Re:RB Winter Group Ride - Sunday Oct 7 - 2007/10/08 10:43Oh, the horror, the horror! I'll let the verbose give a full accounting of the daring-do, but lets just say the trails were great, just not enough of them. And its a stretch to call top mountain a trail, more of an extended punishment for a year of riding Wertz's handiwork. I've seen rubble piles and scree fields with better lines. The vista was almost worth it.
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Top Mountain trail was punishment like Frank described. We did find some dirt on it which was a relief. There was a breathtaking vista about half way out.
Old Tram trail was pretty good. The constant rock sections in the beginning were punishing but then it turned into a fun trail.
I know this is geographically impossible because we started and stopped at the same place, but it seemed like we were climbing most of the day.
The post ride beverages and snacks were great. We had a great group of 12 people on the ride and it was a beautiful day. Me, Frank, Harry, Rodney, Jean-Luc, and Scott C. from State College. HO from Port Matilda. Rick Begley and Emory Ehrenfeld from Harrisburg. Ray, Keith, and Larry from Perry County. I am a bit sore today from the constant pummelling I received from the rocks.
It was nice to ride some new stuff, but the trails we normally ride there are better.
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Re:RB Winter Group Ride - Sunday Oct 7 - 2007/10/08 21:48I woke up late on Sunday morning, and with guests at the house that spent the night, I opted for the 25 mile Black Mo ride instead. It was a great day to be out.
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Re:RB Winter Group Ride - Sunday Oct 7 - 2007/10/09 10:17hey....and only two flats. very very amazing, as i know for myself a lot of times it was point, shoot and hope for the best.
mattd wrote: Could someone possibly give me directions to this "top mountain" trail? i think they changed it's name to "purgatory" trail
on a bald eagle sf map look directly east of the mccall dam picnic area and you should see top mountain trail running between cooper mill road and running gap road. i believe it's on naked mountain.
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Re:RB Winter Group Ride - Sunday Oct 7 - 2007/10/09 10:19Matt, from the parking lot start climbing up the road, bypass great trails like white deer creek and keep climbing. At the top of first climb, take the double track jeep road up for 2 or 3 more miles. Backtrack before it goes down and take a right and climb another mile or so. After you blackout due to lack of oxygen, climb running gap road up 4-5 miles. Take a left at the place where we met the people on horseback. This is (there is no) top trail. It is EPIC!
Re:RB Winter Group Ride - Sunday Oct 7 - 2007/10/09 10:54oh...and just for the record.... we, as in the "perry county guys," only through the goodness of our hearts and being the extremely, and i do mean extremely, nice people that we are, allow larry to travel and ride with us. but there is no way and again i repeat NO WAY, we would ever allow larry to be a perry county boy. and this stands even if he did move to perry county which if he did try to do would be most assuredly newsworthy as i am positive there would be major picketing, boycotting and most probably rioting. this goes for his stinky dog also.
besides that, he does ride fairly well for an old man.
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Re:RB Winter Group Ride - Sunday Oct 7 - 2007/10/09 14:08I am still plum tuckered from that ride. Early in the ride I had a front wheel wedgie throw me into a hand stand sort of thing while going through some of the rockiest trail I have ever seen. Some of the trails were great and some were--um how do I put it?-- oh yeah, some of the rockiest trails I have ever seen. It was fun to ride with a big group and meet some of the forum posters.
hey....and only two flats. very very amazing, as i know for myself a lot of times it was point, shoot and hope for the best pretty amazing really, not a busted bone, derailleur, wheel, frame, fork... to be seen or felt.
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I like that quote from Zero. That is probably the best strategy to approach alot of the trails like Old Tram and Top Mountain. I like to use the Force. Often the trail just knocks me where it wants to and I have to try to recover to keep the bike upright and on the trail.
Grosses trail downhill required finesse.
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finesse & skill & nads. none of which i seemed to have as you were there one second and GONE the next. i cleaned the whole downhill section, often times riding over my head and still couldn't get you in sight. i'm still shaking my head on that one. good job!!
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Demon of the Fall wrote: Grosses trail downhill required finesse