A Tale of Two Cities...

Saturday I made the trip to Reading PA to meet up with Wes the Conqueror. I was expecting more people to join me but most folks had to stay local. The plan was to do the big loop around the lake, about 30 miles.
I had been feeling pretty good lately and was hoping for a good ride. Well, the trails were awesome, dry and fast. Wes was riding really well. Me, well lets just say not so much. Not knowing the trails I went with my regular gear, plus one, Wes was rocking 2x1. The trails were very rolling, a lot more climbing than I expected, but there were also a lot of flat sections. I had a hard time keeping on the flats, shit, I had a hard time keeping up on the hills.











I guess you have to be fast if your last name is the Conqueror!

I have raced at Blue Marsh a few times, but the course didn't scratch the surface of this place. We did do a portion of the course in the opposite direction. Which turned out to be harder. In the end it was great ride. We covered about 30 miles in 2:45. Next time I am hoping for a bigger group. This much pain and fun should be shared.

Today was a local ride at Fair Hill MD. The group was leaving from fatmarc's house this morning. Matt run Forrest, Ted Logic and myself rode in from Matt's house, along the way we picked up Jay Jay. Again the trails were fast and bone dry. I was hoping for 4-5 hour ride today. When we got to Marc's we found Fort James, Slick Rick, and fatmarc ready to roll. Marc put together a great loop as always. The pace was pretty much just fast the whole time. We encountered a large group that included Todd, they were getting a preview of the race course. They asked us to join them, but we kept to our plan. After a little while longer we picked up another small group, Les Leach, Kurtee, and Stew from Dover. They joined in with us.

I didn't get the 5 hours I was hoping for but I did manage 4. This should be a good lead in to my first race. Marc and I are doing the expert team race at the Running of the Dogs next Saturday in north Jersey. I hope I am ready.

Well it is time for a beer,

Buddy