did a few more climbs, then Rob had to bail. We headed for the last section. Marcus tells me 1 more climb, of course he had been saying that all day. The last climb was a bitch, but the down hills were sweet.

We also ran into Nick Schaffer and his step aunt Jill, who were leading a nice group. We rolled into the lot after 2 hours of some of the best riding I have done in a long time. I can't wait to get back there.

Well Thanks for reading,

Buddy

Never Leave Your Wingman...

In the past the Thanksgiving day ride produced a large group. Times they are a changin'. We used to have our holiday ride a at Brandywine. Unfortunately the trails there are not as fun as they used to be. This year the ride was French Creek. I now it is a little far for some folks, but we were riding early and the plan was to have everybody home by noon.

Yesterday our little group of, Matt (run Forrest), Billdoh!, Kevin Fryeberger, and I were the only ones to show up. It was cold, the trails were wet from the little bit of snow that fell the night before, but French Creek is always fun. Bill led us up the first climb, which was very long and hurt like hell. I was feeling pretty good but Matt hadn't been on his bike in a while and was not. We were having a good ride though. Kevin suggested a trail we have never been on before. We took it, it was a fast fun technical descent. We got to the bottom and, no Matt. We waited for a while, still no sign of Matt. We discussed the possibilities and our options. We decided he must have turned towards the parking lot. I wasn't comfortable moving on without him, but at the time it seemed like the only option. Bill stopped and marked all our turns, in case Matt came that way. We made our way back to the top and to the parking lot. I was anxious to see if Matt was sitting in his truck with the heat on, or if he was still out there. As it turns out his truck was gone. I was relieved to know he was OK but figured he was a little pissed off. It turns out he didn't see which way we went, so instead of taking a trail he didn't know he headed to the parking lot.

This goes to show you, you NEVER LEAVE YOUR WINGMAN. We should have gone back for him, no matter how hard the climb would have been, sure we didn't think he would still be there but we should have tried. Also Always make sure you have everybody before you make a turn or cross a trail. Sorry Matt, this will not happen again.

Thanks for reading,
Buddy

Weekend Rides and Such...

Ryan, Mark, and Bill Doh! Enjoying the calm before the storm.

We have been lucky to have good weather lately, mild temps. and dry trails has added up to some quality rides.

I had planned to do the Victory ride on Wed. night, but the rain and cold made me change my mind (But Bob and some of the boys still toughed out a ride) Thurs. I met up with Todd for a little ride from his house. We rolled through Rittenhouse then headed for Iron Hill. We were stopped by some folks telling us the road was closed due to downed power lines. So we went to TGI Fridays for beers and food instead.

Saturday I went to Fair Hill expecting a little group, instead it was Jay Jay and I. We had a good ride took it easy and just had fun. As we were cruising along, we both noticed some strange noise coming from my bike. After a brief inspection we figured out it was loose spokes. I decided to just keep riding. Well, it got worse, in fact by the end of the ride there was no spoke tension left. Luckily Slick Rick and co. At Henry's had my other wheel fixed so I would be good to go for today.

Today we were headed for White Clay and Middle run. We also had a few guests. Bob, Mark, and Ryan (all Bean;s guys I ride with on Wed.) came down. The local contingent was Todd, Matty, John C, Mike K, and Bill Doh!.

The trails were very crowded today as people were enjoying a very nice day. This did not slow things down. Todd started off leading us out. The pace was brisk but not brutal, Todd later told me he wasn't feeling it toady. We lost Mike K. who was having back problems. I was trying to make sure we hit all the cool stuff. We did the crazy 8 trail, the Dragons Back (Todd decided to hit white Clay instead trying to save most of Middle Run for Tues. night) The pace picked up even more when Matty T took over. He was really laying down the pain. I thought for sure I was going to crack. I hung on and Matt paid for it on the boundary Trail when he took a bad line to pass some one in a different group. In the end I think the Bean's boys had a good ride. I did feel bad for Bob, I had him come to my house first not realizing he knew the area. I could have saved him some time, Sorry dude. At least now you know where we park for White Clay rides.

Thanks for reading,

Buddy