My Area 106

Bike Practice; Towpath Style....

With all the rain we've seen in the last couple weeks has really done a job on all the local off road trails as they suffer from a lot of standing water. This has given me a great opportunity to ride a bit more on the local roads with my urban bike and also get to share some rides with my newest riding partner "Hanna" (my youngest daughter).

In between all the storms, we get a day here or afternoon there that the sun is out in full force, but we just haven't seen the usual Ohio summers that tend to have a few back to back days of sun which allow the trails to become dry and fast! Hopefully, this will begin to take place soon, hey?

A few days ago, Hanna and I packed up the Element and drove to one of her favorite spots along the Sippo Valley Trail (section that goes from Massillon to Dalton) to get in a few miles. I took along my camera (of course) so I could practice my picture taking ability while mounted on my bike. Check out the photo album (urban rides) for a full list of photo's from this ride.

Bob

Dodging the rain clouds....

It's been a challenge of late dodging the storm fronts that have been passing through area 106 keeping many of the local trails wet and some and in some cases even closed (west branch). The one trail though that mother nature seems to keep an eye out for is the Mohican State Trail. It seems to rain all around the area, but misses this trail. Even with a rainfall, it doesn't take long for the trail to dry out.

Josh and I were able to make it out the other evening and get some miles in (12 actually), hoping the rain would stay away of course till we got our ride in. As we approached Loudonville, it was sunny and most of the serious, dark rain clouds were off to the north. It became one of those epic rides because all the conditions are perfect!

I was excited to get back on the HiFi 29er and the big wheels again. As much as I like the Fuel Ex design, since taking all those spills last week at West Branch just reminded me how much I enjoy the big wheel traction of a 29er. This was Josh's first ride of the season since he decided to stay off the mountain bike till his senior baseball season came to an end.

Morning folly

fol-ly - lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight. A foolish act or idea. This is the Merriam-Websters definition of what I experienced this morning (Sunday). Sunday, June 15th as most of us know as Fathers Day today, and is one of those days that I get a "free pass" from the family and can spend the entire day bike riding if I wish without any guilt from my wife or daughters. Heck, they tend to push me out the door (truth be told, when I'm gone they'll run to friends house to swim all day), so when I awoke this morning at 7am, I decided to gather up my gear and made the decision to venture off to West Branch State Park (near Ravenna, Ohio). At 7am, I'm the only one in the family that gets up early on the weekend while rest of the family sleeps since they all stayed up till about 1am.

Riding Dirty - Part II

I did it again. I stopped at Quail Hollow late yesterday for a few laps and found the parking lot empty. My pulse quicken as I prepared for my ride. I couldn't help but think that I maybe I should ride in reverse once again. Since it was early evening, I knew other riders would begin to show up soon and be on the trail. Should I risk it and get caught?

What should I do? I couldn't resist the urge and darted off in the reverse direction (notice was the trail sign indicates in the picture). I know what your thinking, he's crossed the line and now is a true rebel. Hell, after riding reverse I'm feeling quite the rebel for sure, heck I'm even thinking of voting Democrat during our next Presidential election; okay, now I'm just kidding but I was feeling pretty frisky as I headed off down the trail. Must be still feeling the effects of my delayed concussion from past fall. Taking a walk on the wild side as some others might say.

Bike Practice in Reverse

Yesterday (Friday, May 23rd) marked the end of a sales month for us at Trek Bicycle, so it's a day that I spend in my office off the road trying to get the last bike and accessory orders out the door so they count toward the sales numbers in May. I got up at 6am and made breakfast for my daughter before she headed off to school. It was a fantastic morning weather wise, so I decided to throw my Top Fuel 69er on the Thelma rack and head off to Quail Hollow before the bike shops started to open for business at 10am.

As I pulled into the parking area at Quail Hollow there were no other cars. I decided to be a bad dude and practice my bike going backwards (actually, ride the trail backwards. And yes, is the opposite direction of what the trail calls for by the local officials). I guess you could say I was "Riding Dirty". The trail was not as muddy as I suspected and riding the trail in reverse was awesome!Heck, all the miles that I've ridden this thing I never once rode it backwards till today. I think I'll have to do this again next time I get to the hollow for a morning ride. I ended up riding a total of 3 laps (Garmin stated that it was just under 10.5 miles). The info at the park claims the trail is a 4 mile loop, but the ole Garmin says differently. Nonetheless, it's still a fun trail, especially going in reverse.

