09/22/13 Schaeffer Farms

Couple days back i spent some time going through different sections of the mountain bike trails at Schaeffer Farms in Germantown Maryland. This place is amazing and it includes things like a mountain bike park where there are quick drops and hills to hop. Too bad it had rained the day before so we couldnt enjoy the trails to the fullest with it being wet and close to sundown. We did try to get the most of it and rode through a smaller section of the trails. The trails at Schaeffer Farms connects to two other local area trails and extends quite far. The scenery around the area was amazing and the pictures i took turned out great especially with the time of day we went. If people are interesting in going to Schaeffer farms i would say that it would be VERY recommended to have a mountain bike specifically because this train is no bike in the park. There is plenty of very large roots, rocks, tons of hills, and you'll need every ounce of traction you can get from your bike. If you have a mountain bike and would like to try I believe the trails aren't all too hard as long as you go your own pace because there are nice down hills but there are also plenty of uphills that you can walk or attempt to ride. Below are some pictures I took along the way.

Above is a picture of a single track trail which is in between corn fields and is a very nice downhill
Below is another picture but from the other side of this section of the trail

 Below is the bike park where there are many hills to jump and steep hills to catch speed

Day 1: Working Out and Adventures looking for a Bike

Day 1: Working Out and Adventures looking for a Bike

This day was spent going to the gym trying to stay fit as the incoming winter is coming where gym visits are less frequent as the cold weather start rolling in. Today was like any other typical gym day with a rotation of different days working different body parts. I spent the time at the gym today working back and biceps but only for a little over an hour. The gym i go to is pretty nice considering it only opened a couple of months ago but i have liked it and been there since. Back and bicep day mainly consisted of lots of types of row machines, lat pull downs, pull ups, and miscellaneous things like dead lifts. Some exercises I always incorporate into my workouts usually consist of one of these four workouts such as the bench press, dead lifts, squats, and pull ups. There are many variations and these four exercises help build the most amount of muscle and burn tons of fat and calories. This all had been upended however because i needed to meet up with one of my friends to drop by some local bike shops to check out things for his bike and me for a potential bike.

Ever since i have started biking i have been relying on my friends bikes and it would seem now is about the right time to look into one for myself. My friends and I spend alot of our time on weekends and during our spare time doing outdoor activities whenever possible. I run and bike outside and whenever we get the chance we all head out to mountain biking trails and bike. During the winter seasons we also spend our time snowboarding the local ski resorts that are only an hour away. I spent the day looking at bikes ranging from $300 up to bikes around $600 which would be a decent budget but it would seem i would end up getting a bike around the $500 range. Bikes that are of quality seems to cost a pretty penny and for me its a hard decision to make. Just looking at the wide variety of two shops near my area showed me the types of bikes I would want and gave me the opportunity if I wanted to test out the bikes even before i purchase one. Just browsing gave me an idea of the benefits of the shops also with the one shop called Germantown Cycles offering lifetime tune ups and support if you buy a bicycle there. My day ended up with me not being able to commit to buying a bike but I'm still looking and hopefully I will find the bike that I can take wherever with me.