first group mountain bike ride

[fastdogs]

I'm glad they offered the mountain bike option on this ride, and it was a great group of people. I don't know what happened with the markers. We were definitely following orange construction ribbon; maybe there was some old markers or something. I hope the other trail was better. The parts that weren't muddy were really rocky- big pointy rocks sticking up, nothing rounded about them.

I would have liked to find out where the correct trail was, but didn't really know the people to know who to ask, or even where they ended up! I did know I couldn't face going back out in that mud and the probability of losing the trail again.
I think if my husband ever decides to go down there to ride ATVs, I'll probably go along and try some of the trails again, when it's dry.
vickie

[uforgot]

Yeah, you should have done flat as a floodplain with me. Clearly marked, dry, although the route was shortened. It certainly was flat, but windy. Nice ride and a beautiful day.

Man oh man, you just jump right in. You really love the mountain biking, don't you? If this was a normal Missouri Sept. we would be in the middle of a drought and it would be perfect mountain biking weather. Nice work keeping up with everyone! I really see that 29er in your future!

[Aggie_Ama]

I am on Irulan's soapbox about not cancelling. I have limited trail experience but I have seen a few spots at my favorite trail with deep ruts, DH said they are from riding in the mud. These aren't a spot where it would be worn down from being the best line, it should be hard packed. The local clubs here are pretty adamant about not riding if the trail is muddy, of course many of our trails they maintain. Completely irresponsible and dangerous to have you ride in the mud.

[uforgot]

Vickie, who sponsored this ride?

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I hope you are icing that knee!

The riding on the trail thing is different everywhere I go. Out west in the Sierras, where I volunteered to build and maintain the Tahoe Rim Trail, you are absolutely not supposed to ride where it is muddy. Carting your bike or 'high lining' if you absolutely have to, but don't ride through the puddle! Out here I was riding in Fair Hill (where is Becky?!) and I asked the ranger if it was too muddy to ride...she goes "nah..it's fine!". OMG. I almost lost my bike in the mud! Then there is here in Mass- they want you to ride through the puddle, not highlining it. I still get off and cart my bike. I only ride those places that drain when it's muddy.

For that event, they probably should of routed the trail where it wasn't muddy or just rode the paved trails with maybe some mud. Like I said, everywhere is different. Some trails, I think, heal better than others too, and out here on the east coast, I think you get so much rain that the trails morph so much that running through the puddle doesn't matter. It's that they don't want the trail to get wider and wider so they don't want you riding around the puddle. Out west, where we get tons of snow in the mountains and occasional rain, tire tracks stay around and make deep ruts.

But then, if they really cared, they would nix all these social trails that confuse riders and sometimes discourage people out of parks and riding areas because they get so lost.

Sorry...I took that soap box...I'll give it back now

I think the GPS thing is funny, I'm not sure which one you are using but I would NOT want the man in my life to be monitoring how fast I was going. I'm sure he would have SOMETHING to say!

[fastdogs]

not sure who sponsored it- they had two cycle shops set up to work on bikes, and police escort for the road rides. The police were stopping traffic at intersections on the way out, and the mayor spoke to us before the ride, so it seemed like a pretty big one.
The gps is the garmin astro, for hunting dogs. The dog collar unit sends signal every 5 seconds to the handheld, telling it where it is, whether it's moving or not, and how fast it's going (average speed; you download the details of the track later)- I should do that. You download it superimposed on google earth so you can see right where you were, and how fast you were going at that point. The blocky collar unit just fit in the upper pocket of my hydrapack, with the antenna sticking out.
I think the trails in that area are so rocky that maybe they don't even think about when it rains. But the rocks are set in mud. There were only a few big puddles and some creek crossings, the rest was slick clay and sharp rocks. My bike did fine, but one guy was having problems with his gears, and they all were having problems clipping in (walking so much in the mud). The guy with the cannondale 29er had some sort of brake noise sometimes whenever he moved (I don't know anything about disc brakes).
vickie