A Perfect Storm

The view in front. Virgin singletrack.

Today we had the perfect storm. It was perfect because:

• It was a Sunday which means no hunting in Pennsylvania.
• I had a belly full of bacon and waffles.
• I had just finished putting up the Christmas lights.
• It was a snow storm and anyone who bikes in a four-season climate knows that riding in the snow in the woods is just awesome.
• I got home in time to watch the 2nd half of a memorable Eagles home game played in 8 inches of snow. The way football is supposed to be played.

The view in back. A single track (mine).

In front of me was miles of virgin singletrack, covered by 3" of fresh sticky snow. In back of me was a single knobby tire track snaking through the woods. In the middle was me. Pure Nirvana.

Chris

"Cycling is like church-many attend but few understand"

     -- Jim Burlant

A Breath of Fresh Air

Could have used one of these today!

What a welcome break from the indoor trainers and treadmills!

Three of us (Sebastian, Antonio, and I) rode, pushed, and carried our bikes across the fields of MCSP and then rode the Struble to the covered bridge and back. Full suspension worked well on the packed and rutted snow/ice sections, but I have to say Antonio's brand-spanking-new Specialized 29er hardtail looked pretty sweet and the lack of rear suspension did not seem to slow him down at all.

And of course the return leg through Downingtown included a stop at Rincon Tarasco for some authentic Mexican food (and music).

Highs forcasted this week to be in the 40s and 50s...with any luck the trails will turn from treacherous ice into glorious mud, we can say goodbye to the asphalt and texting soccer-moms and return to the woods where we belong...

Chris

Both Ends

Mike and Andy on Drunken Sailor

We had no idea what conditions would await us today. Sure we knew it would be chilly (20° at ride time). But what about the trails?

It turned out they were just about...well...perfect. If you have ever seen machine groomed trails at a XC skiing facility, then you have a sense for the trails today. The single track was 12-18" wide and well packed. Grip was 8/10. The only real problem was a couple of frozen stream crossings (and a frozen Camelback).

We had to ride in a narrow envelope. Downhill or off camber turns had to be ridden flawlessly, and straying even 2" off any of the single track would shut you down in a hurry. It took almost 2 hours to do the Lakeside Trail and Bonus Loop, but we must have seen 15 other riders out there, and at least 10 of them were grinning ear to ear.

Wide Section of Singletrack

We rode without mishap until we left the safety of the single track to visit some ice fishermen. Ice fishing at Marsh Creek is nothing like the scene in Minnesota. Here it amounts to a lone fisherman or two sitting on a bucket in the middle of the lake staring at a hole in the ice, probably wearing a pair of electric socks and sipping from a flask. Very Zen but...  Anyway when we spotted a pair with a special hut/yurt type thing, power auger, etc we decided to investigate. There was just enough snow covering the ice to make it ridable, or so so we thought until one rider went down. Hard. Instantly our mountain biking instincts kicked in and we laughed as hard as possible without going down ourselves. Eventually we inquired to be sure the victim was OK. I've been on both ends of that - laughing at someone else's misfortune, and laying there in agony listening to the laughter from others. I guess we've seen enough crashes - none of them life altering - so we can afford to be light hearted about it.

Hopefully it stays that way.

Scotch or Seltzer?

Tuesday. An early business dinner. And a snow storm. What to do?  A glass of scotch and dinner then head home to the couch?  Or a glass of seltzer and then head out for some snowy single track?

"Seltzer with a twist of lime please"

Ride conditions were, well, outstanding. When we rolled at 8:00pm, we had about 2" of the white stuff, temps were in the high 20s, and tires hooked up well in the wet snow. Downhills were a different story. To say the Yo Eddy trail was "sketchy" is an understatement and the price of a dab was compounded by snow-clogged cleats. And with so much snow in the air, head mounted lamps were blinding so we just used the bar lights.


