Like many people around the globe, I was happy to see the back side of 2008 and wanted to start the year off right - on the bike. 
It was a cold day (23*F at the start), so the "sensible" option was to stay in the woods. We met at Mercer County Park at noon. Chris brought some CMCs (Chris Made Cookies). It was Mary's first time out with us, but she didn't hesitate to take Chris up on his offer of a CMC.We had a great group. Mike B., Laura, Chris, Mary and myself. It was also Mike's first time out and he was on a borrowed bike. It took a little time to get him set-up, but then he was off without ever looking back.
We stayed on the West side of the park. (Chris and I had been out a couple of day's earlier and had stayed on the East side of the park. Many of the trails were submerged under 5-8 inches of 
water. It was impossible to keep your feet dry.) Chris led us through the "Hall of Mirrors." This trail is through a ridiculously tight stand of young oaks. This trail really tests/develops your bike handling skills. There are many spots where the trail is book-ended by a pair of oaks spaced closer together than the width of your handlebars.
Mary has had a great year on the road -- over 10,000 miles before she found out that her frame was cracked at the beginning of December. She was struggling to keep warm, even though we were in the woods. Fortunately, Mike had some hand-warmers that she was able to add to her gloves. 
Laura, after being up late hosting a wonderful New Year's eve party, was doing great in the woods. I wish I had done a better job of capturing her jump over the log pile, but she was just moving too fast!
Eventually we found the "playground". Someone has been busy building a number of obstacles that are beyond me. Mike, even though it was his first time in the woods, didn't hesitate to try to make it over the see-saw. No, Chris didn't push him over. Chris was just trying, without success, to keep Mike from tumbling over.
The only downside of the entire day was that Laura's shoe failed her. 
In spite of the "wardrobe failure", it turned out to be great way to start the year!
1 comment:
Mike, now you're the big mountain biker!!! My jaw dropped when I saw your pictures as Mercer was one of my absolute favorite places to ride, and just today David and I made plans to bring our poor neglected dusty mountain bikes into a shop to 'roadize' them with reflectors and pedals etc.. We're getting our oldest a bike for her 4th birthday so I think it will be quite some time until we can go off roading again. I will just have to live vicariously through your blog for now! - Cheryl Harris
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