Fun Ride was Fun

Yep, it was a good one yesterday. The weather cooperated and we were treated to warm sun and a cool breeze. We had ~ 100 folks turn up to ride a really nice loop laid out by Jim Grimley and company. Riding the Mt. Tom trail through the "Ledges" on both sides of 165 reminded me of why the trip down to Arcadia is always worth it. Being the dummy that I am I forgot my camera, so I unfortunately have no pics to share. It's hard to describe in words how hard, and ultimately rewarding, the Mt Tom trail can be. Everyone I saw who had ridden the loop seemed to enjoy the views and super technical riding. The food and drinks provided afterwards probably didn't hurt either.

Pete Gengler and I rode the Mt. Tom trail in the morning, and then we headed back for lunch prior to heading out to remove arrows. While pulling down arrows I ran into some folks I know from the Boston area. Knowing they were the last group to head out I swept the course behind them, and I eventually caught back up with their group. Before leaving I gave Tom and his crew a quick tour of the "95 trail" while making sure to finish with a nice long descent at ludicrous speed.Being the tough guy he is Pete re-rode Mt Tom to remove the arrows on both sides of 165. I was pretty well worn out by the time I left, and all the riding in recent weeks is catching up with me. I'm going to lay low for a few days before resuming riding like a madman again. My "training" to date has basically looked like this; Ride the road fixed, ride in the woods, ride SS in the woods, ride the road fixed, ride in the woods, etc.. That, my friends, is a solid 1/2 ass training plan if I've ever seen one! Let me know if you want an advanced copy of my forthcoming training guide entitled "Riding Too Hard, Too Often, and for no Apparent Reason".

From what I hear we raised around $500 for a local charity to be determined, and we had roughly 30 folks either renew or join NEMBA. Thanks to all the shops that provided raffle items! I also got most of the Trail Ambassador jerseys and supplies passed out which is a really good thing.

On a related note the Arcadia Ride Series starts in June, I posted the dates in a previous post and they are on the rinemba site as well. These rides are a free tour of Arcadia, just show up and go ride. Not too complicated if you ask me, so if you'd like to learn the trails check it out.

If you read RI Monthly be on the lookout for a short piece mentioning the Mt. Tom trail, RI NEMBA and the ride series. I'm not sure when it's going to be published but I'm guessing it'll be in one of the next few issues.

That's about it for now..

Brendan