Weekend Recap
So this past weekend was pretty fun. Originally the plan was to go hiking with some folks on Saturday, go to Seven Springs to check out their Downhill Bike Park on Sunday, and then go visit Ryan in Morgantown until Tuesday.
This plan changed a little. I got a message from Mikey saying to come out Friday night so we could get beer, wings and pizza with Dr. Maize, and Ryan and I decided to push off my visit till the weekend so we could have more time to do stuff.
I drove out to SVC Friday night and met Mike, Anis, Kareem and someone named Justin at the Physics building. Instead of going to Dr. Maize's house we went to Sharkys (I think because Justin was under 21). We spent some time there, Liz came by and stayed for a little while. We played lots of table and air hockey. Ryan was supposed to come but he was late. We waited around for awhile but then eventually left. I drove Justin to Sharky's so I dropped him off at SVC and then met up with Ryan (luckily) and we then met up with Mike, Kareem and Anis at their house. We played lots of foosball and drank quite a few beers. I missed playing foosball.
After awhile we went back to SVC and I crashed in the CML and watched Gilligan's Island lol. The next day I met up with Liz, Nick and Chris (you're tomin'!!) and we went out to Laurel Mountain to check out the Beam Rocks for the day. We had lunch on the rocks, climbed around for a little bit and then made a campfire to cook up some bacon. I started a greasefire (not on purpose) but Bip and Liz stopped me before I put water on it lol. Eventually we headed out and went back to SVC where I took a wimmer shower and then met Chris for dinner at the caf. I ate so much at the caf.
After dinner, I went back to the CML for the game where Bip and a bunch of others eventually joined me. We watched the game (pens won 4-1!) and played a few games. After awhile we all took a walk around the cemetary and parts of campus, which was fun. We eventually made our way back to the CML and then back to Chris's room where I unfurled my sleeping bag and crashed on the floor (sleepover!).
The next day I woke up and drove out to Seven Springs to check out their bike park, which is something I'd been waiting to do for quite some time. It was Autumnfest so the place was packed with booth and music, live people and bikers. A lift ticket was $29 from 11 am till 530 pm, which was a bit $$ but still cheaper than a ski ticket (but much less to ride). I coughed it up though, and since it was Autumnfest I got a buy one get one free coupon for a lift ticket this winter (woohoo!). The whole downhill/freeride scene is a little new to me since I mostly just ride cross country. A lot of the bikers there (I'd say about 99.9%) were on huge/heavy downhill bikes and wearing full face masks/full body armor lol. Your Mom is a mix between a downhill bike and a cross country bike, I guess they call it "All Mountain" nowadays. She can handle some small jumps and drops while also being able to make it UP hills as well. But anyways, I show up with Your Mom and her clipless pedals and my regular helmet in shorts and a tshirt... I must've looked a little out of place. Of course, I wasn't jumping 30 feet into the air like some of these guys were, I was happy if I got 5 feet, so maybe I didn't need that stuff.
Anyways, the trails were AWESOME. There were only 5-6 trails, but they were so fun and so well built that I rode them all day over and over again without getting tired of them. They had perfectly bermed turns (with SUPER high berms that you could really, really rail) and nicely formed tabletop jumps of all sizes. The trails had perfect flow as well, you could ride down without pedaling at all. It was just a lot of fun to just go FAST all day long. Everything was just so smooth and fun. I had such a great time lol.
One of the best things about the trip, however, was something that might be a little unexpected. Since it was Autumnfest, there were a TON of people there. A lot of these people paid for tickets for a "scenic lift ride" which just so happened to take place on the same lift we had to use to get to the top of the mountain with our bikes (the six pack). This led to some crazy lines at points, but Seven Springs did a pretty good job of easing the tension. All of the bike trails eventually merged into one which wrapped around and then went straight to the lift and that line was separated by a ribbon from the regular folk line. Then they went every other lift for each group (which didn't take very long at all). The funniest part of it all, however, was the looks that the people would give the bikers as they rode up to the lift or stood there in line. They would just stand there and look us up and down like we were going to war for some strange army. They'd talk amongst themselves about the various features of our bikes (they look more like motorcycles!), which is something that any biker is proud to hear lol. Then while riding up on the lift, their facial expressions were priceless as the people riding down the lift watched as the bikers below them hit 30 foot jumps while adding in a tailwhip or some other piece o' flair. An older fellow came up to me at one point and asked me if he'd be able to ride the trails here. Now, this guy was probably in his 70's, so I said it'd be a little tough on him. I could barely handle some of them (whereas 15 year old kids were flying). He told me he'd been riding bikes for decades, so I told him of the cross country trails that were in the area that might be a little more suited to his style. Who knows, however; maybe he was crazy.
It was fun though; I've never been in a situation where the most extreme form of the sport was on display for people who may not bike at all. It was like matter and antimatter in the same place at the same time, but without the apocalypse lol. It was pretty cool.
I ended up staying until around 430 or so and then drove back to SVC. I took another shower and then went to church at 7. Finally I waited around in the CML for ryan to come so I could give him some of his music from my mp3 player (it didn't work) and then I came home.
Next weekend I'm either going to end up driving down to Morgantown to see Ryan or I'm going to talk my family into going to Seven Springs for AutumnFest (so I can bike lol). But it's not entirely selfish, they have a climbing wall (jake loves those) and one of those bungie things, the alpine slide (jake loves that too), lots of food and crafts and such. It's just a good idea. My parents never get out, they should do something and... plus... I can go biking again. It's the last weekend for both Autumnfest AND the bike park, and bike park tickets are half off. It seems like the right thing to do lol.
