Bike Trip

Being loud and writing publicly is a lottery ticket printing press. For evidence posting has value, this one post a couple days ago dragged my sorry ass out of the house. I posed a link to BAMBA then my friend Clayton texts me “So we’re riding with them?” and I’m like “yeah.”

He shows up late because he had to rack his bike, we get late trying to rack my (brothers) bike, and by the time of the ride, we’re too late. He’s got a utility bike that he goes around a billion miles everyday, I’ve got my little brothers entry level hardtail he speced to the moon. I say “maybe we go to the gravel at wyomissing?” He wants to go to the real deal at Mt. Neversink. I already told him his bike would be dubious there, but whatever.

We climb, its fun. Eventually we’re turning around because its getting late. We descend for maybe 30 seconds. I drop a water bottle, turn around to pick it up and Claytons missing because he got double flats.

Were on the ground trying to patch his inner tubes, fortunately his massive utility rack had everything needed to fix it. A guy comes by and offers help. Hes got the Fox logo on him maybe 5 times. We talk about our love of foxes. He says hes a suburban dad and a scientist. He says one time out biking in the Reading urban parks, a methhead accused him of sins he committed while in special forces. He says one time out biking the reading mountains, properly in the woods, a naked man halfheartedly ran away from him without a towel or cloths anywhere in the vicinity. He says one time out biking Schuylkill river trail early in the morning before full sunrise, he saw a weathered man exhausted and dragging a shovel.

He dosn’t have the kit for Clayton’s non-appropriate bike but he says we’ve got the young adult sprit and we should keep it up. We decline his food. Clayton came prepared— he brought a protein bar. He asked if we brought lights (he brought three), when I say we’ve got none his face flushes. He passes me one out of his backpack strap.

Waxing crescent, it’s pitch black, Clayton’s phone is dead. His girlfriend calls me, I say hes okay he brought a protein bar. Its not to far of a walk because I really just wanted to talk. We make it back down at about the same time as the father-scientist. Hes a big BAMBA guy, a proclaimed evangelist of the sport. The reading mountain biking side quest tree unlocks.