Gathering of the Tribes!

So it turned out to be an interesting weekend! Normally the midweek night ride is with George, Todd ,Brian etc and then the Sunday am ride is with Sean, MLW et al. This weekend things turned out a bit different. Sunday was planned as usual then MLW found she had run out of contact lens! Bless her cotton socks, she's as blind as a bat without them. Having attempted emitting high pitched squeaks and echo location and not been that good at it she abandoned all hope of riding Sunday am. Then Todd calls to say the Night riding posse is deviating from the norm and riding in the daylight hours on Sunday am.





Long story short, Sunday am we meet at Rockburn Branch Park to amalgamate the Nightriders and the Sunday Riders into one happy cohort. Turns out there are six of us (biggest turn out in living memory) representing 4 different nationalities (US, British, Irish and Dutch) a melting pot indeed.





Quick spin along the power lines and over Landing Road and we are ready to hit the Happy Trails of Patapsco! Oh joy! Turns out the devastation of New Trail and Small Intestine have been reversed, so the first ride at Patapsco of the New Year is on old favorite trails. At the top of Small Intestine the balance section is still removed but a "ridalong log" has been placed on the trail side. Too much for George to resist! Best college try but only rides about half of it. Mr Biking Sean then shows us how it is done, that guy has balance in spades! If we strung a piece of fishing line between two trees I think he would ride along it. After a few more failed attempts by us mere mortals and another demonstration of how it should be done by Sean the Balance King and we head off in the direction of Belmont. Quick pit stop for Todd to fix a flat then race down the Belmont hill and over the "bouncey" section to the water crossing. Very interesting!! The stream is frozen solid. We look at it, think about it, think some more......then get off our bikes and walk across it - except for Brian who sails gracefully across the sheet of ice crying "just don't pedal". Over the water and Sean repeats his balancing act on the next log, to George and my chagrin (as we make a complete dogz breakfast of it). Up the Purple (so to speak.... oo er missus) and we are at the Crossroads. Quick conflab and we decide Ridge to White and down the "Hike Only" trail is the way to go. White is fantastic as always, we reckon that at 8:30 am on a Sunday (when the air temp is only just above freezing) is pity safe, unlikely to meet any hikers. Would you Adam and Eve it! Just as we hit the bottom section we startle a runner heading up! No harm, no foul - luckily.



Over to BC side and you know with the fantastic condition of the trails Soapstone is a must. Trails are sweet, hard and sticky (oo er Missus) so even given the grade Soapstone is pretty manageable. We lose Reender though - having spent the Holidays in his native Holland (not too many hills) he is feeling the pace a bit and decides discretion is the greater part of valor - he heads to the bottom of Vineyard to meet us.



I love Vineyard! Fun but not too scary. Uphill is better but even downhill I have a fairly good time. Meet Reender at the bottom and the group decides it is time to head back to HC and the cars.



At the base of the Water bar we encounter a group of riders being lead out by Jon "the Poz" Pozner and after a fun climb we head back along the newly reinstated Small Intestine, New Trail and back to Rockburn - just time enough to fit in a close encounter with Mr Eatough (who is heading into the park from Rockburn). Then before I know it it is time to say goodbye to the guys and head back to reality - and Splashdown with the youngest!

Till next time

DB