Into the forest we go !!

I’ve been sitting around all this week pondering what to do with the rest of my life now that I’m back from my odyssey across the country, quite the task I’ve set for myself, eh ?  Now a week is a short time for such a huge decision I must admit, but then when you spend it sitting around doing nothing it turns into a long time !!!. So far the only decision I’ve come up with has been to get back on a bike, ( which is good as I wasn’t sure I wanted to bike) and I’ll just have to do some more pondering to come up with a strategy for the rest of my life part.

Then last night Bob calls me, he had read my last blog entry and was all exited that I was thinking of perhaps getting the mountain bike out, he wanted to go for a ride with me as it had been at least two years since we last rode together, his excitement quelled my hesitation about ridding and we arranged to meet 1 PM at the Durham Forest.

Bob and I back together on the trails !!!

So this morning I went over to the garage and took the bike down from the rafters dusted off the cobwebs (real cobwebs) and took it over to the house to patch the rear tire that had been flat now for about two years !!, yes you heard right , I have not ridden this bike since I started training for the across Canada trip two years ago !!! and that is how long the tire has been flat.

Found the hole quickly and patched just as quick , I’ve got good at it with all the practice I’ve had this summer !!!. That was the easy part , I had to do a bit of a cleaning as I had left it quite filthy , and after two years that dirt just didn’t want to be parted from the bike !!, I did my best concentrating on the drive train and then oiled the chain, the rest of the bike kept it’s coat of dirt. Then it was time to find air pump, spare tube, tool bag, camel-bag, etc ... , all the stuff needed to be out in the woods, this process took the longest as I must admit I’m not the most organized person in the world !. But finally it was all together and in the car and bike on the rack, I hoped it was in working order as I didn't have time for a test ride. 

After a stop at the bank and Tim Hortons for a coffee and two donuts ( I was starving !!! ) I arrived at the forest right at 1 and found Bob , Mary and the kids already there. The first spin around the parking lot felt really weird , different seat hight , handlebars , shifters etc .. , but I got the hang of it and off we went, Mary and the kids doing a short ride , Bob and I a longer one. Now riding with Bob is an adventure in itself , easy and slow are words he uses , there meaning, well not quite what Oxford has written down! , so today I set out once again for one of those slow easy rides and I must admit I had the time of my life zooming up and down those trails !!!!, I was huffing and puffing and sweating like a pig, but enjoying every turn , climb and especially every down hill !! , rocks , roots , ruts and all !!!

We went out for a 2 hour ride that turned into a 2 1/2 hour ride during which we covered 23 km of trails averaging 12.5 km/h even setting a 55 km/h max on one of our last down hills !!! 

Bob has been a mentor to me in my mountain biking life, he has helped me improve my skills, and instilled a competitive drive in me , he first introduced me to the Durham Forest about 15 years ago and I’ve been chasing him since then without being able to catch him !!!! Todays ride brought back many memories of our single track days together with Mark and Deb and Mary . 

The Durham Forest is my favorite mountain biking trail , great single track , a lot of fast flowing trails mixed in with some technical stuff , beautiful deciduous forest and a huge area that is not overly busy.  

You can find it just south of Uxbridge on Concession Road 7 just south of the Goodwood Road. Not only is it one of the best mountain biking areas around but it’s great for hiking and used for horse back ridding also. 

Beautiful trails of the Durham Forest !!

Bob

Myself on my Specialized Epic Marathon