We hadn't been to Bethpage in about 4 months, not since I got ill. We
decided to take the SS's for a ride in there to see how things have been
holding up. As soon as we got in the trail it started to pour rain like it
was going out of style. The rain came down hard for a couple of minutes then
suddenly stopped. It wasn't enough to create mud or prevent us from riding.
The trail absorbed the water in immediately. While we stood under the trees
and waited.
Another mountainbiker rode up to us. He introduced himself as Steve. We
asked if he was part of CLIMB or Vision (a couple of local mountainbikers
organizations and forum). He said he was but he told us that he's the guy
that's been wreaking havoc in mtbr.com about the Tomac bikes that are pieces
of [censored]. Apparently, his Tomac frame fell apart on him at the welds. He
tried to get it warrantied but Tomac wouldn't do it, so now he's involved in
some kind of legal matter with them and CPSC. He went into the whole story,
we stood there and listened. And on and on and on he went, about metallurgy,
about how he hates Tomac, about how Litespeed sucks, about how all American
bike companies stink...
He was riding a Turner Burner. Told us that it was a new bike that he got to
replace the Tomac, because it was better quality and rarely has defects, if
any. We agreed it was a quality design. The conversation lasted for about a
1/2 hour. We finally parted ways, Jim and I stood there and laughed a
little, then got our ride started, finally...
We noticed the trail had been beaten on. The dirt jumper's area had been
destroyed, seems that the State went in there and flattened the place out,
due to liability issues. Also, many sections of what used to be singletrack,
was now slowly widening and turning into double track. That was a very
disheartening sight, to see the trail being abused this way. We completed
the ride, in the process we visited Mookie's gravesite to say hello. Jim
nearly broke his finger after he bashed his handlebars into a tree on the
side of the trail. It swelled up like a golf ball. All in a day's ride...
- CA-G
Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!