Today I was off of work and had a chance to FINALLY ride the only mountain bike trail(s) in a 50 mile radius of Columbus. Everyone here was telling me that the "ADVANCED" lap was super scary and people only do it on fullies. Now, you guys know me pretty well. While I do have moments of hardtail brilliance, I am the worst rider out of all of you. So...I went there today fully expecting to get airlifted out. Uhhhh....yeah. Not so much.
The trail has no real climbing (ten feet here, forty feet there), but is very tightly woven through trees like a Navajo basket. Oh yeah, the baskets have more altitude...ANYWAY...for a trail marked as "advanced," I was surprised by the ease at which my little TITUS FCR and her newly mounted R7 XC fork rolled over and through all the obstacles. There were a couple (one or two) logs that I cyclocrossed over, simply due to the lower bb shell of the XC race-designed FCR chassis. I had a KENDA Dread Tread 1.8 in the rear at about 45 psi, and a 1.9 Nevegal up front at about 30psi. That set-up worked great in the tight and often loose corners.
As I rolled and pitched between the trees, I was constantly expecting something like the sheer edges of Strawberry Peak, the rocky chutes of Upper and Lower Fall Line, or even the switchbacks of Thunder Mountain Trail. Before I knew it, I was back at the car (roughly seven miles?), and honestly a bit disappointed. The easy parts of Sycamore Canyon were more technically challenging than this "advanced" loop.
The trail craftsmanship and clean, sturdy design of the vast majority of the wooden "obstacles" was a testament to the local bike club, clearly doing more for their riders who paid $25 to belong, than a lifetime of NORBA membership and race dues have ever done (or a Forest Adventure Pass for that matter). Kudos to COMBO, the trail was expertly maintained and a pleasure to ride..despite the false claims of advancement.
That being done, and a 4 mile warm-up ride done before that, I was staring at only about eleven miles so far. I heard that the Intermediate trail was just a few miles down Africa street, so I headed off in the steamy jungle-like Ohio heat. Sweating like a preacher at a choir-boy convention, I stayed well hydrated thanks to the Hydrapak nestled on my shoulders. Finding the other trail down the road, I rolled out. Much faster than the first trail, the Intermediate was much more about flicking in and out like an anal tongue dart. Amazingly, I had a hard time determining much difference between the two trails. Despite the large wooden berm and a couple of log bridges/skinnies, it really wasn't much different.
It was fun to get out and pound around blindly on a new trail, but for a guy to come in a on a hardtail and clean the entire thing on the first pass was kinda lame.
IN IT'S DEFENSE, this ride would take on a whole new life in the rain and crap that falls from the sky here on a regular basis. The dirt is VERY sloppy and gooey when wet..kinda like my KENDA bibs after a long day of "crotch-pot cookin'." I promise you I would probably overcook a turn or two in the rain and case it thanks to a half hidden and snotty root. The MOST DANGEROUS parts where a couple of creek crossing thingys that were bridged by an ABS plastic, CORRUGATED tubing of some fashion. The ridges were about two and half inches deep, and about three inches apart..oh, and did I mention they were slicker than an alabama Snake-Oil Salesman? I highly recommend to anyone that they PULL UP and clear the front tire completely before you end up on your booty.
Any teammates that do any Strawberry Peak, San Juan, or Noble Canyon Trail rides should please send me a pic or two, just to remember what real technical riding was like. Can you say "Telonix?" I knew ya could.....
C
D-Lo on Marathon Trail, just off Sydney Peaks Trail. If she can do this, she can do Alum Creek.
