Group Riding

I've always been a fan of group rides, road, mountain or any combination. There are plenty of road group rides to pick from here in Fayetteville that travel through some absolutely beautiful terrain in NWA. During the spring, summer, and early fall one could hit a road group ride every day of the week, somedays two a day. This is all fine and good, but I love my mtb. I especially love riding my mtb with a bunch of good friends.
I first started riding mountain bikes alone, I got my first mountain bike in '94 and at that time and place(Pocahontas, AR) , none of my friends were riding bikes. My first bike was a POS Murry I bought at a garage sale for ten dollars. The tires were dry rotted and 25 minutes into my first off road trip, I flatted. Needless to say I didn't have a spare or any type of inflation device, so I hiked back to the house, thrilled at the enjoyment experienced during the 25 minutes of riding.
Riding alone will always have a place for me. I enjoy it, plus most specialized training must be done alone. However, I have an opportunity this spring to lead a couple of off-road group rides for the local tri-sports club. I've been a member for a few years, just not extremely active. I join in many group rides, but I have never lead a group. The fact is the club is mostly "on road" it has never offered any off road activities(other than trail runs). I am very excited to become the off road cycling chairperson. It's an area that has been lacking from this club, will have future updates on my plans for the club.
My training is still on hold. Just when you think you are done with moving, something else rears up and must be dealt with. Right now I am busy painting, pretty much the entire house will be painted. Once you start you just can't stop. You look at the freshly painted walls and suddenly the unpainted walls, that were fine before you painted the adjoining wall, look horrendous. It's a vicious cycle that I hope ends soon. Marcus, a good friend of my sisters, came over last night and knocked out the kitchen. He does this sort of work for a living and it showed. The quality was far better than I would have done and he did it in a lot less time. I finished up the bathroom tonight, I think. It may need a second coat but we are out of paint. I'll see how it looks in the morning.
Planning a night ride on the mountain bike tomorrow night. It's been almost a year since I've been on a trail at night.
More pics next post, less text