If a tree falls in a forest........

Q. If a tree falls in a forest and there is nobody there to hear it - does it make a noise?

A. Of course it does you silly arse!!

But in the same vein, if you send an email and no bugger can be arsed to answer it was it worth sending! The email group for the Sunday rides is getting longer, but the bodies hitting the trails on a Sunday morning are getting fewer, interesting paradox. Is it just cos of the weather (bloody cold) or is it something more sinister (pause for dramatic organ chord!). Maybe people feel seeing that there are so many people on the list they can not show and it won't make any difference. Maybe people having riden for the best part of a year are getting a little dbored with MTBing. Maybe no-one likes me!!!!

Whichever way, come Saturday night I have received precisely no takers for the Sunday morning ride. MLW decides that she doesn't want to go if it is just her and me. So Sunday morning it is just me hitting Patapsco for a "Billy No-Mates" solo-ride on the Monocog 29er!

On the trail by 8:20 am start the usual anticlockwise "big loop" but decide to have a short detour around the "Old Loop Trail" just to see if there are any new fallen obstacles to liven things up - alas no. Once back on the big loop I scuttle around till I hit the crossroads at the start of the Ridge trail. As previously I try and take on most of the optional obstacles - the exception being the lengthway log at the bottiom of the Belmont hill - still too snowy for my liking but I can see some hardy soul has riden it - Great job! At the crossroads I decide that as I am by myself I have no excuses, so head down to the road (which is majorly slick) and traverse to the BC side of teh park. I attempt the Soapstone ascent but fail! Make it about 80 % of the way but a 'kin huge new(ish) log built up on both sides is just a hurdle too far so i push the last bit. Then down Vineyard and back to the HC side. On the way I stop to attempt the small wall in the grassy area by the old campground. Rodger mentioned this in passing and it looks completely ridable. Just a bumpy wall that starts at geround level and as the ground falls away leads to a foot and a half (or so) drop off. What can go wrong eh? All the time I am thinking "keep the front wheel up" but do I buggery and end up over the bars and flat on my back like a dying fly! Fortunately (i) no damage and (ii) no witnesses. Back on HC side I take on the fireroad back to Ridge and fail again (0-2 on the climbs).

From then on a same old same old ride. The Northern facing slopes are still very icey and result in some pushing, but onthe whole a nice little ride. I'm back to the car at 10:00 am so a solid 1hr 40min ride - probably over 10 miles covered some old haunts revisited and a yearning for longer rides stirring in me.

Only bad news of the week was reading in Bicycling Magazine that Saul Raisin (http://www.saulraisin.com/) has had to abandon his attempt to rejoin the pro-cycling ranks at the advice of his doctors. Sorry mate all the best for your future plans - I'm still wearing the Ride On bracklet!

Ride On!

Dogzbollux