An old friend, and a new friend

Been nice to be back on the bike. I was at Luton on Friday and back on the bike Monday.

The old friend:

I was wanting to ride on Monday. I gave Matt a shout and we headed to Upper Mac. For a short trail, it really is an asshole. This trail has never been one of my favorites but it is a track that is something to ride where you don't have to worry about getting mowed down by a distracted driver. And it is singletrack....which is the entire point of this blog in the first place.

I only did one full loop because frankly my legs just were giving me the finger. Meaning, zero power. Because of the zero power I nearly tumbled backwards down a steep valley wall because I just didn't quiet have enough to reach the top (for the first time ever). I grabbed at a tree and slowly felt my fingers sliding across the bark....and then feeling air. Thankfully I kept my balance and didn't each shit. Because I would have rolled down the damn hill and probably ended up in a huge pile at the bottom of the hill....without a gopro running. lol. Matt and I went our seperate ways and I headed home having ridden 5ish miles.

Not sure if I have mentioned it or not, but a few guys at work have decided to do a weekly ride. This week was supposed to be the first ride. Nobody else was able to make it so I headed to Ken-o-Sha Park which is less than 2 miles from where I work. I knew it would be short, but I wanted to check it out.

Into the woods and across the bridge is where the Northern trails are located. The bridge is needed because there is a pretty solid creek running thru this area. 

The trail is marked pretty good with some 4x4 posts and arrows. As you come across the bridge there are numerous trails converging. I went straight thru to the second post and headed to the right. Here was a quick little loop that has a few twists and turns to go along with a little kicker before dumping back out by the bridge.

Back down the trail and this time to the left. The trail leads out into the woods on a small incline. If you know the area you might surprised to know that there is indeed a hill back in the park. Much like Upper Mac, there is a single hill that you ride up and down. The entire area around both parks are flat, so I was pleased to find some small climbs in here.

I was also happy with the trail surface. It is what I classify as "normal". lol. The trail has a pretty good flow to it and I was just cruising around enjoying nature with a city piled all around me. You can see from the picture below that it is city and then some random woods. 28th St is on the North side and Kalamazoo is on the East side of the park. The main entrance is off Kalamazoo. You end up parking by the Ken-O-Sha elementary school

So there are three loops on the north side of the paved trail. A short one to the right at the first tee. If you go left at the first T you arrive at an unmarked split. The trail appears to flow to the right, but is very clear to the left as well. The right is the longest of the 3 sections and actually brings you back to the second tee where I decided on left. This medium length loops brings you by the creek and eventually back to the paved bridge. 

Overall I rode for just over an hour. Lots of looking around and trying to sort things out. Exploring if you will. I guess I missed an entire loop on the south side of the pavement. I think that section must be about half a mile more or so. Knowing that I have a trail that close to work is awesome though. I will head there work on handling at speed and cornering. Not much climbing. Just a fun little trail that I can ride all the time.

Nice Luton Park Ride

For the first time this year I headed to Rockford to one of my favorite trail systems. While I love being in the woods in general, Luton has a little bit of everything. Each loop is just different enough to mix it up. 

My buddy Matt joined me for a loop. It was reaching "hot" levels when we rolled into the woods. In the shade it was comfortable, but the open areas felt hot even when rolling. What felt like a blistering pace was really just...slow. I know I am just getting back into the swing of things....but it is funny how it felt on Friday. 

The actual ride felt fast. My average speed would disagree. But, I don't know if it is from not riding, or just my mass....but the feeling of speed was there. And I will tell you this much...at my current weight....I have some serious inertia. My center of gravity has always been high, but with the extra weight it is even higher, making the handling of the bike totally different. Making how I ride totally different.

Since I was there I decided to head out for another lap. I was about 5 minutes in before I started to wonder if it was such a good idea. My legs just quit. Knowing that I could just ride the inner loop I just kept plugging away. By the time I got thru Yellow I was feeling better. During Orange I was comfortable and then I hit the red. While I was slowing down (due to lack of conditioning) I was still feeling pretty good. I got to the parking lot and I was really happy with my ride.

