RR: Middle Run / White Clay

Middle Run and White Clay are two different parks that are connected
together in Delaware. Yes, I said Delaware. The two parks offer miles
and miles of pristine singletrack with only about a mile of wider stuff.
Eventually they will be linked to Fair Hill in Maryland for 120 miles
of trails. The parks are land left to the state by Dupont. This is
really a beautiful state once you get away from the factories that dot
the coastline. Rolling hills with farm land, streams, and woods.

We head out of the shopping center parking lot and into Middle Run to
begin. I am on Retro Bike. My Yeti is waiting for a derailleur hanger
and the Ellsworth is race ready for next week. I didn't want to clean
it. Retro Bike is a Trek 830 circa 1985. Yup, 100% cro-moly with
cantilever brakes, grip shifts, and a Rock Sux Quad 21 shock. In other
words, I would have been better off walking. I haven't been on a
hardtail in years and it definately had an effect on me. We hit the
first downhills and roots and I'm all over the place. I like my
boing-boing because I think it is much more responsive over the bumps.
When we hit the first climb, I'm pretty much out of it. The 35 pound
steel frame and one less gear kept me slow everytime we climbed.

We head up into the first field and this year it's soybeans. The trail
is barely visible (sorry no pic) and the plants are wacking the crap out
of my legs. The one benefit was the car wash effect it had on my mud
laden bike. IOut of the fields and across the road we hit White Clay.
It's a little more rocky here and once again my rear is all over the
trail. I thought I'd lose it many times in the DH, but held on. It was
a real workout and I really didn't expect it. Finally, we head back on
the last bit of ST and it's a mess. Thick smelly mud is everywhere and
a hidden rut sends me flying. Yup, right into a mud filled mess that
covers the entire right side of my body. Even with the smell, I smile,
get back up, and het back to the car and McGlyns for a Turkey Dijon
Pretzel Roll. Mmmm mmmm good!

Here's some pics of the JAR motley crew I rode with today.

http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1256.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1257.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1258.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1259.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1260.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1261.jpg


--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

Ride-A-Lot wrote:

(snip RR)

Here's some pics of the JAR motley crew I rode with today.

http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1256.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1257.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1258.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1259.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1260.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1261.jpg

Awww, no pic of the bike? I was looking forward to seeing that one. I
still take the old steel hardtail out once in a while. I think it keeps
your skills sharp, but it kill the back on the roots.

Tom

tcmedara wrote:

Ride-A-Lot wrote:

(snip RR)

Here's some pics of the JAR motley crew I rode with today.

http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1256.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1257.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1258.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1259.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1260.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/wc_1261.jpg


Awww, no pic of the bike? I was looking forward to seeing that one. I
still take the old steel hardtail out once in a while. I think it keeps
your skills sharp, but it kill the back on the roots.

Tom



Here ya go:

http://www.pchospital.net/830_1.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/830_2.jpg

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

Ride-A-Lot wrote:
tcmedara wrote:



Here ya go:

http://www.pchospital.net/830_1.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/830_2.jpg

Thanks! Gotta love the bright yellow fork. I actually just worked on one
of those about a month ago. I had an tow-along bike we gave to a neighbor
and she asked me to fix up her bike that she hadn't ridden in over 10 years
to go along with it. Everything was still in working order, but adjusting
the frikkin' cantilever brakes is a royal PIA. My wife still has 'em on her
trusty old steel comfort cruiser. Everytime I see a deal on a set of Avids
in one of the Nashbar clone catalogs I point it out to her. She insists her
current brakes are fine. Of course I'm the one who gets called on when
something needs a tweak.

Tom

tcmedara wrote:

Ride-A-Lot wrote:

tcmedara wrote:


Here ya go:

http://www.pchospital.net/830_1.jpg
http://www.pchospital.net/830_2.jpg


Thanks! Gotta love the bright yellow fork. I actually just worked on one
of those about a month ago. I had an tow-along bike we gave to a neighbor
and she asked me to fix up her bike that she hadn't ridden in over 10 years
to go along with it. Everything was still in working order, but adjusting
the frikkin' cantilever brakes is a royal PIA. My wife still has 'em on her
trusty old steel comfort cruiser. Everytime I see a deal on a set of Avids
in one of the Nashbar clone catalogs I point it out to her. She insists her
current brakes are fine. Of course I'm the one who gets called on when
something needs a tweak.

Tom



Hmmm... Never thought of putting v-brakes on. I didn't think I could.
I have a set of bright yellow v's from my old Kona (long sold) that I
could put on. I just may try it. I really had no stopping power today.
There were some spots where I thought I would fly right past the
bridge and into the stream. I had to put my feet down a few times to
slow down.

Those forks were some of the easiest things to fix. The only problem
besides the less than 1 inch of travel was when it got cold. Might as
well of had a rigid at that point.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

"Ride-A-Lot" wrote in message
...
Middle Run and White Clay are two different parks that are connected
together in Delaware. Yes, I said Delaware. The two parks offer miles

Hey, I bought my first MB earlier this year because I live right across the
street from those trails (off Possum Park Road in Chapel Hill). Road biking
in the First State finally became too much of a traffic nighmare, so I
joined the dark side. It's really about the only non-water sport recreation
to speak of in this state.

Imagine my surprise when I found myself looking like Arte Johnson or walking
as much as I rode on my first ride on those singletracks. Hell, you just
get on the bike and ride, right ;-) And I'd been watching people easily
ride their bikes on those trails for at least 10 years now. Can't be that
hard.

Anyway, this beginner is learning fast just how hard is it to ride the
singletrack with rocks and roots, and loving every minute of it.

TS

troutboy wrote:

"Ride-A-Lot" wrote in message
...

Middle Run and White Clay are two different parks that are connected
together in Delaware. Yes, I said Delaware. The two parks offer miles


Hey, I bought my first MB earlier this year because I live right across the
street from those trails (off Possum Park Road in Chapel Hill). Road biking
in the First State finally became too much of a traffic nighmare, so I
joined the dark side. It's really about the only non-water sport recreation
to speak of in this state.

Imagine my surprise when I found myself looking like Arte Johnson or walking
as much as I rode on my first ride on those singletracks. Hell, you just
get on the bike and ride, right ;-) And I'd been watching people easily
ride their bikes on those trails for at least 10 years now. Can't be that
hard.

Anyway, this beginner is learning fast just how hard is it to ride the
singletrack with rocks and roots, and loving every minute of it.

TS



It's great stuff. Check out Iron Hill, Brandywine, and Fair Hills too.
It's a great state for MTB. You might want to join the Deleware
Trail Spinners. They are your local club and help to maintain those trails.
Don't forget to join us the next time we ride there (probably next
month). We meet at the Polly Drummond Shopping Center.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

You got the motley crew right but the Trek is a fossil
along with that RS Mag 21.

I MTB 2004