Shenipsit Group

todays ride was located in shenipsit state forest, I have been there 3 or so times and each time in different spots of the park. It is a very large place to ride and I am pretty unfamiliar with the joint but I was riding in a big group today so I just needed to follow the leader which was nice. Snip does not see the traffic that some other areas do and it does show. Our ride started at 9:30 and I showed up right about that time and saw alot of unfamiliar faces, but 3 of them I did recognize. There was a large group congregated in the lot, I think we started with 13 of us and by the time we made it around the awkward lake trail 10 minutes later we were down to 9 people. I started off feeling quite strong and staying up front with the leader but that quickly diminished with every stop we made. I was having alot of trouble planning my climbs behind the new guys with gears, I get so use to the guys in my normal group that I actually know how they climb hills and I plan accordingly, but oh well that's what I get for having no gears. We rode quite a few different trails and at times was very confusing but I was having a good time. I truly felt like I gained twice the altitude my gps was telling me... Bentley was at hand following my every move and at times trotting off to follow a fellow rider only to wait for me to catch up. It is funny because I will loose sight of him for a minute and sure enough I spot him delightfully on the side of the trail watching every rider go by until he notices my familiar ginger face. I am truly honored to have such a great dog and I hope he has as good of time as I do out there. The ride was planned for 3 or so hours and I had only 2 to burn. I was about had at the 90 minute mark anyway. We rode with some older guys today that are well into their 50s and quite good riders. I can only hope I still ride that fast at their age cause I was struggling to keep up. Pretty impressive stuff. I left the pack solo to give myself time to get back to the car and found myself trying to figure the best way back. Sure enough we made it back to the car in one piece to head home. Was a great day and wish I could of finished the ride with those guys but my legs are thanking me for not doing it. Now it's time to rest and plan the next day of riding :)

Shenipsit groupy

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