Last weekend was the annual "bike" trip, which really is a bike, drink, game, club and eat trip weekend came up.  Predictably, all of that stuff was accomplished in varying proportions.  Roughly, in order:

Bike:  

It rained pretty hard the first day, but skies cleared enough in the afternoon on Saturday to get in a relatively muck-free ride. We tackled three loops in Alleghany State Park on Friday and even helped a family of hikers back to their car after they had been wandering around the top of the hill there for three or four hours.  The downhills were great and the trails pretty much clear of obstructions.  I spent a lot of time wiping off my glasses on any spare dry portion of whatever fabric I could find.  We were utterly drenched and mud-laden after the ride, but it was a great 7 miles.  Saturday we tackled the Ledge Trail which is a flat log and rock racked trail.  Everything was wet and our usual pace was slowed.  A few guys fell, but nothing insurmountable.  I made it out and back with my respect and no drops.  Sunday was a wash, but Sunday usually is.

Game:  

I think I only played two games of cornhole (bag toss for any non-Midwestern Americans), too, which is a personal low record.  I usually enjoy the game a lot more but I just wasn't into it this year.  

They had a dartboard in the house, I got creamed a couple times by one of the guys as I hadn't played in at least a year, maybe longer.

While we were out on the town, I snuck in a little billiards as well.  Verrrrry rusty.  I think I played one game and got cleaned.

I almost forgot:  Madigans had an indoor cornhole set, which in theory sounds great but in practice was lousy.  The boards were too steep, too small and the bags felt like you were tossing stuffed pajama bottoms.  I resorted to tossing overhand which is a definite no-no.  I lost.  I should have taken a picture of it as it was absolutely hilarious.

Drink and Club:  

No casualties.  Sick after moderate drinking (1 Jack and Coke, 2 beers and 2 Smirnoff Ice) on Friday night and damn near zeroed out the rest of the trip.  I could do without this part of the trip, personally.

Eat:

We've been coming to Ellicottville for probably five years running and each time, Dinas is the place to go.  The food is a little pricy, but their breakfasts are consistently wonderful no matter what you order.  We hit them up for pizza on Saturday night which was good, but not as good as I remember.  On Friday night we tried some other bar/restaurant in town and I had a chef salad which was pretty tasty and surprisingly filling.  Ellicottvile picked up their first Subway which is good for a day trip out there to recharge.

Overall:

It was a good trip.  I'd like to try some other trails or hit some of the other state forests in the region because we might be missing out on some great track.  I enjoyed Alleghany more this year and I'm not sure why as I am usually bored with the loops.  The Ledge Trail never disappoints.  Visiting all these places with a bunch of guys I've known almost my whole life is a great way to spend the weekend.

From a health standpoint, I was able to perform pretty well.  I made it through the trails with only a few stops and I was able to keep pushing through parts where in years past I would have faltered.  The anemia is still there though as it seemed to catch up with me later on in the trip and into most of this week.  Regardless, it was one of my better outings and I'm thankful for it.

All that said, I might come out just for a day or something like that next year and maybe see if anyone's interested in an exploratory day trip to find some new stuff in the area.  The lodging and food are somewhat expensive and I never sleep well away from home.  But, who knows... I have a whole year to think about it.  It's hard to buck tradition.