|   A Tale of Two Passions............(no pix :< ) | Rip Van Winkel
Sep 10, 2003 7:19 PM | | A First-Time Post from a former lurker........
(Gee, I sure hope Pete likes me or I'll never get over it :})
Call me spoiled, but after 7 years of living in the high desert of northern New Mexico, I'm pretty used to being able to ride when I want to, without having to worry too much about the weather. Lately I've realized that summer ain't gonna last forever, so I decided to ride three nights a week after work as long as the season permits. But setting a goal is like asking Karma to give you a smack-down.....
I have two excellent after-work rides. One is down in the canyons, with slickrock-like descents and extended climbs, loose rock, ledges, and lots of adrenaline to process. The other is up in the higher mountains, with lots of climbing, screaming descents with chances for air time, loose rock, and more opportunities to process adrenaline. On most rides, there is usually one more little obstacle that I overcome that gives me a great big rush and confirms that my meager skills are improving (this is only my third year of serious mtn biking).
So then all of a sudden it starts raining every day, which it never does here, and I get all whiney 'cuz I'm missing rides. Last week I got rained out twice! The third time I let the skies fool me into thinking I could get a ride in, then I got slammed by rain and hail. After a 4-mile bail-out to the car, I was soaked. What's up with this WETNESS?
BUT, the beautiful thing about rain in New Mexico is that it comes with the most incredible lightning and thunder that you can imagine! Big, fat, cloud-to-ground bolts that pump up and down 4 or 5 times! Long, thin, cloud-to-cloud bolts that shoot across the sky! Booming thunder right over your head that puts your pucker setting on 'high'. I have come to crave this massive transfer of energy like a drug - the drama and excitement and thrill of megavolts crashing down around you is just as addictive as screaming down some sweet singletrack.
So, yeah, the lightning is fun, but I crave some PASSION !! So this week, I bring my bike on Monday, the weather is good, and I get out for a ride, only to pinch-flat after 3 miles (first time this year), then find out my spare tube had a faulty stem. Shut-down and way disappointed. Tuesday, the weatherman says it's gonna rain and it does - massive lightning bolts all around that have me hooting like a hillbilly! The same was predicted for today, so I left the bike at home. Wouldn't you know it - as I left work there were open skies and the potential for shredding some trails, but my bike was at home :( I raced home and got out for a ride, but my other passion chased me down and slammed me to the extreme. Lightning hit so close that my ears are still ringing! A massive downpour of rain that, I soon realized, wasn't so bad after all. O.K., so my bike was getting dirty, but I was sliding thru some corners and it was kinda FUN! Riding in the mud is a foreign concept to New Mexicans, much like driving while sober.
So I get home plastered with mud, hose off my bike, and get a hot shower. I look out to see that the clouds have parted and there is a huge rainbow, put there by God (knows who) to tell me that there are Oh-So-Many-Ways to be blessed by the gift of life here and now. I wish I had a digital camera to share the rainbow with all of you. But at least I can share my Passion with you, and hope that you share it with me.
Hope that wasn't too cheesey. And I hope to meet some of you at future Gatherings. |
| Thanks and welcome. | Rev Bubba
Sep 11, 2003 4:11 AM | | Glad you decided to come out of the lurker closet...... |
| Great post | jcpduncan
Sep 11, 2003 7:05 AM | | As a fellow lurker, it's great to hear such tales. I just got into Mtn Biking a couple months ago and so far am loving every fall. New Mexico sounds like a great place to ride. Still looking for good trails in New Jersey. |
| Where you looking for trails in NJ? | Rev Bubba
Sep 11, 2003 7:38 AM | | For technical stuff try Mahlon Dickinson County Park in Jefferson, Allamuchy Mountain State Park in Allamuchy and Ringwood State Park in Ringwood up north. Some easier parks are Kittatinny State Park in Andover and Lewis Morris County Park in Morristown plus the Tourne, which is a county park in Boonton on the border of Mountain Lakes.
Head down Rt. 287 from the Morris County area and there is Chimny Rock Park. Not sure of the town but it is near the intersection of Rt. 22.
I live in Rockaway and have many, many miles of trails just outside my door. Head for the woods and follow the trails made by the quads. That gives you lots of places to ride and some are pretty challenging.
You want downhill, go to Mountain Creek ski area in Vernon and pay your bucks and ride the chair lift.
Looking for some decent rail trails, try the Paulenskill around Sparta (26 miles one way) or the Sussex Branch trail that starts off of Waterloo Road in Stanhope. Ride it long enough and thrown in some road in Newtown and you can connect with the Paulenskill trail for close to 50 miles one way. Another nice and pretty tame ride is Patriots Path which starts (or ends) at Speedwell Lake in Morristown and goes to Chester. I think it is around 12 miles in one direction.
Lots of very good riding packed into an otherwise small state.
Enjoy
REV |
| Where you looking for trails in NJ? | jcpduncan
Sep 11, 2003 8:58 AM | | I was living in Morristown so I was hitting Patriots Path then head up into Lewis Morris. Now I am in Wayne and found just a little trail that motorbikes have been using. I was thinking of going to Waywayanda(sp) and riding there. I am still very new to the sport(2 months) but relize the only way to get better is to ride more and on a bit more difficult trail. |
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