By the time we wrapped around 9:30 there was 3-4" of snow in spots and there was no evidence of trails anywhere. The pedaling was pretty tough...and we were fried...but it was the sweetest misery you can imagine (and imagine you must if you weren't out there).

Chris

Remodeling

 Yesterday I remodeled two bikes. Bikers like to talk about builds as in "this is my second build for this bike." A build is a biker's nirvana. It's when you hand pick every component for a bike, and then you build it up from scratch. It's a labor of love and the result is your dream bike. Bikers talk about builds like parents talk about honor role students.

I have never done a complete build, but I have done some remodels. Like moving bars and seats between bikes, replacing a fork or crank, and converting a bike to single speed. Yesterday I did my latest remodel, resurrecting my silver Iron Horse from the parts bin. Yesterday I put gears on it, added a spanking new crank, and voila I now have a perfectly ridable hard tail.

So today I took it for a shake down ride in the snow. Trail reports were not encouraging, but the trails turned out to be in good condition. Not great, but not bad. It was the type of riding that keeps you on your toes, and forces you to use good technique especially on uphills and off-camber turns. And Silver was a great ride, no issues except it appears I've contaminated the brake rotors with some lube since I was unable to lock up the wheels even downhill on the snow. We'll keep an eye on that.

So now I have a winter beater bike with gears (and marginal brakes), which is great timing. You will understand why when I make an exciting announcement on New Year's day.

Oh and someone went chainsaw crazy and removed the horse-back-rider-scraper-offer at the top of the Sole Trail. And yes the horses were out in force...

I Tried I Really Did

I tried. I really did. But 24" of fresh powder was too much (four hours of shoveling might have been a contributing factor).

More snow on Tuesday. The Rig may be gathering dust for a while.

Chris

Still Streaking at 17

Not much light hearted banter at the beginning of this morning's ride. Just that little voice in my head wishing my dang fingers would hurry up and go numb so I could relax and enjoy the ride.

Which they eventually did...about 15 minutes in. Maybe next time I will wear thinner gloves so that my fingers will go numb quicker.

But in the end, we kept the streak alive. You know, that streak of consecutive rides in inhospitable conditions where you start off pretty dubious but by the end of the ride you are totally glad that you did it. We are 100% on this multi-year streak, and we have ridden in some pretty gnarly stuff. Like today when we started at 17° ambient. When you factor in a cold metal handlebar, 15mph of wind chill, and a perfectly good pair of slippers sitting at home, I think that puts the "real feel" pretty close to 0° Kelvin. But yet, by mid-ride we were perfectly comfortable, yucking it up, and -- yes -- glad we did it.

And boy this couch feels about 400x better now than it did this morning!

Chris

"Just remember, when you’re over the hill, you begin to pick up speed." — Charles Schultz

No Better Way

Is there any better way to wrap up a year of SEPA mountain biking than with a fresh snow ride?

No, I don't think so.

The soft hissing sound from my wheels as they glide through the fresh snow. The grip of freshly packing snow when I stand to power up a hill. The smoothness of the ride, all the tiny bumps have disappeared. The fresh fox and rabbit trails criss-crossing the trail in front of me. The utter quiet.

I didn't have much in the tank after yesterday's ride, but it was so special I rode some trails twice, following my own track in the snow. Chatted for a while with another biker, said "hi" to two others. Everyone grinning ear to ear. It felt like we had stumbled upon some big secret. Ride ride ride before the rest of the world discovers it.

I hear there is more snow on the way tomorrow morning. If I am able to turn a crank, I will be out there...

Chris

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and...I took the one less traveled by,...And now where the hell am I? "

-- unknown

Clydesdales CAN Dance!

This year's event kicked off with a record 17 riders. Ridership dipped momentarily to 16 at the top of the bobsled run due to SM's "leave'm for dead" math but in the end we managed to avoid any major mishaps. Of course there were a couple of close calls, including an impromptu nose-wheelie-bailout that prompted one rider to comment "Clydesdales CAN dance!" In the end, all riders returned safely to base camp where we proceeded to ignite the bonfire and to see what surprises the post-ride festivities would bring.