That's all for now, peace out!
This plan changed a little. I got a message from Mikey saying to come out Friday night so we could get beer, wings and pizza with Dr. Maize, and Ryan and I decided to push off my visit till the weekend so we could have more time to do stuff.
I drove out to SVC Friday night and met Mike, Anis, Kareem and someone named Justin at the Physics building. Instead of going to Dr. Maize's house we went to Sharkys (I think because Justin was under 21). We spent some time there, Liz came by and stayed for a little while. We played lots of table and air hockey. Ryan was supposed to come but he was late. We waited around for awhile but then eventually left. I drove Justin to Sharky's so I dropped him off at SVC and then met up with Ryan (luckily) and we then met up with Mike, Kareem and Anis at their house. We played lots of foosball and drank quite a few beers. I missed playing foosball.
After awhile we went back to SVC and I crashed in the CML and watched Gilligan's Island lol. The next day I met up with Liz, Nick and Chris (you're tomin'!!) and we went out to Laurel Mountain to check out the Beam Rocks for the day. We had lunch on the rocks, climbed around for a little bit and then made a campfire to cook up some bacon. I started a greasefire (not on purpose) but Bip and Liz stopped me before I put water on it lol. Eventually we headed out and went back to SVC where I took a wimmer shower and then met Chris for dinner at the caf. I ate so much at the caf.
After dinner, I went back to the CML for the game where Bip and a bunch of others eventually joined me. We watched the game (pens won 4-1!) and played a few games. After awhile we all took a walk around the cemetary and parts of campus, which was fun. We eventually made our way back to the CML and then back to Chris's room where I unfurled my sleeping bag and crashed on the floor (sleepover!).
The next day I woke up and drove out to Seven Springs to check out their bike park, which is something I'd been waiting to do for quite some time. It was Autumnfest so the place was packed with booth and music, live people and bikers. A lift ticket was $29 from 11 am till 530 pm, which was a bit $$ but still cheaper than a ski ticket (but much less to ride). I coughed it up though, and since it was Autumnfest I got a buy one get one free coupon for a lift ticket this winter (woohoo!). The whole downhill/freeride scene is a little new to me since I mostly just ride cross country. A lot of the bikers there (I'd say about 99.9%) were on huge/heavy downhill bikes and wearing full face masks/full body armor lol. Your Mom is a mix between a downhill bike and a cross country bike, I guess they call it "All Mountain" nowadays. She can handle some small jumps and drops while also being able to make it UP hills as well. But anyways, I show up with Your Mom and her clipless pedals and my regular helmet in shorts and a tshirt... I must've looked a little out of place. Of course, I wasn't jumping 30 feet into the air like some of these guys were, I was happy if I got 5 feet, so maybe I didn't need that stuff.
Anyways, the trails were AWESOME. There were only 5-6 trails, but they were so fun and so well built that I rode them all day over and over again without getting tired of them. They had perfectly bermed turns (with SUPER high berms that you could really, really rail) and nicely formed tabletop jumps of all sizes. The trails had perfect flow as well, you could ride down without pedaling at all. It was just a lot of fun to just go FAST all day long. Everything was just so smooth and fun. I had such a great time lol.
One of the best things about the trip, however, was something that might be a little unexpected. Since it was Autumnfest, there were a TON of people there. A lot of these people paid for tickets for a "scenic lift ride" which just so happened to take place on the same lift we had to use to get to the top of the mountain with our bikes (the six pack). This led to some crazy lines at points, but Seven Springs did a pretty good job of easing the tension. All of the bike trails eventually merged into one which wrapped around and then went straight to the lift and that line was separated by a ribbon from the regular folk line. Then they went every other lift for each group (which didn't take very long at all). The funniest part of it all, however, was the looks that the people would give the bikers as they rode up to the lift or stood there in line. They would just stand there and look us up and down like we were going to war for some strange army. They'd talk amongst themselves about the various features of our bikes (they look more like motorcycles!), which is something that any biker is proud to hear lol. Then while riding up on the lift, their facial expressions were priceless as the people riding down the lift watched as the bikers below them hit 30 foot jumps while adding in a tailwhip or some other piece o' flair. An older fellow came up to me at one point and asked me if he'd be able to ride the trails here. Now, this guy was probably in his 70's, so I said it'd be a little tough on him. I could barely handle some of them (whereas 15 year old kids were flying). He told me he'd been riding bikes for decades, so I told him of the cross country trails that were in the area that might be a little more suited to his style. Who knows, however; maybe he was crazy.
It was fun though; I've never been in a situation where the most extreme form of the sport was on display for people who may not bike at all. It was like matter and antimatter in the same place at the same time, but without the apocalypse lol. It was pretty cool.
I ended up staying until around 430 or so and then drove back to SVC. I took another shower and then went to church at 7. Finally I waited around in the CML for ryan to come so I could give him some of his music from my mp3 player (it didn't work) and then I came home.
Next weekend I'm either going to end up driving down to Morgantown to see Ryan or I'm going to talk my family into going to Seven Springs for AutumnFest (so I can bike lol). But it's not entirely selfish, they have a climbing wall (jake loves those) and one of those bungie things, the alpine slide (jake loves that too), lots of food and crafts and such. It's just a good idea. My parents never get out, they should do something and... plus... I can go biking again. It's the last weekend for both Autumnfest AND the bike park, and bike park tickets are half off. It seems like the right thing to do lol.
That's all for now, peace out!