Di finishing “The Crater.”

November 14 was a great day. I met with some of my fellow MMBAers to copywrite the new MMBA membership brochure that will be available at the 2010 Annual Meeting and Expo. This was my first copywriting job, and it was a great educational and social experience.

I met my friends Nick and Marty, my fellow blogger, Andrea, and the Novi Tree Farm trail coordinator, Dave at the Tree Farm for a fun ride. My bike was still broken, so Marty lended me a super sweet 29er. I’ll post that up, tomorrow.

The Tree Farm was a fun, swooping trail with lots of winding singletrack. The trail wasn’t so tight that I had to nearly trackstand to make it around corners, but it was tight enough to challenge one’s cornering skills. In short, it was fun and mentally stimulating.

There was one corner that I was warned about. I know that some of my riding companions did not ride this corner because it was kind of tricky. Going downhill, the trail sharply turned to the right. In the middle of the turn was a root that crossed the trail creating a small drop-off. This was going to require a little strategy.

I approached the turn and knew that this had to be the notorious trail section. It was tricky because riding down the root at a 90-degree angle also meant riding slightly away from the turn. I met the root at the 90-degree angle, anyway, dropped very slowly, did a slight trackstand while turning the front wheel in the direction I wanted to go, as well as looking where I wanted to go. Once I was set up, I let go of the brakes and rear tire slid off of the root and got in line with the front tire. It wasn’t that hard for me, but it did make me a little nervous, which gives this trail bonus points!

We went over a wide, wooden bridge that had a bit of a whoop-de-woo in it. Okay, I lie. It wasn’t a “bit” of a whoop-de-woo; it was one heck of a whoop-de-woo. It was sweet!

Dave led us to “The Crater,” where we played a bit on our bikes and took advantage of this little photo-op. This is Dave riding the initial drop of the crater:

Nick riding the crater.

Marty taking the plunge into the crater.

After playing on the crater for a little while, we rode some more winding singletrack.

Dave leading the way through the Tree Farm.

Nick – waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay behind Dave.

Andrea and Marty riding in style.

We came across the pump track towards the end of the trail and decided to play a little bit. This was the first time that Andrea had ever ridden a pump track. We had to document this little act so she could prove to her husband that she really did do it!

Marty is riding toward the camera and Andrea is taking the back line.

Di having a great time riding a borrowed bike around the pump track.

I had to try the pump track. There really was no choice. I had never made it around a pump track without pedaling, before. It is hard work. It is very challenging and can leave you huffing and puffing if you’re not a seasoned “pumper.”

I pedaled the first couple of times that I rode around the track. I just couldn’t get the bike to go on certain sections. After a few tries, I did make it all the way around without pedaling. In fact, I believe I made it around twice.

Di having a lot of fun meeting the pump track challenge.

After a fun ride on a beautiful day at the Tree Farm, we headed to the office where we partook in pizza and beer. I wrote the brochure while bouncing ideas off of my very social friends. Hey, bikes + pizza + beer = one hell of a good time. The good news is that we finished the brochure.