Ride Report 10/21

Hi All,
We did a fabulous, hard, longgggggg ride yesterday at Blue Marsh in PA. Blue Marsh has a 30 mile single track loop around a lake. It is not very technical in terms of logs or rocks, but it is very, very hilly and has some nasty decents.

It rained buckets on Friday(naturally, it always rains before I ride), so the trails and the leaves were wet and muddy. I went with the DH and several of the other guys in the wrecking crew that we ride with. I was nervous, because we have been racing shorter distances since the end of the summer, more in the 12-15 mile range, and we have not done any really long distances since August. But I had the new bike, so I was excited.

It was a nice, chilly, fall day. The leaves were probably a week past their peak, but pretty. In the parking lot, I had all of the guys practice the mantra for the day..." Don't kill the girl, Don't kill the girl"....

And off we go. It starts uphill right from the start. No chance to warm up. Spin, spin, spin...need more gears.... fast and furious. Well by mile 15, I was feeling it, but luckily for me, so was one of the Supermen. Leg cramps. YEA!!! my lucky day.

The second half was tough. I have a few shots at mile, 25 and 27...still smiling. The new Titus rode beautifully. She climbs like a dream and my new brakes....Incredible. I am very happy with her.

So all in all, a great ride. Sporting some sore legs today..but happy.

That dashingly handsome lad in the second picture is the DH....the two guys in the third picture are part of the crew....

Great pictures! Gald you had a great ride. Isn't having a new bike fun?! Hven't been to Blue Marsh, sounds like my type of riding.

Kerry

Wow-fun fun! And 30 miles- whew! Is that a Giant Trance your hubby's riding? It looks like my bike from the front. Sounds like you're lovin' that new bike. I rode with my LBS owner the other day, she rides a Racer X. I could not even begin to keep up with her. She told me I better keep workin on endurance because when my new bike comes everyone will expect a lot more from me. I already have an answer-- "It's a recovery day.":)

Those trails look soooooo nice - straight and not full of roots! Wish I could ride there -- I'm tired of having to deal with the rooty trails and switchbacks around here. They're killing me. Thanks for posting the pictures and glad you had a good ride! 30 miles of single track is like a century on the road!

Emily

Emily,
I could not get the guys to slow down enough on any of the technical stuff. No rocks but very, very hilly and tons of roots and gullies. The downhills were nasty enough to raise the hair on the back of my neck.

They wanted action shots, but would not stop the action long enough for us to take them!!!!!