"My final mountain biking trip of the year and possibly my final MTB trip ever with this bike. From Ganondagan's eastern trailhead, I headed up the blue-rated Eagle Trail at first light and made it to Fort Hill's summit well before the sun came up. This is more of a sunset peak than a sunrise peak, with the open views being to the west, so I didn't have my camera out of my bikepack for too long. There is a bike park on the other side of Fort Hill (Dryer Road Park) that's popular with Rochester-area mountain bikers. I got there early to avoid the hordes and didn't see another person at either park. Quite a contrast from the last time I was here. Near the end of my ride, I took a spill for the first time. While rounding a sharp turn at a relatively fast speed, I froze up and clenched my brakes. The sudden braking caused my bike to lose control and I ended up hitting dirt. Thankfully, I didn't get injured. The last thing I need is to be sidelined for prime hiking season in September and October. Next year, this bike will be relegated to XC travel on easy paths without any significant ups, downs, curves, rocks, roots, etc. I'll also use it to practice basic mechanics in my backyar..." — theascent • Aug 20, 2022

"This was supposed to be a quick, easy wind-down hike after a long day on the trails in the Finger Lakes region. It wasn't so bad until I decided to hike a long ways down various mountain biking trails without knowing they were dedicated to mountain bikers. There were dozens upon dozens of MTB trails criss-crossing with each other and the volume of bikers kept increasing as I made my way down the opposite side of the hill from where I started. Knowing the general direction I needed to go to reach my car, but not wanting to spend any more time on the confusing and increasingly crowded trail system, I did what I did on Vermont's Hogback Mountain last summer: ditch the trails altogether and bushwhack my way to where I needed to go. The steep bushwhack temporarily strained my knees and resulted in my trusted summer hiking pants getting a small hole in them, but I reached my intended destination okay and kept the mosquitoes happy for a while! Now I wish I had taken a picture of the MTB trail map posted to a kiosk there. You wouldn't believe how many switchbacking trails there were all over the place. I have never seen anything like it in my life! " — theascent • Jul 25, 2020