Jennifers New Bike - "Little Pink"

WOW, Bling! Bling! Check out the PINK! I call her bike "Little Pink". It's a Gary Fisher Hi-Fi Plus Deluxe GS...We've been out on a couple rides...very easy, 10-12 mile routes...the NCR trail out of Hunt Valley a week ago, then last Wendesday we went on the AA Trail for the same 10-12 this time on the way back we used our lights...it's new for me I actually have seen things I never have at the slower pace...it's "smell the roses" rides...tomorrow night we're going out to Rockburn Park, right next door to Avalon. We'll take it easy, but we will get her tires on some dirt and roots before this coming Sundays Jamboree...do just a couple miles or so, slow steady baby steps to get her used to riding without getting hurt...gotta protect my girl ya know...c-ya all soon.

Ed

Been awhile...and alot of Ridin!!!

It's been aloooong time since my last posting and that is due to a couple reasons...foremost being the laptop has been acting up...where the power cord plugs in it is very loose so therefore it doesn't always charge...so I have to sit at home in the evening wiggling, jiggling, and forcing the darn thing to hit the "sweet" spot (sorry girls) to make it charge...well it's a royal pain in the ass...so i have been on it as little as possible...One way I have gotten my fix is with my new "crack" berry oh I mean Blackberry, but whew does it take time to type on...so Jennifer has given me her NEW laptop and she is going out tomorrow to buy herself another one....so tonight I'm getting my "fix on", no more "jones'in"...
now reason number 2...lots of ridin lately, have met a couple new guys and a couple of the older guys from the gang enjoy night riding as much as I do, so we've been out on the trails alot after work lately...and the past 3 weekends have been out at the Shed in Gambrills...it's been a ton of fun....thats what it's all about right, FUN!!!! Medically, at least this type of riding allows for many breaks and/or breaks whenever I want, (certainly not like racing), so I've been able to ride with out my heart "racing" ahead...:) or at least racing only for slight moments...
Todays ride at the shed was one of the best of all time...a new group of guys, exactly 13 of us, and still the same shed but from a whole new prospective...alot of the trails I've ridin out there over the last month are always the same ones, today the ride leader took us on most of the same trails but in different directions....man did it flow so much better this way...the shed is so great for practicing and learning technical skills...the group today liked to play in the real tech areas trying to get it down pat...I tried the boulder climb you see in the picture probably 5 times always falling over at the top until (as the picture shows) I made it...that was fun, instead of spending weeks only trying it each time you go out we spent time until most made the obsticle that gave them a hard time...we were out for 5.5 hours, what a beautiful day out too...one of the guys described the leaves on the tree as matching the colors of a Macintosh apple, perfect analogy...the fall time is so perfect for riding...need someone like Zach Adams who writes so philasophically (ms)to explain for us the beauty of fall.

On another very cool note....Jennifer has a new bike now...we got her a Gary Fisher Hi-Fi Deluxe GS (women specific) and its a very cool flat pink color...the bike is set up with some pretty good components...for those coming out to the Jamboree, you'll get to see it...she's going to try the VERY beginner ride, I'll join em too...we've been out a couple times on very easy "rail trails", and an average 10-12 miles, one ride I pulled our grandson in the little buddy cart, he had a blast, even fell asleep on our return trip, that was funny to see...I even took her out on a ride where we needed our lights, that was fun...

Lights to me are such a blast...it takes the same ole mondane trails that you've ridin 100 times over, that you can actually follow yesterday and the day before that and the day before thats...tire marks that you placed months before....and they somehow magically becaome trails you've never ridin'...the lights are bright enough to see the entire trail in front, but dark enough at your sides and when you glance behind that the riding experience to me becomes even easier...just recently we found a completely new trail we've never ridin, and it was just getting dark to top it off, wow what a downhill it was too, what a great feeling to have that surge of fear keeping you jacked up and ready for anything...thats the point right there about night riding...your senses are hightened, there at a level they usually are never at...you feel the trail and the variances of the terrain more than you ever have...it's kind of like how they say the blind become with there other senses...(how's that Zach)...

well everyone have a great week, keep the rubber side down, see a bunch of ya this Sunday...Ted if ya read this hope to c-ya too!!!

Ed

Water Shed Ride Today

Ride at the Watershed today

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WOW...what a spectacular day for riding, period, no matter where you were...BUT...we were at the shed and it was great...team members came down from DE and PA to ride and brother did we ride...aprrox.24-27 miles...tons of fun, some mechanicals...Fernando had a broken chain (which he fixed), and poor Ben had a couple three flats, the last one was brutal with only approx 1/2 mile left...his tube popped out spun around and wraped up in his rear derailuer and sheared it off, poor guy...some of the rock gardens were a blast, very technical...good experience for all... I'll have a couple dozen photos up on my flickr account, check'em out!

Okay, here are some pictures now...on another note about the ride...did laundry last night and was going to put my bike shorts in my bike bag and you know what happened, they didn't make it in the bag, therefore....I got to ride in my "street" shorts today....yikes...ouch... took a shower this evening and whoa, tough day ahead tomoorw at work if ya know what I mean....anyways here are some pictures...lots of rocks to climb and manuver today it was great....

Rides the last few weeks

The exciting part of the last couple weeks was that a buddy from the west coast that I met while I spent the spring out there showed up here on the east coast...took him around locally and did some east coast style riding...BJ was amazed at the trails and tech riding that we have....went this past Saturday to Patapsco, met up with a few of the Tuesday night guys, Manuel, Nathan, Eujin (with his awesome ne Ti bike)and had a fun ride...BJ used my Carbon Rush, which is perfect for the trails we rode....and BJ rides a hardtail at home so this gave him a nice "plush" ride...then on Sunday we went out to the watershed at Gambrills and hooked up with Fernando & Loretta...this as most of you know is much more technical then Patapsco in a "rocky" way...ironically I was the only one that DIDN't wipeout...fortunately it was just some bumps, bruises and blood...a couple were pretty scary...Loretta came within inches of her face on the rocks when she wiped out...thank god she was okay...
And then there was our group ride Tuesday night...we got approx. half way and I was still in the mood for more riding so a new guy, Jason, to the group decided to come along, low and behold Larry joined in to...just prior to the dam DH Larry did a quick endo, landing on his left side (he crashed his right shoulder approx. 6-8 weeks ago so that was close), but he stabbed himself with his sproket, and believe it or not he had to get stitches, ouch...thank god I've always "packed" my cuts with mud so I don't have to get stitches...:) Now Larry says he's going to retire till next spring so his shoulder can heal up and there wont be any permanent damge in the event he were to wipe out on it over the next few months...awwwww...

I've missed the Wed. night rides over the last few weeks, to tell ya the truth I'm a little concerned over my heart getting such an aerobic stress on that ride...it's kind of the opposite of my Tuesday ride, Wed. is a "hammerfest"...it's a great location and the guys are super but I really dont want to push it to see what could happen...worse case scenario I don't think the family would appreciate, neither would my fellow riders having to deal with those kind of hassles, so for now I'll forgo te "hammerfest" until after my next doctors appointment in November....

To all thanks for the last couple weeks, and I look forward to the next few weeks...Gambrills with the gang, bike flea market this Saturday, the Jamboree coming up November 2nd and I'll go out to ride and watch the Marsh creek race on the 9th, wish I could race the course is fast and fun...but for now I'll just "ride" it...c-ya all soon...Ed