Progress.

I saw your bike in the woods....

I finally threw my leg over The D.U.F.F. at Fort Custer on Saturday. First time in a month, gotta make sure I don't over do it!

I was already in Kalamazoo helping Lisa out so I decided to put the bike on the back of the truck. We got done with our duties and headed to lunch. After lunch we headed over with Kevin for a slow red loop. 

Things started off well enough. Flashback: last time Kevin and I rode together he ended up in the hospital with a broken collar bone and some broken ribs. He is much stronger and faster now. 

We took off down the red at a blistering pace. By blistering I mean I was at 90% heart rate in about 10 seconds. Doesn't take long when you haven't been riding much.  The odd thing was, I was feeling comfortable. I felt good on the bike. Not fast, but that really isn't the point with the lack of saddle time. After the switchback climb we rode up on a couple of kids that were trying to find the campground. We decided it was best to get them to a good launching point and we rode back toward the trailhead. Once close we sent them on their way down the Yellow towards the campground.

That was when the elder child speaks "are you guys professional mountain bikers?"

LOL, all I could do is laugh. But realizing that Lisa and Kevin were in full team kits that really isn't a bad question from someone not familiar with the sport. I am roughly 100 pounds from my goal weight....I really don't look like a professional. ha.

Anyway, we got them on the right path and shot back down the red trail again. We did Dan's loop and continued on into the amusement park. Right before the rock wall I took the shortcut because I didn't want to climb the next short climb. Wasn't long before Kevin and Lisa caught me. 

We continued into the Crazy Beaver and then I finally saw the parking lot. It was high 80's hot. Overall it was a solid ride for me. I can only do what I can at the weight that I am. I rode. that was the important thing.

Almost 10 years ago....

Nearly 10 years ago we loaded up a car with bikes, camping gear, and three thirty year old men. 

The Mighty Mac from the Upper Peninsula

We started the trip to Marquette full of hopes and dreams. Hopes of a solid race. Dreams of a podium finish. In the end, we all finished.

Mackinaw Bridge is always cool to see

The race? The 2007 edition of the Ore to Shore. Travel time was around 7 hours. I do remember that we stopped in Mackinaw for fuel and lunch. After that, the last few hours over to Marquette before finally landing at the campground in Negaunee.

Our humble abode for the weekend

Once we got settled in.....we simply had to rest before getting up and racing the next morning. As you can see from the campsite above, it is beautiful country and the skies were sunny and clear.

This kid before the start

Because it was 10 years ago the details are fuzzy at best. I remember bits and pieces of the course. It was sandy, with lots of red dirt. Mainly 2 tracks and I honestly don't remember if there was any single track. Oh, and hills. Yes. Lots of hills.

L to R: Chris J., Me, and Chris H.

The running joke was this is was a downhill race because the elevation at the finish was lower than at the start. That may be the case, but it is far from downhill. Thinking back, this might have been my first race back after taking a long break when the kids were born.

Typical mass start race

What I do remember is the roll out. Lots of pavement thru town and then a long climb before dumping into the woods on a sandy two-track. The plan was for Chris H. and I to ride together for the first part of the race, but I got caught up in the moment and lost him in the crowd. The next time I saw him was when he rolled across the finish line.

The dust was nasty. As you can see from the pic above I was pretty dirty. Even my bright yellow jersey (which I question wearing) is dirty. While at the finish line waiting for the others to finish I eventually started seeing the Hard Rock finishers rolling in. One guy passed and I honestly could not tell you if he was white or black. He must have been riding on a wheel the whole race because the dust on his face was far worse than mine.

You might wonder why I am revisiting this race from 2007. Well, it was the first and last time I ever did the event. I liked it enough that I have threatened to do it again one day. I plan to make a vacation out of it. Take the people still living with me on a few day trip and kayak around pictured rocks, race, and take our time enjoying what the Upper peninsula of this great state has to offer.

So, after 10+ years you just might find me on toeing the line of the 2018 Ore to Shore. Might even be the Hard Rock, but I guess we will see how it goes.