Mountain Biking

Mom, on a whim the other day, decided that for her birth day she wanted to spend more time as a family. and that to do this we were going to go mountain biking.
so she bought us all mountain bikes. Now, let me remind you that we aren't exactly a small family. Mom, Dad, myself and three younger brothers. Thats SIX bikes.

Got them all loaded into the truck and we headed out to the state park for their first ride. well, the brothers had taken theirs onto the land and messed around on them for awhile. the rest of us hadn't had ours out yet. something about work, school and kiddos.

Hit the trails around 1130 on Saturday. Got everybody on their steeds and away we went. the first trail we took wasn't all that complex. involved a few tight spots between trees, but nothing horrible.
Pulling back onto the road, mom's chain broke. now this is the first time that bikes been ridden and, no offense, but mom isn't exactly a powerhouse. Nor was she changing gears while really cranking on the pedals. it just snapped. To say the least she was frustrated. But decided to call it (not like there was any other option). She had to leave in a few minutes anyway for a prior appointment.
Getting back I discovered that I'd run over a nice 1" thorn with the front tire. reach down to pull it out and the tire starts going flat. the thorn was holding air. so I stick it back in and continue on riding. Its still holding air this morning (Monday)

The rest of us took a longer trail after mom left. took a couple spills but nothing that damaged (seriously) the rider or bike.

Took a tiny break after that one then hit the trail again. This time dad's chain broke on a down hill. please note that mom's and dad's bikes are the same brand and model of bikes. Oddly enough, my brothers and mine are all the same brand, but different models.
Anyway, we kept riding while dad walked back to the truck.

Had a great time, but man am I outta shape for that stuff! and I'm not entirely convinced that clip on pedals are such a great idea on a MTB...