They did not disappoint.

We'll start with "the contest." Last year's champion took a hiatus this year (sipping martinis with extended pinky finger), but competition was as fierce as ever and the crowd was split on the favorites.

• Entry #1 scored high in holiday spirit, craftsmanship, and creative incorporation of beer into the presentation. Bonus points for incorporation of a biking theme. The burn was only moderately intense but with very long duration.
• Entry #2 received a high score for debauchery, a deduction for a minor anatomical inaccuracy, and received a perfect 10 in the attitude department. The burn, initiated by special guest Henry Kissinger who really took the blowup doll by the ankles bull by the horns, was intense and scored high for leaving no trace except perhaps a couple of broken hearts.
• Entry #3 would normally have turned a couple of heads but struggled to get onto the judge's radar due to the caliber of entries #1 and #2. However points for effort and, yes debauchery.

The judges struggled to select a winner but after consulting the bylaws, were forced to disqualify entry #2 because beer was not physically incorporated into the actual entry (although there were some suggestions). So the panel awarded first prize and a year worth of bragging rights to...entry #1. Congratulations to MRDBS!

The competitive spirit of this group could not be contained as evidenced by this year's fire jumping competition (now an annual event thanks to AS' inspirational performance of '08). The kickoff was weak with a ho-hum corner jump but escalated rapidly into an impressive volley of middle jumps, middle jumps with beer smashes, and even some uphill jumps. And of course the inevitable bicycle-jumping phase ensued with some impressive performances turned in by two bikers and one blow-up doll, and resulted in only one chipped tooth ("Oh shit, I chipped a tooth"). But we proved yet again that there is no bar this group cannot raise (including the stupidity one) as the competition concluded with a first ever tractor-fire-jump that brought the crowd to their feet.

Around 11:00 the crowd had swelled to 20 and the kitchen served up 11 lbs of dead cow in the form of piping-hot homemade chili. Oh my God, this was just the ticket for a bunch of hungry bikers. The warm food calmed the rowdy crowd, we found our seats around the fire, and settled into more cerebral pursuits like "rip a new a-hole for anyone stupid enough to open their mouth" and getting all misty-eyed and sharing our fleeting memories of "J."

The group hung strong with very little attrition occurring before the first snowflakes fell around 2am (beginning of a nor'easter that dumped about 14" on us over the next 24 hrs). It was pretty cool - you could actually smell the snow. Things eventually started to unravel with a few disappearing acts (and a couple of reappearing acts which were met with much fanfare) and finally the dwindling group threw in the towel shortly before 4am.

Props to

• RV for trusting us on his first night ride, the snow-boarder helmet was a nice touch.
• KO for best decorated bike, festooned with tinsel and shiny dangley things.
• JA for best costume, allegedly borrowed from his nightstand "fun drawer."

And an event of this magnitude does not come off without a lot of help, so special thanks to:

• KO for letting us trash his back yard, again...
• MRDBS for his awesome catering, raising the bar yet again...
• DM for letting us raid his woodpile, and for sacrificing his tractor...

...and to everyone who made the pilgrimage. It takes some effort and lots of faith to turnout for an event like this in the middle of December, but the group makes the event and this year was a shining example.

Happy holidays and happy trails!

Rob's Eye View of the Lakeside Trail

This is the first video posting for the blog.  It's a great 10 minute diversion from the grind and will definitely get you itching to ride. You'll also get to see something that you don't often see - Rob taking a spill (the ride occured after our recent ice storm). Sorry I had to compress the crap out of the video file so the quality suffers quite a bit (the original is smooth and crystal clear).

BTW it was a great ride last night. We had fresh powder on top of the old crust which made for lots of fish tailing, spinouts, and some grueling uphill grinds but it was really spectacular scenery and gave me an excuse to eat a big honkin' bowl of ice cream before I went to bed.  

