| Date | June 8 to June 10, 2012 |
| Hosts | Larry & Brenda Isherwood and Joe Scheneck & Dawn Casey |
| Where | Hesston, PA |
| Who (else) | Amy Isherwood & Jay Boesner, Jeff Winick & Wendy Samuelson, Cam & Karen Witt. |
What a perfect weekend to get out and enjoy the trails and outdoors with friends for the long weekend DOGS event. We look forward to more fun on DOGS events on dirt surfaces beneath our rubber tires!
Thursday: The first "unofficial" ride of the event kicked off with a nice 9.3 mile tour of the new Vee Cee Trail, which is accessible from the back of Seven Points Campground Ridge Loop, and the connecting trails on this lesser-ridden/hillier & a bit more technical side of the trail system. Larry & Brenda and Joe & Dawn all were on single mountain bikes in order to prepare Brenda for a Colorado/Utah vacation later this season where she will not have Captain Larry to steer the bike. ;) Not surprising that Brenda handled the bike really well, and the quote of the afternoon was, "Larry, I'm sorry, next time I tell you to do something technical, don't do it unless you feel comfortable, this is hard!"
This weekend was also the successful maiden voyage of the new-to-them Isherwood camper as well as a new one for Joe & Dawn. We had a nice dinner, campfire & cold adult beverages before heading to bed.
Friday: Cam & Karen arrived about noon with their new-to-them popup camper. Lots of fun helping to set it up before the 2 tandem teams (Larry & Brenda and Cam & Karen) and 2 single bikes (Joe & Dawn) started out on the first official Dirty DOGS ride of the weekend. The 13.5 mile tour started out at the Bakers Hollow Road parking lot. The group experienced some of the best that the Allegrippis Trail System has to offer, including the Sleek Dog Trail, Eagle Trail, and, of course, Hydro Loop Trail. During the ride we (Joe & Dawn) heard Cam yell out "Sick Raccoon" -- we thought it was some type of mountain biker term, until he caught up and told us our wheels just missed a most likely rabid racoon laying on the trail. :-O !!! That added some excitement to the ride. Cam was also heard to say that this is just what they needed.
That night Jeff & Wendy joined us for a group meal of chili, salsa & chips, corn bread, and brownies (yumm - thanks, Wendy) before enjoying a nice campfire and toasting marshmallows.
Friday Joe & Dawn Flikr Pics (4 pics for 6-8-12)
Saturday: Four tandem teams (Larry & Brenda, Jay & Amy, Cam & Karen, Jeff & Wendy) and two single bikes (Joe & Dawn) headed out for a long "epic" ride, again from the Baker's Hollow parking lot. The ride headed to a nice scenic overlook of Lake Raystown before continuing through some of the more technical trails on the system. Rays Revenge Trail and Sidewinder Trail were both in excellent shape, and were fast and flowy. A group lunch down by Hydro Loop at about the half-way point in the ride was a pleasant break for refueling.
The ride ended with a total of 15 miles (Jeff & Wendy and Dawn) and 19 miles (Larry & Brenda, Jay & Amy, Cam & Karen, and Joe). Kudos to Amy for her post-mono & first ride of the season and toughing it out for 19 off-road miles!
The group enjoyed a relaxed dinner at Boxer's Pub in Hungtington later that night, followed by ice cream at the local camp store & cupcakes back around the campfire (thanks Amy & Brenda) to celebrate Dawn's birthday.
Saturday Joe & Dawn Flikr Pics Link: (9 pics for 6-9-12)
Sunday: Three tandem teams (Larry & Brenda, Cam & Karen, Jeff & Wendy) and three single bikes (Jay, Joe & Dawn) headed out for a final ride of the weekend. The group pedaled onto the trails right out of the Seven Points Campground, Ridge Loop and headed up the Stony Trail to the parking lot off Bakers Hollow Road, where Jeff & Wendy had a quick mechanical to fix trailside. Two tandem teams (Larry & Brenda and Cam & Karen) and the three single bikes (Jay, Joe, Dawn) did a quick loop of Buck Trail, Fawn Trail and Doe Trail from the parking lot before meeting back up with Jeff and Wendy in the parking lot. A total of 10.75 miles completed the Sunday ride.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday TeamBreeze Picasa PICS
This weekend was what many of us consider a "perfect" weekend, great weather, great trails, great friends -- all sharing a fantastic experience. Joe and I are looking forward to the next trip out -- Kingdom Trails Vermont here we come!