After 2 years I finally went back.

God I just wanted to do something different this weekend.
No good rides posted up on my local bike board.
I evan tried posting up to see if I could get someone to show me around Patapsco again. No takers.

I got out my map of the park and was going over it.
I thought about just riding up there (an hour drive with good traffic) and just exploring around.

I'm in that mood.
I don't wanna get out just for the sake of riding, I wanna be outdoors in the woods.
Than I thought about how popular Patapsco is and the people I'd run into.
Drive an hour up, hope I find parking at the trailhead that I had been to and probly run across a million people.

Nah, that didn't sound too good.
Other options that didn't involve so much driving.
BTW, I'm trying to do something where I can be back home by 2 for a kids soccer game.

Closest parks are Cedarville and Rosaryville.
Jeez I'm getting tired of them.

Wait a minute. There one other option.
St. Marys River park.
I'd only been there once. I hated it. But hey that was 2 years ago.
Maybe it's changed.
This is a park that is actually south of where I live in Md.
The terrain in Md. only gets flatter the more south and east that you go.
So its nothing special.

My first time there I had only been MTBing for....well I cant really remember but I hadn't gone clipless yet so probly only 2 months or less.

What I remember were roots, mud and bugs.
I remember hating it.
I had to walk almost every incline because I hadn't learned how to ride over roots.
I endo'd atleast 5 times because I hadn't learn to get back off the saddle and let momentum carry me. I'd build up too much speed on decents, freak out and lock the breaks and the next root would throw me over the bars.
Than just to completely break my spirit the deer flys would attack while I was on the ground.

What the hell.
I'd give another shot today.

Half hour later I'm pulling into the trailhead and there are only 2 other cars.
I see a guy walking back from a soda machine drenched in sweat.
He could've passed for me.
I ask him about the trails. "Are they muddy?"
He pointed to his legs and showed me a little bit of dirt and said oh yeah.
They didn't look that bad to me. I get dirtier than that riding through sand at Cedarville.
He was wearing normal shorts, a cotton t shirt and had flats on his bike so I figured he's probly a newb anyways. Nothing wrong with that, just his idea of rideable and mine are different.

Turns out the trails were a nice change of pace.
Were they rooty?
Oh yeah. Definately rideable but damn it seemed like 80% of the ride was going over them. Not really huge one like schaffer, like alot more of them. It made it fun though. I've been getting lazy lately. Sitting in the saddle too much.
Rosaryville has more up/downs, but everything is smooth. You really don't have to get up for much.

Alot of the problem is the way the trails were made. Most of them are straight up and down the fall line.

This place doesnt have the resources that alot of the MORE trails do. There's one small group, southern md. mt. bikers who take care of things. They do a pretty good job with what they got. I did notice where they had did some re-routes and had armored mudddy spots.

One big ass mud hole did get me though.
I learned usually when you go through a puddle you wanna go right down the center. Thats usually the part thats been packed down the most. Not here.
I guess they don't get enough traffic for that.

Overall a nice change up.
Maybe next week I can get back to some rocks.

who knows.

seeya