Skidmore 6 hour

nope not a race...a 2 hour ride that went a little 'long'.

I cruised out to Saratoga Springs, NY this past weekend to enjoy a weekend of riding and relaxing courtesy of the DeLuke family. Dustin has been trying to get us out to ride the trails in and around the Skidmore campus for a long time and it finally all came together. Myself, Dustin and Jomo got the local's tour thanks to Dustin's brother-in-law Mike and a few other local SMBA members.

Our trusty steeds

Friday afternoon we took a quick 2.5hr or so jaunt through a nice trail system with some pretty technical terrain. Definitely required your full attention just about the entire time you were on the bike. Didn't bring the camera that day and its just as well because the ride didn't offer many opportunities to snap pics anyway. We had been planning on getting lots more riding in the following day and Mike promised us an 'epic', riding trails that only a handful of people know about heading way into the Adirondack foothills on old carriage roads and eventually ending back up on the trails we had ridden Friday.

He did not disappoint. The riding was...'interesting'. An adventure ride of sorts, no terrain was off limits. Bushwhacking at times, avoiding large mud pits, we even came across some old quartz mines that were very cool.

Pictures didn't do this area justice but it was basically a large cliff with large caverns blown into the bottom that are now full of water.

Lots of logging debris in spots made picking lines treacherous and there were some crashes here and there but it was fun to be so removed and just riding around exploring new terrain. Unfortunately our 2-3hr ride quickly went over time and Jomo found himself riding for hours past what he is used to on terrain that didn't leave much room for rest. Towards the end of the ride even I was starting to feel hungry, needing to get some calories not only for energy but also for the dropping temps. We pulled back into Mike's driveway just as the sun was setting. Cold, wet and hungry. But in reality I think that is the best way to end a really long adventure epic. Just barely on the edge of comfort, really wanting to be done...that way you know you squeezed out the full potential for the day. Although I think Jomo would argue he was way past the edge of comfort haha.

Our last rest before the final push home