Mixing It Up

From north to south, today I followed the route shown in red.

As I mentioned on Wednesday, this hasn’t been the huge week of cycling for which I hoped.  Today I rode for the first time since Monday and it was great to be back in the saddle.  I’ve been staying busy with weightlifting, a Thursday afternoon hike at Ridge Run County Park, a Friday morning visit to the doctor for a routine physical examination, and yard work throughout the week.  I’m definitely “old school” when it comes to yard work—think manpower, not horsepower—and it’s good exercise all by itself.

Today’s ride was just 40 miles, but they were challenging miles.  First I took the Eisenbahn State Trail to Campbellsport, fighting a steady wind and working pretty hard just to average 14 mph.  The return trip was almost effortless: 18-23 mph the whole way thanks to the tailwind.  Feeling good, I crossed US Highway 45 and took Friendly Drive down to Glacial Blue Hills Recreation Area.  Usually I take the flat doubletrack trail through Glacial Blue Hills to Beaver Dam Road, but today I decided to challenge myself on the technical singletrack that the local mountain bikers love so well.

My Giant FCR3 is not a mountain bike; it’s a flatbar road bike intended for “fitness” riders.  But it has a good aluminum frame, a sturdy CrMo fork and cyclocross tires.  It’s more than adequate for my rail trail adventures, but unfit for technical singletrack.  I didn’t expect to get far.

But I surprised myself.  I used a series of switchbacks to reach the top of the ridge to the west of the Ice Age Trail, overcoming rocks, exposed roots and fallen branches.  In one or two spots I could feel the front tire lift off the ground and during a brief moment out of the saddle I almost spun in place as the unweighted rear tire lost its grip.  I made it … not with the panache of a real mountain biker, certainly, but I made it.  Getting back down from the top of the ridge was a different story, one that involved a little walking!  With no suspension, 700x35 tires at 75 psi, brakes that didn’t feel strong enough and a lack of experience, I wasn’t going to risk a crash.

Those few minutes in Glacial Blue Hills made me wonder what I could do with a proper mountain bike.  Despite a couple of holes in my technique, I showed a little talent negotiating the climb.  Next year, with the right equipment … who knows?  Even if used only for a change of pace, a little mountain biking would be great for my overall fitness and my bike handling skills.