Munday Funday

I woke up this morning to perfect winter riding conditions - 1" of fresh powder, 20F temps, and brilliant sunshine.

So I fueled up with a cup of espresso and an ample slice of fresh home-made apple pie, saddled up, and spent the next three hours laying down the very first tracks on both sides of the lake.

Since I got back four hours ago it has been snowing non-stop. After lunch I took Sydney and the girls over to the lake for short hike and a romp on the ice. Conditions were perfect for ice formation last week - wicked cold, no wind, no precipitation - and the result is optically clear and pefectly smooth.  Kirk was skating on Saturday (before the snow) and said he could see the fish moving under the ice as he skated over them.  

It's 3:30 now and still snowing and I think the riding conditions might be even better than this morning. I think I just might...throw this morning's wet clothes in the dryer......and head out to do it again.

A Potent Combination

Do you know what this means?  

It's from Accuweather and it means the days of constant rain and sloppy trails are coming to an end and that next week we'll be zipping along on firm dry singletrack again!

And not a moment too soon because I for one have been in a nasty tailspin since Thanksgiving. The crappy weather has seriously limited any riding opportunities and I personally filled the void with a potent combination of cookies, eggnog, and Wii Sports. Nothing to be proud of there.  

But opportunity for redemption is on the way.

Consider this to be your official heads-up that some really prime grade-A winter riding conditions are around the corner.   Ask any of the regulars who rode through the last few winters, and they will tell you that yes it can be a push to get yourself out of the house and into the cold after dinner, but I don't think anyone ever came back from one of those rides wishing they had stayed home instead.  

Ever.  

Go ahead and ask around. 

Because the cold really isn't a factor if you're dressed right and the engine has been stoked for 5 minutes or so.  The riding is awesome and it is really rewarding to be playing outside in conditions that most people find completely intimidating and debilitating.  

Get pumped!  Don't be debilitated!

Chris

P.S. Snow is in the forecast for Saturday so stay close to your email in case we rally a last minute snow ride.  The snowy forecast also bodes well for the Sunday morning ride, 9am as usual.  

Positive Attitude

Three things.

#1 - Don't you admire this gal's attitude?  I mean like, I really dig bikes but she is really over the top.  

#2 - A couple of us plan to hit the trails tonight if we are lucky enough to get some snow.  We are keeping it fairly loose since the forecast is for snow changing to "wintry mix" sometime tonight.  We are suckers for snow but not for wintry mix.  If we go it would be sometime between 6:00pm and 9:00pm.  Let me know if you are interested and I'll be sure to keep you in the loop.  

#3 - Performance is running a pretty good sale right now on tools, clothes, components, accessories, bikes, etc (basically everything).  I was just over there and even got a 10% lunchtime discount on top of the sale price - a $40 chain cost me about a nickel.  Plus I got to rap with a new mechanic who custom built his fixed gear bike with "offset cranks" to solve a knee pain problem (Rob I will have to kick this one around with you).  

If you are in for #1 then you should probably keep it to yourself.  However if you are in for #2 you need to let me know promptly.

Chris

2 for 1 Deal

Sunday morning's "wintry mix" froze into a crunchy and downright grippy coating - great conditions to kickoff the ride.  As the ride progressed it gradually loosened up to the consistency of pea gravel - not the most efficient riding surface.  In the end, 2.5 hours of riding felt a lot more like 5 which, depending on how you look at it, that is actually a pretty good deal ("2 for 1").  

Welcome Kirk Thibault to the mo7s fold.  Kirk (both of them actually) turned in solid rides, but KT's ride was all the more impressive because he did it on an old-school all-rigid cyclocross bike (pictured here).  Hoping to see a lot more of both Kirks on future rides.

We are looking forward to the possibility of some opportunistic rides in the last 2 weeks of 2008 so stay flexible and close to your email.  If weather conditions cooperate even a little, we should be able to squeeze in a bunch of local rides and maybe a few roadies before the 6th when the party ends.  Stay tuned.

