Get Some

I didn't write about the second time I went because it was only marginally better then the first. The first ride of the year I felt like I was going to die almost the entire time. The second ride, only part of the time; but the third ride I aggressively attacked each obstacle and traversed the rolling landscape like an antelope (well almost).

It probably helped that I got there a little early. Because I had to pick the car up at the mechanic, I was prepared to go right at 4pm and arrived at the trail head just around 5pm. The earlier you leave, the better the traffic on the notorious DC beltway. I quickly unpacked my bike and tried my hand at photographing off road cycling enthusiasts as they headed back toward the parking lot. After finding a good spot with a roller and a log and lots of time to set up before they got there, I quickly realized this was far harder then it looked. The sun was low making light limited, my hands were shaky and I wasn't sure how people would react to a guy standing on the side of the trail taking their picture as they rode by. No one seemed to mind though and I learned a lot about photographing the high speed action of Mountain Biking.

After getting a couple of okay shots, I headed back to the parking lot to relax and converse with some of the new friends I was making since joining MORE and participating in the Thursday night ride at Schaffer. There were a lot of people here this time. We ended up breaking into three groups. I again rode with the beginner group. There was also an intermediate group and an expert group. Our group's ride leader, Bob, I had ridden with two times before; however everyone else was new. We had a great time. There was good conversation, camaraderie and support. We had an international traveller that was getting back on the bike for the first time in a while who kept riding even though he broke his pedal, a youthful lad totally new to mountain biking who did pretty darn well, and a nice young lady who just built up her pink Transition downhill rig and was dying to try it out for the first time. We all traversed the rolling countryside finding our moments of glory and pain and in the end rode longer then the previous two rides.

The best part about this 3rd ride was that I really started to feel comfortable on the bike. Two things were responsible for this improvement. First was preparation. I got a good nights sleep. I ate properly the day before getting a good amount of carbohydrates, H2O and protein while minimizing my intake of alcohol and caffeine. Doing the same the day of the ride, I also made sure to eat a bagel and put down 32 ounces of clean water between 1 and 1.5 hours before the ride started. I also warmed up and stretched before heading out. The other reason was that this was my 3rd ride of the season. It had been a couple of years since I had ridden off road and about 5 since doing so regularly. The bike was more predictable and felt lighter under my direction. I hopped over objects, even going uphill. One of the things I did to make this happen was putting more space between me and the person in front of me so I could attack these obstacles with the amount of momentum I wanted as opposed to riding at their pace. It makes all the difference in the world when you attack a hill aggressively on a bike like mine.

After we finished, there was good times to be had at the Dogfish Head Alehouse. We took over the patio outside and talked about riding, hobbies, interests, relationships; you name it. This activity has certainly become one of my favorite events of the week and I eagerly look forward to the next one as soon as it is over. This Thursday I would like to try to ride at a more advanced level. I am going to take it as I feel however, and write about it after it is over.

Ride hard everyone 

 Words and Photos By Ray Heinsman