... with typical results while chasing 'brother Howie' thru the local forest...
... mounted a 'GoPro' camera to the handlebars last weekend for fun... a few stills...
... unimproved township road...
... leading up to some good "track and a half" along a favorite six mile loop up on the ridge...
... a bit rocky with a few good hills - photos do no justice...
... beginning of the final downhill which drops around 400ft in around 0.6 mile... just around the bend Howie is approaching (the last view ya' usually get of 'em before meeting at the bottom) it gets pretty technical with lots of large loose rocks and deep, steep ruts - a pretty good ride...
... found a few old photo prints while searching the "archives"...
... the same approach in winter...
... Howie along a good singletrack descent along the 'Elk Rock Loop' (around '98)...
... which has a few good scenic views...
... early morning - lot's of fog shrouding 'Indian Creek Valley'...
... 'buddy Matt' near the same spot during clearer conditions...
... and cooling off in 'Indian Creek'...
... some steep uphill along the 'Old Foundation Loop'...
... and fast downhill...
... Howie zippin' across the abandoned railroad trestle...
... and hangin' out with Matt...
... before the wide river crossing...
... a young Matt crossing a mudhole...
... and takin' a break along the 'Yough River' at what is now the 'Yough River Trail' - this was a few years before construction of the trail began - there was still a section of the railroad along this spot...
... Rob Goodman and Matt at the 'Indian Creek Reservoir' dam (print dated 1988 - Goodman on his old 'GT' before suspension - Matt on an old 'Novara' ) - remember that we were out exploring new trails that day - later after this photo we followed a steep trail we found near the mouth of the creek - the whole way up the ridge we kept encountering large half-buried rocks that had been recently flipped over - ? - at the top of the ridge we ran in to a guy cutting firewood who owned the property - we mentioned the rocks and he said that they had been flipped over by a large local 'black bear' looking for insects to eat - he said the bear weighed in excess of 600lbs and was a nuisance as it had been rolling around in his corn fields scratching it's back and taking out much of his crop...
... the same two guys after stoppin' to make some repairs... sat down recently and made up this list of all the remembered "field fix's" performed over the years:
> Flat tires (patch or replace tubes - once Goodman packed his sliced tire with leaves and sealed the
sidewall with plastic and duct tape - rode probably three miles back to the vehicle with no problems)
> Adjust or replace numerous brake pads
> Adjust or replace brake and shifter cables
> Repair numerous broken chain links (a few times shortened destroyed chains as to ride out of woods
in single gear)
> Tighten or adjust bottom bracket or headset bearings (pre sealed bearings)
> Adjust/tighten wheel bearing cones - front and rear
> Replace front or rear axle
> Adjust derailleur - front and rear
> Replace broken rear derailleur (got to carrying an extra if conditions were extra muddy)
> Repair/replace bent or broken spokes and true wheel alignment
... Ha!... could have practically rebuilt a complete MTB... once Howie broke a seat bolt with quite a distance of rough trail ahead to return to the vehicle - there happened to be some logging machinery nearby (it was the weekend and the crew was off for the day) - we looked inside the cab of a 'Franklin Log Skidder' and found a whole coffee can of nuts and bolts, including the correct size! - has the bolt installed to this day... never once did anyone ever push their "wheels" back to the trailhead, although once Rob towed me five miles along the 'Yough River Trail' after stripping the ratchet gear in a rear cassette cluster...
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