Abbie, Josslin and I spent the weekend at Raystown and all I can say is FAST!!!!
All of you were right! It's so different, but so totally awesome. If Trex can be even remotely similar to Raystown it will be huge for this area.
Saturday the three of us rode from the Susquhannok trailhead and did Buck, Fawn, Sleek Dog, Doe back to Buck and then to the lot. The cool part for us was that our campsite was only 50 yards from the edge of the Stony trail. So, when we got back to the lot Jossi and I rode back to Woodland Camping Resort and Abbie took the car back. For those of you with kids six years old or so, a tag-a-long worked great; just don't get cruising too fast (which is easy to do at this place). We did about 7 miles and had a blast and some energy left for the beach at 7 points. Lots of tasty wild rasberries on Sleek Dog.
Sunday Daddy got out by himself early. I was told by a few dudes from Reading, that I talked with in the parking lot, "Don't leave without doing Ray's Revenge." I took their advice and headed out to Ray's at 7am. Holy Rollers Batman!!! It is way too easy to get sucked into the Pure Joy of the High Speeds and totally launch yourself into oblivion. I had to keep repeating to myself the little phrase printed on the detailed map I bought at the Welcome center. It says, "Get to know the trails first!" It took alot of discipline to use the brakes. Glad I used them, because some of them rollers on Ray's are like the ramps at Dale's except you hit them going a hell of a lot faster than standing on the top of a wooden porch 8 ft off the ground. You get half a mile's worth of speed before you hit these things sometimes - at least it felt that way. My cheeks hurt today from grinning for 13.2 miles. Oh, that's the other great thing about this place. I did 13.2 miles and only pedaled about 3.2 of those - or at least it felt that way - Plus, I finished in an hour and a half and was back at the cabin to have a second hot (still hot from the pre-ride pot) cup of coffee and breakfast with the family. It takes me nearly and hour and a half to do 6 miles at BC.
A few observations about the Allegrippis System....The whole place pretty much stays within about 100-200 feet to the 1100 ft topographic elevation. That makes for some easy flowing without a whole lot of climbing or too much descending. It was nice to know that I didn't have to worry about leaving anything in the tank to climb back to the trailhead. I was able to spend about 85% of the ride in the middle ring which is the complete opposite of how I ride around here. The color designations of green = easy; blue = moderate; and black = most difficult is useless. All that does is tell you that the rollers are bigger and the bushes and trees are tighter. I found myself hitting eye watering speeds on the so called easy green trails. just because the rollers aren't as big and the trees aren't as tight didn't make it less dangerous/exhilerating. The greens are like a pump track on steroids.
If you have been there before and you didn't get a detailed map at the 7 Points Welcome Center, get one the next time. It has some great recommended routes for all levels and little tidbits of good info that proved very helpful including recommending the best direction to ride every trail. Just be prepared to pay $6.50 + tax for it. (and No, it's NOT the same map you can get online for free)
Did I mention Mr. Porcupine and I shared a quiet moment at the Ray's Revenge Lookout. Totally cool.