Fork Malfunction

Well - Pat & I brought some newcomers to our epic playland - The Sandilands. It was cool but humid out - but we rode some nice hardpacked trails that we hadn't been on for at least a year. We had heard that someone had done some clearing but we soon discovered that a storm which apparently passed through had toppled multiple trees near a clear-cut section (thanks to our park's willingness to be a supplier of wood to local lumbermills - so much for conservation). It was still fun riding but our speed was interrupted by the occasional diversion around or over fallen trees. At one point, I spotted a hornets nest that had fallen with a tree and yelled out a warning to the others but the last two in queue got a few stings. Shortly thereafter, my fork got squooshy (best word I could come up with) and lost air pressure - my guess is a seal or two went! It was getting dark as well - so we took an apparent short-cut on a quad trail/lumbertruck road back to a sweet singletrack section unaffected by the windstorm. So - the ride although great to get out resulted in my bike being out of commission till the fork is fixed. Thankfully, Pat was able to send it off today to be warrantied and hopefully sent back in better condition in a week or so! Tomorrow - is an early morning ride - 6am - and I'll be on a loaner courtesy of Body-Driven Sports - thanks Pat once again!