Chris

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a bicycle, must be in want of another one."

Sunday Solstice Celebration

This Sunday at 7:04am marks the winter solstice - the point at which the sun begins it's long trip from the Tropic of Capricorn back toward our neck of the woods in the northern hemisphere. This also marks the beginning of winter (and hopefully some colder temps and passable trails) and the point at which our days begin to get longer rather than shorter.  

Please contain your excitement, this gets even better...  

...we will celebrate the '08 solstice with a Sunday morning 9am ride. Accuweather is promising us snow and temps in the low-20s Saturday night, so Sunday morning should be one friggin' awesome ride. Some of you Nancies (you know who you are) need to take off the skirt and climb onto your bikes for this one. There will be plenty of time for lounging around in your PJs later next week.  

Chris  

"Bicycles don't insult you if you're a bad rider"

 -- 'Corey from Kitchener, "Why Bicycles Are Better Than Women"

Relive our (mis)adventures at mo7s.blogspot.com

Creative Playthings

I believe the Sunday morning ride was our first bonafied snow ride of the season.  The shaded trails were in great condition - firm and fast - and the fresh snow was spectacular.  At 9am most of the trails already had tracks in the powder and we encountered at least 2 other biking groups during our ride.  

We did have some challenges with cleats clogging up with snow.  Maybe will try WD40 non-stick treatment on the cleats next time.  Another sure-fire solution would be fewer dabs, but with the snow covered roots and rocks this could be at the cost of a busted collarbone so we'll try the WD40 first - stay tuned...

We caught the bridge crossing on film and discovered that the main causeway is actually an old piece of "Creative Playthings" playground equipment (possible trail name coming).  Glad to see that even though it is semi-retired, it is still serving it's purpose as a plaything.  

Temps are up and down this week, Monday and Thursday look coldest and so promise the best riding conditions (frozen / firm trails).  Wed and Thr look pretty mild (a.k.a muddy).

Chris

"Get a bicycle.  You will not regret it if you live." – Mark Twain

Fair Hill Report

Roadie report - our Saturday trip to Fair Hill was well, awesome - even sweeter because it was the first time to Fair Hill for 3 of our riders.  Those of you who have ridden there know that it is an windy-twisty-rolling-singletrack wonderland interspersed with some spectacular scenery.  Trails were in tip top condition - frozen and firm - due to the subfreezing morning temps.  Probably 80% of the trails had been carefully manicured (blown/raked) by local trail hands so snow, ice, and leaves were not a factor at all (except when crossing slick frozen bridges).  $2 parking per carload seems almost criminal!  Check out this cool animated GPS track of the ride that Andy Doble captured during the ride.

Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this week.  It's probably a good idea to jam  in some rides to help work up an appetite for the big feast.  I will probably ride Tuesday night assuming it's cold enough to avoid a mudfest.  I am out of town Wed-Mon so will leave it to others to crack the whip in my absence.

Chris

"There is nothing, absolutely nothing, quite so worthwhile as simply messing about on bicycles"

     --Tom Kunich

How Low Can You Go?

This picture of an Alaskan eco-friendly bike rack reminded me that it's almost that time of year...that time when our caloric intake increases (think lasagna, turkey gravy), our caloric output declines (think couch, NFL football), we deposit another layer of fat around out internal organs, turn all pasty-white, and shave another 4 months off our life expectancy.  This is known to many as winter.

But it doesn't have to be that way.  Bicycling IN the cold and wet does NOT mean BEING cold or wet.  Your natural inclination when starting off on a cold winter bike ride is to bundle up with too many layers (because logically, you expect to be cold).  Then after 10 minutes of exertion you start to sweat, your layers (maybe cotton) get soaked, and on the first downhill your wet clothes start to freeze and so do you.  So you are miserable and frustrated and longing for the couch.  We have learned the hard way (through experience) the secrets to staying comfortable when winter cycling.  Here they are, in no particular order:

Dress for Success

Clothing should be synthetic (NOT cotton) and breathable with two possible exceptions:  Underwear or jock or whatever you wear down there (wear whatever you want, enough on that) and socks can be wool if you are old school but not cotton.  So starting at the top and working our way down:

• Skullcap or a balaclava (a.k.a. chickenhead) if it is really really really cold. $10.
  
