Robi Comes To Town 3

Robi came to visit for his third tattoo appointment.  We rode today at Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area (apparently it's a recreation area, not a park).  Robi knew that two other Albany area riders were going to be somewhat near Rochester and so we added Jim and Diane to our group!  I had met Jim and Diane at last year's Empire State Muni Festival.

HHS is where the Suicide Six mountain bike race is held.  It's tough with plenty of climbing and technical trails.  Robi and I had talked about riding some tougher trails so this was good.  Jim is an amazing rider so he was game.  Diane planned to ride what she could and at her own pace.

It was a gorgeous day with thunderstorms predicted in the afternoon, so we met up at 9 am.  The trails were in great condition, damp and only muddy in spots.  These trails are serious work!  I hadn't ridden in weeks thanks mostly to being super busy at work.  My cardio had weakened and I wasn't really well rested.  I felt a bit of vertigo at times when I stopped to catch my breath.  I'm pretty sure I was just tired... but not two tir.. oh never mind. :P

The trails are a lot of work but a lot of fun too.  After a respectable distance into the trail Diane decided to ride at her own pace.  The rest of us broke away and followed the nicely marked S6 trail markers.  I has never seen those before so I assume they were put up since I last rode there over a year ago.   Some of the trail was new to me too so  I guess the race course has been extended. I rode my fat tire 26 and was happy I did.  The fat soft tire gave me some much appreciated suspension!

After riding the 3 mile south-west portion, Robi, Jim, and I headed back to the parking loop to reconnect with Diane, assuming she probably headed back.  We weren't able to find her, so we decided to backtrack the trail we just rode.  Riding it the other way is always different.  It wasn't until we were back at the parking lot that we found her again.   After a break we all agreed to be insane and ride some more.  We continued the ride up the east side which has some good fun flowy parts, followed by more challenging climbs and technical.

At the end of the trail we followed the crushed rock road back to our cars.  On the last hill climb my quads cramped like they have in the past.  Even though I drink a lot of water during the ride, maybe I'm not hydrating enough in the day or so before riding.

This year's Empire State Muni Festival is happening this weekend and I believe Jim, Diane, and Robi are going, so I'll likely ride with them again very soon!