went on a night ride at shaffer farms

went for a night ride at shaffer farms

it was a hellish rush hour drive
but in reality it was only 65 minutes to the trailhead
not bad
would not want to do it everyday
but it is not so bad every once in a while
and most definitely worth it tonight

it was a crisp night
not cold, but crisp

got to the parking lot a few minutes before 7PM

the sunset in the distance was fading fast
the orange band on the horizon was beautiful
but rather than soak it the final seconds of light I scrambled to get my gear on my body and my light on my head

some confusion in the parking lot and I was foiled by some fumbled assistance
I asked someone to put my battery in my back pocket
somehow he disconnected my cable
I was caught in the dark and list the fast pace posse


I tried to catch them
but I think they went left where I opted for right
so I rolled back to the parking lot
I asked Todd who was orchestraing the the evening's event where he thought the rides were pointed

todd did not know


to my pleasure DCMTB Jake had just arrived
I had a riding partner

Jake was on his Redline Monocog rigid single
I was on my Jamis Exile Single Speed with squishy front end
we rode the white loop
following Todd's lead to look out for gouls, goblins, ghosts, and skeletons

somehow the halloween energy extended one night extra for the folks at Shaffer Farms

when I pulled into the parking lot I was met by thirty mountain bikers in costume
my costume was a skin tight lycra dcmtb team kit
the gut really takes this costume to an absurd level

Jake and I rode at a healthy pace
not race pace

but a fast conversational pace

Jake and I hammered through the woods
over the logs and between the trees
we caught one of the MORE lead groups

then we reeled in another
rather than jump on the pace of these other groups we pushed ahead at our pace
I was really impressed with young jakes riding
so I pulled aside and let jake lead


the kid is light on the bike
but then again he only weighs one twenty five

that is a hundred and ten pounds less than me
one hundred and ten pounds and roughly thirteen years

jake is the youngest member of the DCMTB mountain bike squad

I am nearly the oldest

definitely the tallest, the baldest, and the heaviest

in the open field we came head on with the fast pack of MORE riders lead by red headed chris
RickyD was in the mix wearing an M&M costume

Jake and I got into the headlamp wearing catipillar
but I bumped up the group to chat up RickyD and ran into a former DCMTBer Jason Trexler (sorry... the last name is an ugly guess)
we caught up as we weaved though the woods
over the logs and between the trees
that is how you ride at shaffer farms

over the logs and between the trees
splashing through an occassional stream
rolling over an occassional rock

the ride took us back through the orange section
others enjoyed the dippty doos more than myself

rickyd launched pretty little airs out of the dirt half pipes

back at the parking lot I asked if anyone wanted to play centerfold for me
got a few people to head back into the woods and ride a log for me