LOTSA SLIPPIN' & SLIDIN'

    It's been a long time since we last talked, and a lot has gone on. I lost and found a new job. A better commute, a bigger company, tons of work to keep me busy AND more opportunities to ride.

    See the new job is centraly located for me to ride at 4 spots. 2 of them is less than an hour away, 1 is about 30 minutes and the other is about 25 minutes and with me getting out of work by 5 pm, that gives me plenty of time to ride. So I have been fortunate this summer in getting a lot of riding time in. For awhile there I was riding 5 to 6 days a week, hence no postings.

    So tonight i met up a few people from NJ MTBR forum. We all met at 6 Mile Run but when I got there, the dark clouds already rolled in and in the faint distance you heard thunder and quick flashes of lightening. The wind picked up and the rain came and we all went to our cars hoping it would pass thru. Well it rained lightly, then harder and then hail dropped, about the size of marbles and of course the wind. Well it finally let up a lil and we all came out of our cars and started the ride. I say we had about 7 people, all different ranges but with the way the trails were, the playing field was even. It seemed like a quick ride, lotsa slippin and slidin' but on the way back, the wind picked up, some thunder was heard and the rain came back, heavy. Now riding in the rain is fine in the woods, half the time you don't feel it thru the trees unless it pours and thats what it did. So as we climbed up the trails, the trails themselves became lil rivers or like lil log flumes of fun.

    It was fun. The ride was cut short from the rain earlier. I wish I could ride a bit longer, but hey, that's what the weekends are for!

~happy trails
dirty "muddy" bert

IT'S SHOE SUCKING MUD...

    Sorry for the delay with the postings. I know my avid readers, all 3 of you have been patiently waiting for a posting. But was consumed with job hunting and finally landed a new job. I had dedicated 9 years to 1 place and I had to move on, it was definitely hard to do considering I lost my 6 weeks vacation in the process but I gained a commute closer to home (25 minutes) and a chance to work in a growing company. In a matter of 2 weeks, I'm starting to see my desk again. I have had a 2" pile of work sitting on my desk and maybe by Friday, I will see the fake wood grain of my desk.
    Anyway, to more important things... I have been riding, which is good. I rode just right up till we had our first and second snow fall. But I have been patiently waiting for the snow and mud to dry up a bit to ride again. It's funny how things change, when I was younger, I would think of nothing better to do than ride in the mud. The muddier the better but now if it's muddy, i think twice about riding. I really think that comes from all the trail maintenance I have been doing lately.
    So a week ago, I volunteered my time to ATUG, Allaire Trail Users Group. 8 am was the start time, so that meant I was up at 6:45 on a Sunday, so I can get a bagel for breakfast and be on the road by 7:15. There were about 20 people waiting in a circle in the parking lot. Hikers, bikers and horse owners were there to help, a great crowd for most places. We ended up splitting into 3 groups, the horse people went somewhere, the bike people rode off to re-route a trail and we stayed near the entrance to fix the muddy areas. it certainly was a learning experience and I learned a lot that day but it was a long day. We wrapped up at 11:30, i figured people would ride afterwards but everyone left, i stood around and talked to a new friend and left to go ride at Mercer.
    I was at Mercer this past Saturday doing TM. Filling in the trail with much needed wood chippings. The mud in some areas was as deep as 4", shoe sucking mud is what it is. I spent a lot of time there 9:30 till 12:30 full of fun. I didn't care it was a good time and I'm hoping this year we get to ride after TM and enjoy what we did.

Happy Trails
~dirty bert

Rumor has it...

    Rumor has it, that Redline is strictly going to just make single speed bikes. I also saw in my most current issue of Performance catalog, the Redline frames were on sale. I think the non 29er was about 100 bucks for a frame and fork, not a bad deal. Have you seen any great deals on the internet?

    Well it isn't a rumor but I just got a email today from Bike Nashbar. Hurry it's only good for today! 15% Off discount applies to all web or phone orders, no minimum purchase amount is required. Coupon Code DAYLITE must be presented at time of purchase. Coupon/Discount can not be applied to previous purchases and cannot be combined with any other offer. Discount does not apply to shipping/handling or taxes and is not valid on gift certificates. Code expires 3/12/07 11:59 est.

    I also got this email from Beyond Bikes. Here's lots coupon codes for you all to enjoy! Now I have read on the MTBR forums that people had problems with Beyond. I haven't had any, well because I never ordered from them. Has anyone had any problems with them?

    Well with day light savings starting early and the thaw out here on the east coast, trail maintenace is about to start. For NJ, you can find information on the JORBA and find the chapter, where you ride. It's important to support your favorite trails with some hours and it's also a great way to meet new people and of course being able to ride with them afterwards. I wish that here in NJ, they would stagger the TM dates to Saturday & Sundays. So I can do TM at Mercer on Saturday and TM at Allaire on Sunday. I bet they would get more people out if they'd do that, hell I know I would. Do you do TM?

~happy trails
dirty bert

VANDALS!

    It's always good to give back to your community but in this case it's trail maintenance. I do volunteer, it may not be for every meeting but I try to make a conscience effort in volunteering my time to a trail that I use and enjoy. It's a good way to meet other people, a sort of a way to network and also to share yer passion or riding experiences with others.

    Lately I have been doing it here at Mercer County Park. Like I said, I'm not out there every month but I try to make a conscience effort in volunteering some time. Over this past summer I helped with 2 bridges (repair and a build), pruning of a trails and picking up garbage from the fisherman.

    The one bridge I helped build has just been vandalized, again! It's in a remote area of the park, where I think not a lot of people frequent because it's on the other side of the lake. I think this weekend a group of people are going back out to fix the bridge and I'm hoping I'm one of them.

    I just don't understand why people can be so bored and need to destroy things. Is trail destruction like this all over the country? I haven't read many places that receive this kind of destruction. Granted, it isn't the "end of the world" but it makes me believe that people don't respect others enough. It's a shame.

happy safe trails
~dirty bert