Big Wheel keep on Rollin....

I got to practice on the new Trek Top Fuel 69er the other night on my favorite trail, Mohican. I was rushed for time, so I knew I had to keep it to an 8 mile ride at most. Lately, we've had a good amount of rain for a few days straight, so I knew most trails would be wet and possibly closed but I had a good idea that Mohican would be fairly dry (this trail soaks up the water real well). Let's talk big wheel. The Fuel 69er of course has a 29" front wheel which I immediately thought "where have you been". I've been a Fisher 29er rider the past couple years and now remember just what difference having that larger front wheel makes.

If you are on the fence or have never ridden a 29" wheeled bike, you owe it to yourself to get on one and experience it for yourself. What I like about this Top Fuel is the traditionally 26" wheelbase (short and easy to maneuver), but quick acceleration (if you can call how I ride at times quick), the awesome ability to just roll over log piles and rocks, but above all the great contact with the trail on descents and ramming it into a tight bend.

1110 feet of climbing bliss....

Location: Kanawha State Forest (just outside of Charleston, West Virginia).

1110 feet of climbing tonight. My Garmin also total 13.5 miles (8 mph average) and a total time of 1 hour and 40 minutes. The first 35 minutes I totaled 750 feet which was a long fire road climb that reminds me of the climb at the old 24 hours of Canaan  (Timberline) course (does anyone remember that great course at Canaan, especially 1993 with all the mud?).

The climbing was a lot for me. I confess, I tend to shy away from the big climbs but today welcomed it because once at the top I knew I was about to enjoy some awesome trails. The downhill portion helped push that average up to the 8 mph, but still I felt really good about the ride today.

Bike Practice... making up for some lost time

Vulture's Knob - "the Chute"

"Bike Practice". I stole this phrase from Jesse as he writes about his countless hours practicing on his bike. This works for me, except as he talks about "Fast Practice" I'm more like "Getting Up to Speed Practice". Ever since my riding was cut short late last summer (mountain bike accident) I've been trying to make up for some lost riding time this spring by trying to ride each day if possible.

I've been toting my Fuel EX along with me (on the back of my Element) while visiting my retailers with the goal of catching a trail ride at the end of the day. What makes it nice is that Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Charleston (WV) and Toledo all have outstanding trails nearby and in the direction of home.

Night Ride on the Towpath

This past Friday night Ernie's Bicycle Shop hosted a casual "Night Ride" on the towpath that seen about 40 riders show up to enjoy a great "full moon" and warm temps for a nice leisure ride about 7 miles north on the Ohio Erie Canal Towpath to Canal Fulton, Ohio. Canal Fulton marked the turnaround point as we rode across the bridge crossing the Tuscarawas River and then traveled the Muskingum Trail that parallels the towpath on the opposite side of the Tuscarawas River back to the start point.

The ride kicked off sharply at 8:10pm while still daylight, but unfortunately I was running late and pulled into the parking lot as Pete was giving his safety speech and the group started to pull out. Jeff and Dawn (Jeff is the buyer for Ernie's Bicycle Shop) waited for me as I tried to quickly get my belongings together and off we went to catch up.

My new favorite trail......Mohican

I was in Columbus, Ohio today calling on several of my Columbus area retailers and even got to sell a bike to a customer at the Trek Store of New Albany. The store got a small after lunchtime rush so I introduced myself to a potential full suspension customer and within a few minutes of listening to what he wanted to do, I paired him up with a Trek Fuel EX 5.5 (he had a strict budget to maintain), but I think he'll be real happy hitting the Alum Creek trails once they open in mid May. I finished up my business with Brian, Mimi and Judson and began my drive north towards home.

I had my Fuel EX with me and decided it would be a great day to make a stop before home and hit the trail head at the Mohican State Park (main parking lot is just south of the town of Loudonville on Route 3). I didn't have a lot of time, but I wanted to get in about 10 miles so I wasted no time in getting on the Fuel and starting up the 1st mile and a half of the trail which is pretty much going up the entire time. It's a good switchback trail and immediately I was pleased with the way my new Fuel EX climbed.