Technical East Coast Ridin' (or Mike Breaks A Collar Bone!)

June 1997

Hello from Boston. As you can imagine, we've been busy since we last wrote. We've now driven nearly 16,000 miles in our ever-gleaming Outback -- that's almost 200 miles per day since this project began in Colorado March 14. We've led more than 50 trailwork sessions and visited 23 states. We love what we're doing.

When we were in California in April Mike gathered a small canister of Pacific shore sand. Today he'll do the same on the edge of the Atlantic. Mike is up to 14 flat tires (on his bike), but neither Jan nor the Subaru have had any mechanical problems.

At the moment, flat tires are the least of Mike's worries. He broke his collarbone a couple weeks ago while riding in the mountains of western Virginia. Sounds bad, doesn't it? But Mike really only suffered for a few days and the project barely skipped a beat. More about this in a minute.

Last time you heard from us we were on our way home to Conyers, Georgia. We had a restful week there, totally repacked the Outback, then headed north to the mountains of North Carolina. We helped design new trails at two of our North Carolina stops, then did the same the next weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee. Roughing in new trails is hard work -- lots of bushwhacking--but very exciting. We're seeing new trail opportunities develop all over the country.

We had a great visit and trailwork session at the Elk River Touring Center in Slatyfork, West Virginia. Everything was still on track when we visited the George Washington National Forest just outside Harrisonburg, Virginia. That's where Mike paid a price for having way too much fun.

Here's what happened: He was following a couple of top-notch expert/pros on a narrow, downhill singletrack when his front wheel wedged in the narrow gap between a rock and a log. This led to what must have been a spectacular endo and a brief, but memorable encounter with a tree. The result: a clean collarbone break, a quick drive to the local emergency room, a painful night...but an injury that has been healing quickly.

At first Mike was barely mobile, but every land manager and IMBA club we visited was sympathetic and extra helpful. After a few agonizing days, he was able to walk trails and we were able to play a part in the grand opening of the bicycle trails at Fountainhead State Park near Washington, D.C.

Our tour of the northeast has so far included Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Currently we are in Boston where we attended the first (and highly successful) Nembafest, which was organized by the IMBA-affiliated New England Mountain Bike Association.

The day before, we were part of a wonderful National Trails Day project in the Wissahickon section of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. We were joined by many Subaru of America employees, Philadelphia mountain bikers and hikers, editors of Mountain Bike magazine and the enthusiastic staff of this exceptional urban park. Thanks to all 75 of the volunteers who repaired several switchbacks, de-bermed the trail and constructed rolling grade dips.

We're looking forward to visiting New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut. Mike is now dressing without help and soon won't need his sling. He'll be back on his bike by the end of June.

Talk to you again in a few weeks. Until then...Happy Trails!

Best wishes,

Jan & Mike

Statistics:
Miles Traveled: 11,475
Trailwork Sessions Led: 25
Number of boxes of Hostess HoHos Devoured: 42