Well unfortunately I didn't get scooters' message before I left so I showed up at about 8:50. My brother was an hour behind he arrived at 10:00. Just as my brother finished getting his gear together Dan pulled up in his truck. He said he would need about twenty minutes or so to get ready so we went to hit some trails while we waited. I believe the small loops we took were as follows: Foundations, bunny loop and chicken run. On chicken run I came to the top of a hill and stopped. I looked down to see a steep hill with very large rocks that you had to go around. Nerviously I picked my line and went for it, success :). I stopped at the bottom to see how my brother handled it. He stopped the same way I did to pick his line. It was very unexpected on this trail.
We rode back to the parking lot to get Dan. He led toward the single track much of it he said was newly cut and I believe it is not yet on the map. Dan's bike stalled and he could not get his electric start to work. He eventually found a hill to bump start it on. We got back to the main road and his bike died. He had to get his truck to pick up the cannondale but luckily he also brought his KTM. It was lunch time so we hung out for a while to eat.
During this period I don't recall how it came up but my brother made a comment on how slow I was and that we could go much faster if they didn't have to wait for me. Well for some reason I wasn't able to get into a rhythm that morning and I was moving kind of slow but not after that comment.
The rest of the afternoon I was right on their heels I wasn't letting them out of my sight. There were a couple of rocky hill climbs which I could have easily passed my brother but I knew that would have started a battle so I just took the satisfaction of knowing that at least on the rocky hills I was faster :p.
The afternoon was great Dan took us on some really good single track. One minute it would be smooth hard pack the next you're riding over rocks. There were also numerous hills, some pretty dam steep. Going up hill is easy, going down I was too cautious and too slow. I would try to slow my decent and go around everything after a while I was watching those guys just riding right over the rocks going down hill. I said the hell with it and just let go, it wasn't too bad my bike just went over the rocks no problem.
We came out of one section of trail and stopped for a moment. I looked back on the ground and said what is that horse cr-p we rode through. Dan nodded yes. Then I looked at my boot what the hell is that on my boot. Ahhh man :|.
Later Dan took us down to an old mine with rushing water coming from it (came in handy for washing my boot) and a nice cool breeze. We hung out there for a little while to cool off.
We rapped up the day at the open play area where cleared out the trees and added a few small jumps. Dan took some pictures which are up on his site. My bike started making noise (a rattling or grinding) on the way back I dropped it off at the shop Saturday morning for that & it kept blowing fuses I had to use the kick start all day.
It was a good time, I wish we could have gotten a few more hours in on even gone back the next day. Instead Saturday afternoon I ripped out a small dead tree from my yard with a big vine growing up it. Yeah remember "leaves of three let them be" I have poison ivy up both arms, some on my face and stomach. Had to go to the doctor to get steriods. Cost me almost $80 in medications now those $30 long rubber gloves I saw at home depot don't seem so expensive anymore. Man I should have gone riding, the phillies lost that night anyway.