In cold we will ride, from the wind we will hide

Finally rode my mountain bike in Frederick last night, and it was amazing. I rode with Jason, a guy who’ll be helping me informally around the shop. He races for the team, works with more, has a ‘real’ job, leads group rides for more (and on the road), AND is married...quite the feat in the bicycle industry. We ended up doing a loop in Greenbrier State park that Jason had mapped out. The night was very windy (gusts up to at least 30mph) and cold (41 degrees), however the loop that we started on began with a bit of a climb, actually a bitch of a climb. It was loose, rocky, long, semi-steep (but not too much so), and straight...all the things Frederick is known for with a climb. This of course quickly warmed us up - cursing the fact that I decided to throw the wool jersey on before I left the car (which I actually brought as a post-ride change of clothes. Got to the top of the climb and saw the first thing that excited me about night-riding at this particular park, signs. Not just any signs either, ridiculously well marked signs - like the sort you see at airports (oh, never mind...they don’t mark shit in airports...the kind you should see in airports.) After checking the you are here pointer and knowing we were moving in the right direction we ponied-up and did some more climbing...but this time the nice, long, steady, non-rocky sort...yummm it was delicious. I’ll spare you the pedal for pedal details, but suffice to say the riding was incredible...the perfect mix of down hills, rocks, technical rock gardens and climbing. I think this will have to become a weekly night ride spot, if not a couple days a week.

I truly can’t wait to show you fuckers these trails out here, after only tasting this one for the first time. Get your bikes, get in your cars, stop arguing with each other, charge your lights...and get your fucking asses out here. Now.