• Clear glasses to keep your eyes from watering up.  Clear because you'll be riding at night.  You probably already have some of these.
  
• Breathable windproof top layer.  Not insulated, it's just to cut the wind.  Definitely breathable becuase you will be sweating. 
  
• A long sleeve synthetic shirt or two.  Zipper is nice - believe it or not you will find yourself occasionally unzipping the jacket/shirt while riding in order to shed excess heat.
  
• Gloves - windproof and you guessed it, breathable.  Full finger for obvious reasons.  $20
  
• Pants.  You would be surprised how late we ride with shorts.  Sebastian has been known to stay with shorts well into the 30s.  But at some point you will want long pants - insulated, breathable, and windproof tights or baggy long pants.  Either of these with a pair of synthetic long johns will get your through basically anything.  I prefer the tights because they don't snag on bushes etc, but if you are homophobic or just don't see yourself in tights then baggies are great.  $50.  What DOESN"T work great is a fleshtone leotard.  I am not going to mention any names (107 Gottier Drive, 484 228-8349), but most of you already know what I am talking about here...
  
• Neoprene shoe cover.  This is critical because your feet are very exposed and cleated to frigid metal pedals, and if your toes get cold you will be miserable.  $20.  Old school alternative is duct tape around the front of the shoe.  $0.05
  

You should actually be a little chilly (feel under dressed) when you first climb on the bike.  If you start off comfortably warm, then you are likely overdressed and will soon be sweating and shedding layers.

The Bike

Most lower end forks use an oil-elastomer suspension versus an air or coil spring.  This is fine when it is warm out, but when the temperature drops to the low 30s and below, that oil and elastomer thickens up and by the time you hit the low 20s, it is pretty much a rigid fork.  That’s fine, people ride all rigid bikes all the time, but good to know.

Glare ice is a really nasty problem when you are on a bike.  With no friction between the wheels and the ground, the bike will shoot out from underneath you faster than you can say “broken collarbone” and then gravity does the rest.  This happened to me at the beginning of a ride last year, and I just put my tail between my legs and went straight back home.  If it is glare ice conditions, then best not to ride.  Now I have not done this yet but it seems like a great idea – studded bike tires.

If you are using a camelback for water you will probably be ok (you might put it underneath your jacket to keep from freezing) but if you are using a water bottle, you will want to (a) fill it with warm water and (b) put it upside down in the bottle cage.  Water freezes from the top down, and if the spout is at the top it will be clogged with ice when it is time to drink.  Or just use vodka instead.  

The Ride

Remember the ground is frozen solid and doesn’t give when you bury your shoulder into it. Also if you are riding through a mud-pit that has recently frozen, then all those knobby tire tracks and grooves are like hardened cement and if you go down hard on that it is going to tear you up something awful.  If your tire gets into one of those grooves your bike may get a little bit squirrelly.  Forewarned is forearmed.

Right about now you may be asking yourself "how low can you go?"  Well, last year we had gotten pretty good at this sort of thing and we set a record (for us) for low-temperature riding - 7 degrees fahrenheit.  And the ride was a blast – church quiet in the woods, trails wicked fast, and not a lot of congestion on the trails as you can imagine. 

That's about all the advice I have about winter riding.  If you made it this far then hopefully you are considering giving it a try.  Bottom line - there is really no good reason to put the bike in storage over the winter.  Some of our best riding (in fact one of THE BEST riding memories for many of us) has been in the deep of winter.  

It's too good to give it up for half the year.  You need to give it a try.

