Alum Creek, Revisited

O.K., so I wasn't so kind to the gem of central Ohio's trail network. I am here to recant a bit today. While it still isn't the same as Upper Virgin River Rim Trail or Santa Ana River Trail, it is very challenging for people who just have never been out West to ride. I finally managed to go out on the shop ride yesterday morning, and several peeps showed up. We did Phase 2 (the harder one), and I was the sweeper. Following a couple of riders who don't have the time to get out much, I was humbled by the difficulty they had navigating a trail I found somewhat easy.







After repeatedly crashing on almost every log, the rider in front of me never cried or bitched. He just kept picking himself up, and trying again...and again. Barging in late to every corner and crashing almost every time, the gentleman had to be in a great deal of pain by the end of the ride. One of the girls struggled a bit, as well. We even had a guy with a 7" travel Trek Session free-ride bike managed to rip the entire rear end off his bike on a log-hop attempt. Whole rear end, smoked. Meanwhile, my boy Shane dropped a three-foot ledge on his 98 Specialized hardtail, and my TITUS FCR performed so well, I wanted to call EJ and Pat in Tempe and ask if I could bear their children. If you have never had a custom bike built by Titus, sell the kids and hurry up, before your too tired to ride it!






Anyhow, I had the chance to see how difficult this trail can be yesterday, and only hope that the people who were not cleaning the turns and logs will come back and try it again someday. I hope I am there to see it.

C