We have had a fair amount of rain at that time, and so our 2.5 hour ride through the woods was nice and muddy. It was really muddy actually. It was so much fun. Some of the "puddles" (more like small ponds) we rode through were 18" deep (aka you dunk your pedals and cranks). We were thoroughly spattered and tired by the end.

Gnarly.

Clearly, my Raleigh M30 has no suspension. Z-e-r-o. That makes for a pretty rowdy ride on the trail, needless to say. But it does seem to increase the intensity of the ride, aside from my hands getting numb every 15 minutes before I have to shake them to life again.

Gear Notes:

Bike - Raleigh M30

I've had this bike since I was in high-school. My buddy and I down the street and his kid-brother would ride all over down in the woods by the river behind his house. Good times. Unfortunately (amazingly), I have never changed the tires on that bad boy. Stupid? Probably. But, after two hard rides in the Shinny, still no flat. But, naturally, it is only a matter of time. There are cracks running all round the side-walls. Sigh. The bike is tough and operates well on the trail, no complaints (aside from the lack of suspension).

Pack - Lowe Alpine Fall LIne 35

I picked this up on Backcountry.com for a song in 2009. Sweet deal. I use it everyday to go to campus for work, but it also works great for those trail rides, and I have also been using it for snowshoeing (more on that later). I dropped in my Mountainsmith 30oz hydration bladder in a pinch the first time we rode, that worked well. The second time we headed out to Shinny I used my Camelback 70oz bladder in the Fall Line 35's hydro sleeve. It worked great. No complaints. The whole bit ran smoothly on my torso during the entire ride. It stayed secure around my waist with the hip belt, the straps were secure and non-chaffing, and the chest strap was secure as well. I really enjoy the pack all around.

Shades - Suncloud Outlaw

I picked them up cheap on SierraTradingPost.com 3 years ago or so. Another good deal. No complaints. They are polarized (that's key). The fit well, keep the sun out, and look good. Period. Although, I think I left them in the car on a hot day one too many times, they are a bit warped (plastic frame). So they don't quite fit as well as they used to, my fault though.

Helmet - Generic

I've had it since I got the bike. Yea, it looks stupid on my head, but whatever. I'm not about to shell out $90 for a sweet helmet that I will seldom use. But, it does look pretty ridiculous.