Rippin' up the Rose

This 4th of July we decided to do a mountain bike ride at Rosaryville State Park. At 6:15AM in the morning I was able to convince Shawn, Tom, Tim, Tim P, Trevor, Mike S, and Patrick to join me for the ride. We left the store at 6:30 and we were in the woods by 7AM. Early for a holiday, I know, but we had the trails to ourselves for awhile.

Almost immediately and simultaneously Tom dropped his water bottle and got a flat. And wouldn't you know it, he doesn't have a tube or pump with him! Even better, he rides a cyclocross bike so none of us have a tube for him either. So he heads back off the to car where he thinks he can fix the flat.

The rest of us head on. We decide to hit the TTF (Technical Trail Features) area while we wait for everyone to rejoin. The trail has about 9 log rides, some jumps and dropoffs, and a few beams. Lots of fun. Everyone tried a few things, some of us made it all and there were quite a few crashes, but luckily no one was hurt.

As we started back on the regular loop... more mechanicals. Larry's and Trevor's crank arms both fell off. Go figure. Luckily for us their crank arm bolts were intact and we had the tools to fix them.

From this point on I had the most fun I have ever had at Rosaryville. It is a very fast non-technical single track loop of about 10 miles. The TTF area is about 6 miles from the end, and for that whole six miles we just flew (although we did stop once and chat with Dave M. and his MORE ride). Three or four of us took turns leading and we sped through the woods, wheel to wheel like a train, it was great! If anyone had crashed there would have been a pileup for certain. When we returned to the parking area, the lot was full. Ours were the only cars when we had arrived at 6:30.

There was time for one more lap so we decided to mix it up and do it counter-clockwise. Trevor took the lead and set the perfect pace. We did the whole trail non-stop with 8 of us just flowing together the entire way. I don't think we had more than 12 inches of distance between each bike, just flying. About 8 miles in, we picked up Rickyd and Chris P. So now we had a train of 10. Fantastic! We pulled back into the parking lot having done a 46 minute lap with no stops, no mechanicals and only one crash. Trevor's perfect lead, the flowing pace and great banter made it an even better ride. I can't think of many ways to have a better morning.

Tom did eventually get his flat fixed and finally caught up with us as we were starting that last lap. When he got to the shop later that day he immediately bought a CO2 kit and spare tube. Good thinking kid! Next time you won't be forced to miss out!


Keeping the rubber side down,
Jonathan