This past weekend Brain H. and I took a little road trip up to
Ponca State Park. The THOR invitation went out and we were able to get away and meet Dale and others for some new trail work and riding.
This is Matt, Evie, and Brian benching some new trail with Rouge Hoes.
Ponca was great. The company, the cabin, and great weather made it really enjoyable. We did several hours of work on Saturday and made it back to the cabin to eat sandwiches and watch the Huskers take down Michigan State. Then came the biking. Some of the climbs were just not doable for me and I walked. The others with their suspension forks were faster on the descents so I hung back. The climbs that were good for me were the best part but I had to make sure there wasn't a geared bike ahead of me. I would be out of the saddle and moving pretty well on my single speed. I was wishing I put the 33 tooth chain ring back on but ya live and learn. Since it was my first time there not knowing where those good climbing spots were at was a hinder. There was a healthy cover of leaves on the trail hiding the roots and stealing my traction.
Me, Dale, and Brian after the day ride on Saturday.
It was fun and great to be there. After the ride Matt and Evie made a big pot of chili we sat down to eat. I don't think I've ever seen 5 people eat that much Chili. Brian, Brandon, Dale, Evie, and Matt did a night ride. Matt and Brandon are from Sioux City and Matt's girlfriend Evie lives north of Des Moines.
I declined on the night ride. The trail work and day riding were enough for me. I built a small fire in the cabin's fireplace and watched Wisconsin barely lose to Ohio State.
Sunday we hit the trail work early and got a ton of trail flagged and built. When 1PM rolled around we where hungry. The local ranger Jennifer gave us a great tip on a place for lunch. We drove a few miles to Bob's Bar in Martinsburg, NE. It was worth the drive. They had mountains of family style fries and onion rings and burgers as big around as a 38 tooth chain ring - Big! We could not finish the mountain of fries. None of us had a heart attack so that was good.
Saturday we built a climb section of trail (sorry Dave) and Sunday we built an nice descent. Ponca is a great destination. I want to go back and explore and get better at riding there. I felt a cold coming on the ride home and I feel kind of crappy today. I guess the MNR is not in the cards for me this evening. To bad it's bound to be a fun one.
Click below for more photos...