Crusty Stuff

The early morning departure Sunday morning was a stretch (especially for those with some Irish in the family) but it paid off with the proverbial pot of gold. Crust was rock hard, smooth as a baby’s bum, and gripped like Spiderman. We covered every inch of the park even taking two trips past MDBRS. Steve got some “on the job training” on bike repairs by the dam, quite a few laughs but I can’t figure out how to explain it without triggering your corporate email filters so you’ll just have to ask someone who was on the ride. We did experience a couple of bouts of attrition near the end of the ride, but logged a solid FOUR hours on the trails, ending with tanks absolutely bone dry. The last couple of falls (sideways, not enough energy for an endo) actually felt pretty good – warm sun, snow nice and soft, could have laid there until spring…

Unfortunately temperatures are moderating this week so it looks like the last opportunity to ride this stuff will be tomorrow morning. I have an early meeting so can’t do it, but if anyone has the flexibility you might consider it. Biking prospects for this week:

Monday warm with rain – sloppy, no good
Tuesday and Wednesday night forecast is mid-20s. Maybe a night ride if things freeze up by 8pm. Let me know if you are interested, and we’ll touch base by phone around supper time.
Thursday low 38 – sloppy, no good

If the biking doesn’t work out then maybe a good week to do some cross training – break out the running shoes and the kayaks. We will want to log some time in the canoes before the Savage, but some flat water paddling in the kayaks is also an option (logistically easier as well). Remember wet suit if you have one and don’t paddle alone.

Time to hit the treadmill (kidding).

Chris

Guts and Glory

Remember Rob's immortal words: "Pain is temporary, glory is forever."

Well I think we put that to the test Sunday and Monday. In the pain department, we clearly succeeded. No doubt DC is doubling up on the Advil this week, having earned frequent flyer (over the handlebar) gold status. The ground last night at 20 degrees F was not very forgiving. I for one will be shopping for a new helmet and memorializing the old one for saving me a trip to the ER. In the end, everyone landed a shoulder or chest dab on the ice at some point, so we clearly have the pain part pretty well nailed.

Now for the glory part...

Jim and Mike bombing the lower field by Chalfont, approaching the tree line at high rate of speed, with little braking ability, simultaneously laying their bikes down in a perfectly choreographed double-wide-wipe-out, tangled in the bikes and coming to a stop perhaps 3 bike lengths from certain spectacular disaster. Absolutely brilliant!!

Traffic congestion on the white trail with perhaps 20 mountain bikers, head lamps glowing, traversing numerous creeks, laying their own individual singletrack, and grinning ear to ear all the way to Little Conestoga. The impromptu gathering at the end of the white trail was one of many high points.

Careening down the narrow winding quarry trail (basically a luge with wheels), licking our wounds at the bottom, and then grinding right back to the top for more punishment. The quarry exit usually begins the dash for home, so this was clear indication that the group was completely intoxicated, but this time on something other than rum.

And Sebastian, riding the last 45 minutes with no light (battery died), inspiring the rest of us to cross the upper field in stealth mode (lights extinguished), and capping it off with a first-ever-in-competition slow-motion sideways exit from the Struble bypass which had everyone cheering (and Kirk scratching his head).

After 2 hours of this madness, man and machine were beginning to show wear so we bagged it around 9:30pm.

Sunday's early morning ride was memorable as well with a mad dash across the lake, a high speed traverse of the sole trail, an assortment of trips over the handlebars, and a run-in with a deer that was having a VERY bad day.

All in all it was the perfect way to finish a 9 month string of weekday rides. With the warm weather and the melting snow this week, the Marsh Creek trails will be virtually unrideable so it looks like a little time off to revel in the pain and bask in the hard earned glory.

TBD if we'll ride on Sunday, open to suggestions. Don't forget class at Downingtown Bikes this Sunday. If you have any questions on the class, please contact Sebastian.

Oh, and tighten those friggin' chinstraps!

Chris