This Sunday was the annual Nittany Mountain Bike Association’s “picnic/bike ride/membership drive/wash-your-bike-in-the-creek/here’s mud in your eye” event. While it wasn’t officially billed that way (the printing costs were prohibitive), it kind of turned out that way. You see, for the past several years the NMBA has gotten together in the spring for a group ride followed by a picnic with time to relax and enjoy the company of like minded people.
Typically the ride goes off from Greenwood Furnace State Park. It’s a bit of a drive at a whopping 40 minutes but when single-track is in your back yard, that’s an awfully long way to go. Not to mention, the ride started at ten in the morning which added to the early start. This year, the weather was less than ideal. The temperatures were spot on, but the forecast was for rain, and lots of it.
About fifteen people showed for the ride and we set out as a group. After a short but spry warm up, I decided to jump on some single-track and deviate slightly from the rest of
the group. Fortunately, the rain had started about the same time we rolled out therefore the roots and rocks were extra slimy.
After about three minutes on the trial, I decided it would be a good idea to catch a flat and spend some time getting rained on while I fixed it. It wasn’t a major setback, but enough to harsh my mellow. By the time I got rolling again, I was far enough off the back that I wasn’t going to catch the group. This was okay because I had a slightly different ride plan in mind and could now execute it. I ended up riding solo for the rest of the day and enjoyed some flowy albeit slippery trails. It was raining hard, the mud was kicking up into my face, and the grit was caking my bike and my body.
Upon my return to the park, I found additional non-riding people that had come out just for the picnic. I also found myself and others bathing their flesh and bikes in the nearby stream since everything was covered in a nice layer of muck. For an added bonus, however, the sun came out and it turned into a great day to enjoy some burgers and merriment following an overall decent ride with the local mountain bike club.
Typically the ride goes off from Greenwood Furnace State Park. It’s a bit of a drive at a whopping 40 minutes but when single-track is in your back yard, that’s an awfully long way to go. Not to mention, the ride started at ten in the morning which added to the early start. This year, the weather was less than ideal. The temperatures were spot on, but the forecast was for rain, and lots of it.
About fifteen people showed for the ride and we set out as a group. After a short but spry warm up, I decided to jump on some single-track and deviate slightly from the rest of
the group. Fortunately, the rain had started about the same time we rolled out therefore the roots and rocks were extra slimy.After about three minutes on the trial, I decided it would be a good idea to catch a flat and spend some time getting rained on while I fixed it. It wasn’t a major setback, but enough to harsh my mellow. By the time I got rolling again, I was far enough off the back that I wasn’t going to catch the group. This was okay because I had a slightly different ride plan in mind and could now execute it. I ended up riding solo for the rest of the day and enjoyed some flowy albeit slippery trails. It was raining hard, the mud was kicking up into my face, and the grit was caking my bike and my body.
Upon my return to the park, I found additional non-riding people that had come out just for the picnic. I also found myself and others bathing their flesh and bikes in the nearby stream since everything was covered in a nice layer of muck. For an added bonus, however, the sun came out and it turned into a great day to enjoy some burgers and merriment following an overall decent ride with the local mountain bike club.
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