... and what's this creepy 'presence'?...
... who's rockin' the living room (rocking) chair?....
... Uh-Oh!... it's Ghostrider - haven't seen him in three years - not since our first and only meeting out west - and he's amped - says he has a temporary twelve hour reprieve from his world and has already burnt up four of 'em - is packin' a new '29er' model mountain bike and is stoked to try it out on some SWPA trails that I bragged up.... man, haven't been on a cycle seat in over a year and have no idea what shape I'm in - say I'll go, but we'll stick with something this side of easy...
... Uh-Oh!... it's Ghostrider - haven't seen him in three years - not since our first and only meeting out west - and he's amped - says he has a temporary twelve hour reprieve from his world and has already burnt up four of 'em - is packin' a new '29er' model mountain bike and is stoked to try it out on some SWPA trails that I bragged up.... man, haven't been on a cycle seat in over a year and have no idea what shape I'm in - say I'll go, but we'll stick with something this side of easy...
... just past 6am and we head out some double-track parallel to the Yough River - round trip, about a ten mile "out and back" - for the most part flat but some rolling terrain within the first mile with a pretty good rocky downhill out and somewhat technical climb coming back...
...GR's rockin' on a 'Sette Razzo XT' 29er MTB...
... lots of "contrasty" early morning light - GR's diggin' it - say's it reminds him of his "underworld" home - "a place just as real as our sunlit world of reality, but not as bright - the "Darkside"... he can get kind of creepy...
... but he's still "hell on wheels" however...
... the '29er' really smooths out the stones - I tried one of these out a few weeks back - took a short test ride on a friends over familiar terrain - that three extra inches of wheel diameter makes a noticeable difference...
... he's hittin' all the big stuff and still smokin' me...
... I'm huffin' and puffin' just to keep up...
... I can't be this out of shape - I gun it and take the lead for a short distance...
... which gives me an excuse to take a break to "check out the view"...
... which didn't last long - but, it's hot and dry in his world - so a few small mudholes soon slow the pace...
... the mud's really slowin' him down - I jump ahead...
... but not for long - he smokes on by on the "dry" and beats me to the top of the rocky downhill...
... he waits for me to catch up - I jump ahead with the excuse to "show you how it's done" as well as "to get into position for some photos"...
... and he blasts down...
... flat railroad grade and easy riding from here on out...
... we take a break at a popular fishing hole - many days of rain and the Yough is runnin' high and muddy - 6ft+ this day on the 'Ohiopyle' river gauge...
... take some time to check out the 29er - pretty nice - aluminum frame - Rock Shock - Shimano SLX and XT components - weight around 25lbs - just need an upgrade to some knobby tires...
... Uh-Oh! - not far past the fishin' hole and the railroad wasn't cheap with the ballast - probably about a foot deep of loose gravel - and we got maybe two miles to go - well, no turning back...
... we finally make it to our destination at the mouth of Indian Creek as it enters the Yough - GR commented that digging through that gravel ballast for that distance was probably some of the hardest "easy" riding that he'd ever done...
... we take about twenty minutes to check out the area - here lookin' south and up river along the 'Yough' - pretty muddy this day...
... 'Camp Carmel' to the west... geographically this area sits practically right on top of the 'Chestnut Ridge' anticline...
... 'Indian Creek' and the abandoned RR Trestle to the east...
... and the monotonous gravel ballast and return to the north (Note: there's some decent ice climbing along the long cut sandstone wall to the right of the photo - so we're told - ourselves, we would never condone climbing anywhere within the railroad right-of-way).... coincidentally, it just happened to be noon and time for GR to depart - "Well - the 'Darkside awaits - until next time - try to enjoy the daylight" he bid as he faded from view...
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