Ride - Allegrippis, Raystown Lake, PA

Finally, the fabled Allegrippis trails have been ridden and found fabulous. I’ve wanted to ride these trails for years but until now never made the time. I do admit to having feelt a little apprehensive. These trails are frequently written up as the best in the northeast and I thought they might be full of family riders. My apprehension was unfounded. I saw a single and a group of three, all fairly serious looking riders.

I rode what I think is the eastern section of the trails and tried to stay to the outer loop as close to the lake as possible. Early trails included Eagle, Hydro, Osprey, Rays Revenge, Ridge, Allegrippis but I cant remember the names of the later ones. Conditions are wet as expected after such a wet July and August so far. The trails are mostly made of shale so the wet conditions result in discreet puddles rather than general unrideable mud.   The terrain reminds me of the trails I used to ride in and around Germantown, MD. That means rideable by a range of skill levels, not too technical, no killer ascents and no really long ascents. I realize now just how lucky I was to have those trails on my doorstep for all those years.

My quads were tired from the start of the ride for some reason and never really recovered. Maybe it was the camping sleep, the dedicated meals in a bag or the gut-busting all protein fried breakfast. Whatever it was. I never really found relief from the anaerobic burn but I don’t care because I finally rode Allegrippis.