My husband, Adam and I arrived Friday evening and found our fellow campers already set up and ready to enjoy the weekend. Those in attendance were: Beth, Mike, Rob, Craig, Randy (or should I say Debbie?), Adam and myself. There were approximately 70 total campers with several out of state riders. Several locals from RCST arrived Saturday to assist with the different level rides.

RCST offered beginner, intermediate and advanced rides. Those of us from NMBA chose the intermediate ride and were anxious to get started Saturday morning. The intermediate group was the largest of the day with about 18 riders. We got started with a 900 foot warm up (ha!) to the top of the ridge. From there, we followed a newly constructed single track trail. RCST had actually planned and built this trail over the last few years. Rock gardens were plentiful and occasionally the group stopped to allow the braver souls to repeat challenging sections of trail. It was great to watch more experienced riders give a seemingly impossible stretch of rocks their best shot and it gave me a chance to catch my breath! Craig was the only rider to beat a particularly nasty rock garden on his first attempt! Need it be said that Randy and Craig were all smiles with their dual suspension bikes?

About one third of the way through the ride, Rob broke his rear derailleur and had to go to single gear for the remainder of his ride. He obtained directions from one of the locals and after fixing his bike, headed back to camp. Unfortunately, he made a turn at the first snowmobile road, not the first forest road, and ended up going the wrong direction from camp, mostly up hill, of course! He was picked up by a kind gentleman in another county and given a ride back to camp.

Mike, a quarter mile up the trail from Rob's broken derailleur, was fixing a flat. Little did he know that it was only his first flat of five. Yes, it was a record. Everyone said so. After another flat and a few more miles of single track the group crossed a dirt road. At this point, I had hit my limit and announced I was heading back to camp by way of fire roads. Adam and Beth decided to join me. Keith, a local club member, agreed to come with us to be sure we got back to camp safely. The rest of the group continued on. Afterwards, I heard this section of trail was particularly nice, with several newly constructed bridges over waterways and a stream crossing. After all was said and done, the intermediate group that completed the trip rode only one mile less than the advanced group! Wow!

All returned safely to camp. I was never so happy to see our tent in all my life!! RCST provided a satisfying dinner and afterwards Troeg's supplied several flavors of beer for all to sample while everyone talked and enjoyed the entertainment.

Sunday, Tim Cusick, our IMBA representative, talked to the group about the current status of the State Game Commision attempting to restrict mountain bikers from State Game Lands. If you would like more information about this issue, please go to www.patrails.com. You can find instructions on how to contact your state representative regarding this very important issue and help keep trails open to everyone!

Overall, this was a great weekend. Every member from RCST that I met was just great. Organization was good and the camping area was beautiful. The differing levels of rides gave people choices about what they wanted to ride. The leader of our group was really sensitive to the level of the overall group. He waited at all intersections, had a good pace and had enough club members to help out with different positions such as sweep. It also allowed Keith to come back with the three of us when we split off from the main group. It would have been helpful for the leader to have a couple maps of the area, just in case someone had to split off the group without a local person to help. Rob's predicament is a good example of this. As this event grows, and it surely will, I hope it maintains it's down home fun and opportunities for all levels of mountain bikers. It's a great way for everyone to support RCST and their advocacy and trail building efforts.