My butt hurts and other tidbits of info from my weekend....

I just got back from a wonderful weekend at Cass and Snowshoe!

Tricia and I drove up Friday evening to meet her hubby and one of his friends (they’d gone up early and spent the day biking) at one of the cottages at Cass. Ours looked like someone has recently put a lot of time into redecorating—new paint on the walls, matching lampshades and curtain tiebacks that coordinated with the curtains, pillows, and wall hangings, little things like that—all done to make it very cozy and welcoming. We had a front porch with a swing and grill, and a back porch that was nice for coolers and hanging out on the railing, trying to not fall off. And there was this gorgeous field beside the house where we laid out and fell asleep under the stars both nights.

Friday night we decided to stay “home” for the evening. Tricia and I didn’t get there until something after seven, and they guys had been biking all day, so we figured we would just take it easy. We had a few beers, grilled up some brats for dinner, and then spent the rest of the evening hanging out on the porches sipping some “Crystals.” For lack of knowing what to call them, that was the name they got since I was the mix master for the night. It was this wonderful concoction of Stoli Vanil Vodka and orange juice, with a splash of cranberry on top. The night sky was clear and full of stars, so we found a blanket and went out in the field to star gaze. It was amazing how many more stars we could see without the lights of the cities around here! At some point we finally woke up and went in the house to actually go to bed.

Our day on Saturday began with a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs with a dash of cayenne pepper and lots of cheddar cheese accompanied by the left over brats from the night before, cut up and sautéed with peppers and onions. As with the beach trip in April, the guys did all the cooking and did a wonderful job with it! After breakfast, John went to meet some friends at Snowshoe and do some crazy downhill biking that I can’t ever imagine trying. They had to have full protective gear on—full face helmets, chest and shoulder protectors, full arm and leg pads—you name it, they wore it. He was doing things like riding off of ten foot drops and stuff like that—you know, the kind of stuff that if you mess up, you die. This was my first time mountain biking and Tricia has only been a few times, so Joe chose a nice easy trail for the three of us to do. The two of them had their own bikes, but I had to rent one. After finally getting one that would work, we drove to Durbin to the West Fork Trail. It is actually 23 miles long, but we only did 9, maybe 10 miles of it. Trust me—if you have never done any biking, that is plenty for your first try! Click here and you can see a map of the trail. We planned on starting at the May trailhead, but never really found it, so we started somewhere near it and rode into Durbin.

The view on the trail was breathtaking, but I forgot to take a camera this time, so you will just have to take my word for it. The trail follows alongside the Greenbrier River and it was so peaceful to listen to the water falling across the rocks. It was overgrown most of the way and needed some maintenance, but was nice nonetheless. At some points we were riding through daises that were so tall they were hitting my knees! It was pretty, but made riding interesting at times. There was even one place where a tree had recently fallen across the trail and we had to stop and carry out bikes across. There was one place, probably about half way on our ride, where there were rocks leading into the river. Had we known about it, we would have had swimsuits and a picnic lunch! It would have been the perfect place to jump in the river and cool off, then have a sandwich to refuel for the rest of the trip. I was pretty tempted to jump in fully clothed, but couldn’t convince Tricia and Joe. Well, I really think if I had pressed, I might have been able to, but decided against it. :)

Shortly after that break, I had my first bike wreck and received my first biking injury! Woo-hoo—I’m a real biker now! We were riding along and this deer ran right out in front of me! In avoiding it, I almost ran off the side of the hill and into the river. Still trying to regain control of my bike, I hit this big rock in the middle of the path, and that was it—I went down and skinned my arm. Okay, so maybe the real story is that we were crossing a bridge and I was looking at the pretty rocks in the river and ran into the side of the bridge and skinned my arm. And maybe I am not so much a real biker as I am an idiot. But, isn’t the first story WAY more interesting!?!?!? ;) Your bike truly goes wherever your eyes go, so I guess I can be thankful that the bridge had sides built up on it, or I really would have ended up in the river! I’m glad I didn’t drive into the river, but man of man, does my arm hurt!

Anyways, we finished the trail and ended up back in Durbin. Joe rode back up the trail to retrieve his truck, while Tricia and I rode into town and got nice cool drinks and ice cream. He volunteered—we really aren’t that mean! He rides all the time, so doing another nine miles on pretty much flat terrain wasn’t anything to him. In fact, today he is doing a 70 mile bike ride, from Cass, up the mountain to Snowshoe, some back-road riding around there, and then back to Cass. Eighteen miles in one day was a cinch for him. He came back with his truck, picked us up, and we headed back to the cottage to get cleaned up and then spent the evening at Snowshoe.

John had met an interesting couple during his ride, so when we got to Snowshoe, we met up with the three of them. We went to where they had been doing the chili cook-off, but we were too late to get any—everyone had packed up and left. So, we went into the village and watched the last few minutes of Buffo the clown’s show. Looking at him, I can see why some people are scared of clowns! The guy had a mohawk and bulging muscles, and only a small circle of his face was painted—not exactly what you think of when you think “clown.” After that we went to the Bistro for some drinks and munchies. During dinner, John kept egging on an argument between his new friends, and at the end of dinner they just left! Not even a goodbye! It was kind of funny actually. The guy had spent the day out biking with John and some girls, while his girlfriend sat at home by herself. Now, at first she wasn’t really mad, and was just teasing with her boyfriend about how ticked she was. She was a little miffed because of being home alone for so long, but not really mad. The boyfriend was extraordinarily drunk though, and kept saying stupid things so that by the end of dinner he had dug himself a hole so deep I am not so sure he was ever getting out of it. Entertainment for dinner, I guess. After that, we come back to the cottage and fell asleep under the stars again.

Eventually we did make it into the house and into beds again last night, to wake up very early this morning. Joe had to call his friends about his ride at seven, so his alarm went off at 6:30, and woke us all up. We had another wonderful breakfast of cinnamon rolls and sticky buns from Meck’s Bakery, with a side of omelet-like stuff. I think the initial plan was for it to be an omelet, but it didn’t quite make it. It was a mixture of black beans, peppers, onions, tomatoes, cheese, eggs, and I am not even sure what else, topped with salsa. Yeah, if you are thinking there is no way that I would eat something like that, you are right. My breakfast consisted of some of the best cinnamon rolls around—if you are ever in the area of Cass/Snowshoe, you have to get some Meck’s cinnamon rolls! Joe left then for his ride, John headed to Snowshoe for another death-defying ride, and Tricia and I went to Greenbank to tour the National Radio Observatory before heading home. It was a very neat tour; definitely one that you should take should you ever get the chance. They have one dish there that has 2.3 acres of surface area and you could fit a football field on with ease! We would like to have spent more time there, but had to hit the road so that we could free their dog from the kennel before it closed today.

That is my weekend, in a very big nutshell. Before anyone asks, yes, my butt is sore from riding. What do you expect? :)