Sunday, July 9, 2006

Off Trail: This was some years ago, when I was young and foolish, as opposed to now when I'm no longer so young. A bunch of us are in the backwoods of Maine, screaming down a hill on our mountain bikes. We're on the descent we've been waiting for after we worked our way up a long, steady climb. I'm flying down, trees a blur, chain rattling, wind howling, letting the bike run beneath me. We come to a bend in the trail and there's my friend, face down, his mountain bike beside him, blocking the way through a creek bed.

Uh-oh.

My choices are to run over him or veer off to the side where the bank juts up into a solid 2 1/2 -foot curb. Two seconds to decide. I veer, yank up on the handlebars and try to jump the bank. It's not even close. My front tire thuds into the wall and I go head over heels.

Awesome, I think. (Like I said: young and foolish.) Until I realize my fork is bent, and I have to hike the five miles home.

Now I think: I need to get back out there. (Old and foolish.) Thankfully, there are plenty of trails in the Washington area. And there's also a group of dedicated mountain bikers to ride with should you want a bit of company.

The Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts (M.O.R.E.) sponsor plenty of group rides in the region. The club also works to keep area trails in good shape. For more information, check out their Web site, http://www.more-mtb.org.

If you're a bit more advanced (think you could have cleared that curb?) the Cranky Monkey mountain bike races might be of interest. There are a bunch of races this summer, with the next one scheduled for July 30 at Wakefield Park in Annandale. See http://www.ex2adventures.com for more info.

On Trail: You got hooked on the Tour de France during the Lance years -- those seven wonderful, wonderful years. You went out and bought one of those fancy bikes that cost the same as something on the lot at Carmax. And now you're looking for people to form a peloton with. Check out the Reston Bike Club ( http://www.restonbikeclub.org ), which holds group rides Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Charm City Fishing: With the way the Orioles are playing, Baltimore needs some good news. Not sure this is it, though: The city cracked Field & Stream magazine's top 20 list of Americas' Best Fishing Cities. What? There are fish in the harbor? Might want to fry those babies real good before consumption.

-- Christian Davenport

Have an item to list in the Outside Line? E-mail it to davenportc@washpost.com.