We both haven't been on a ride in over 2 months. Jim has had a problem with
a pinched nerve and tendons in his neck and shoulder that have prevented him
from riding and he recently completed a stint of physical therapy which
seemed to help. I've been trying to get over an intestinal problem that has
hounded me for nearly 3 months and a shoulder injury also which I will be
starting physical therapy to correct.
We had not been to Bethpage in well over that time that we have been out of
riding but we found out from several other riders that the park was a
complete mess and torn up. Apparently, there was garbage everywhere in the
park and plenty of it and jumpers had been illegally building jump spots
right in the middle of the xc trails and causing the xc riders to go around
those sections and widening the trails.
Jim and I had been planning to take an easy toodle ride in the park now that
we were feeling better. We were not going to ride any of the technical
sections nor include any climbing, mostly just the fireroads. We brought
along our SS's.
We arranged to meet up with several people after our ride in order to begin
the cleaning up process. FlyingSquirrel was officially handed the task of
leveling off and knocking down the jumps during the week and trying to find
out who is responsible for building these monstrosities in the middle of the
xc trails in the park.
We met up with Frankie Froglegs, DeMack and Cory in the parking lot after
their ride was complete. We agreed to focus and start the job in the
Brickyard section of the park. DeMack and Cory drove their trucks and
equipment to the other end of the park near the entrance to the Brickyard.
Frankie, Jim and I rode to the section to meet up with them. We had packed
some garbage bags in our camelbak's in order to begin the garbage cleanup.
We arrives at the section to find a clusterfuck of a mess. The whole section
of trail was covered in garbage. Shopping carts, bottles, cans, wooden
planks, crackpipes, bongs, broken plastic chairs, broken glass,
unrecognizable pieces of metal, a park bench from the golf course and
various other piles of junk were strewn all over the trail. We couldn't
believe it. The place had gone to hell. We didn't know where to start. We
all stood there and planned how to attack the mess. Jim, Frankie and I
started with the garbage collection by picking up all the bottles, cans and
smaller stuff. DeMack and Cory moved the larger items and piled them up into
a corner to be removed.
We did as much as we could to make the place rideable and clean. We'll be
going in there to clean various other sections of the park that are also in
the same mess.
The ride that Jim and I did was a short and easy one...but it was our first
ride in a long time, it was better than nothing. Hopefully, this is the
start of us getting back into the groove...yup, its good to be back on 2
wheels...
- CA-G
Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!