Rippin' it up at Ray's

For the second year in a row RIT cycling headed to Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park in Ohio. Leaving on Friday just after 5 a dinner stop was a must. Pulling off the highway in Erie, PA we saw off to the left “Steak and Lube” From the outside the establishment had promise, with a very unique race car theme going on. Restrooms were cleaverly renamed “Pit-Stops.” After ordering Jake alerted our so happy to be there waitress that it was in fact Brandon’s 19th birthday. For those of you who don’t know he is 24. Sadly the birthday boys order couldn’t be cooked as they had run out…This was a common theme. About 30 minutes after give his request Chris was alerted that his soup was gone was offered some “delicious” chili. For both Lowell and I our burgers turned into salads as the bottom bun broke into piece as we took our first bites. To no surprise the cause of Brian spending a fair amount of time in the bathroom on Saturday could have been the Famous Atomic sauce. And all who tasted the sauce agree it was no where near Atomic. Walking out Brandon and I posed for some pictures with a snowball fight brewed. Without going into to much detail the snow ball fight didn’t end in the parking lot.
Soon enough we made our way to Evan’s parent’s house and entering with amazement of the uniqueness of their house. After enjoying some home made cookies and touring the house we set in for the night with dreams of flying with the bird hitting some booters, as Cam McCaul would say, (Watch Seasons from The Collective). Even without Pete we manage to “Get in the van” on time and be at Ray’s under 15 minutes after they opened. As the adrenaline from just being there wore off all of us new to this style of riding soon discovered that it is in fact a workout. I want thank this chance to thank Evan’s Parent’s for letting us crash at their place Friday night and cooking a 5-star breakfast in the morning. Thank You.
On the ride home we were fortunate enough to enjoy another home cooked meal at Chris’s Parent’s house. Pulling up we soon discovered Chris’s family had horses and we couldn’t leave without seeing them in the barn. I’m not much of an animal person but the four horses were beautiful. I also want to thank Chris’s parents for cooking an amazing meal for the group on such short notice. Thank You. It was delicious!
As for the riding at Rays. It was simple amazing. Anyone pondering taking the trip it is totally worth it. Even if you have never had a wheel off the ground will still get thrills out riding at rays. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you ride dirt jumps/BMX/street etc. you will not be bored. There are jumps of all sizes and other technical riding for any skill level. So make the trip it worth it. I personally am planning on going back and I feel like other are too!