Saturday, January 10, 2009

It Doesn't Take Much


It doesn't take much to entertain me and my friends when it comes to a bike ride. We don't need mountains, beautiful vistas, or epic trails to have a grand time together. Of course, we would prefer to have all that, but sometimes Mother Nature throws a wrench in our plans. Rather than be defeated, we make the best with what we have. Take a group of good friends, add mountain bikes, mix with zippy singletrack, blend together for a couple of hours, and it will yield a deliciously fun ride.

Regularjoe's second attempt at a birthday ride got scrambled yet again thanks to the eternal rains we have been "enjoying". Instead of going north to Bear Creek/Pinhoti as planned (where it was raining), we decided to gamble on beating the rain by heading northeast to Chicopee Woods in Gainesville. Our gamble paid off.

All the cool kids were there, and FarmerG even brought some party favors. Homegrown loofahs! Ain't that cool? I sure am glad he decided to skip the WBL roadie ride to come play with us mountain bikers. Thanks Greg!

Our friends are cool like that. It has been nice to reconnect with Greg after all these years. We began riding with FarmerG in the early 90's and have alot of old memories to share. It has been refreshing to see the mixing of our old friends with our new. We're all very different, but we all seem to get along so well. Mountain biking must be a timeless sport.

Speaking of old friends, we ran into Tom and Belinda in the parking lot. Good people, they are. Also saw Don, one of our original mountain biking buddies. We logged many an hour training with Don, and it's as though time never passed when you see a good friend like that. I cannot imagine our life without cycling. The friends we have made through the years is a precious thing to me, of which I shall never take for granted.

Our newest friend, Millhouse, was sporting a new fork on his previously fully rigid singlespeed and we were all anxious to hear what he would have to say about it.

Whilst waiting for some of the sleepy heads to arrive, some of us zipped off for a quick warmup on the Lake Trail.

Let me translate "quick warmup" for you....chase Raja & FarmerG as they fly off down the trail. Nothing like a sprint to get you warmed up. It was cold out, and I was wishing I was riding San Felasco with Martina enjoying 78 degree temps and sunshine. No sun for us today. Cloudy and gray with rain on the way. But we weren't going to let those stupid clouds rain on our parade. It's Regularjoe and Robin's birthday ride!

As the herd starting rolling down the trail, I was captivated by the sight of the long trail of riders snaking through the woods.

A fast pace was set (surprise surprise) and we all did our best to keep up with the leaders. SkidSteer did not seem to be having any trouble!

Millhouse was mumbling in front of me as he tried to get used to his new fork. I hear rumors he almost did an endo, but I missed that, darn it.

New signs have been added at Chicopee as well as some super fun trails. I will always remember the work partys here digging out the ZigZag trail, but I must admit, the new trails are much better. Flying Squirrel is the Bomb!

We zipped,

and we raced,

then regrouped just in time to chase again.

There's nothing like singletrack to bring a smile to your face!

There were no Christmas trees or mystery trails to explore, and no sheriffs to summon on today's ride. Just good old fashioned trails to ride

in the company of good friends.

And the weeeeeds! Can't forget the weeeeeds for Kate!

Oh! And the food! Don't forget the food!

Yea, it doesn't take much to entertain us! I love the simple life, the simple life and my friends. It doesn't get any better than that.


3 comments:

Unknown said...

My kind of day... great friends, fun, and food :)

Anonymous said...

Please don't let Matt hug me anymore. Another great day with great friends.

Becky said...

Cheers to the simple things! Biking, friends, pretty weeeeeeds... Combine them all and it's a formula that always works! :)