Even better than the more you can believe it
Yesterday I joined the MORE ride out at Catherine's Furnace. It was simply awesome. About an hour and a half from my trappings in College Park, it was worth the drive. It's up in the hills of northwestern Virginny, so there's a decent amount of climbing out there. Definitely not the sprint up and down kinda stuff we have right around us in DC. You have to work to get to the top of the mountain, and you are rewarded in kind.
I also just finished reading my buddy Chance's blog, and his sentiments about different parts of the trail are the exact opposite of mine. Where he was hating life, I was enjoying it tremendously. The sections that I liked least he probably liked most.
He's a gravity kid: big bike, big sneakers, big travel. His Santa Cruz Heckler was meant to attack the mountain at full blast, so long as it's pointing downward. My bike's travel is all self-contained. I probably get as much travel as he does - five inches - by pivoting my elbows and knees. I do take a beating when it comes to downhills, but on the uphills (that I could ride), I was having the time of my life. It's easier to lock out my suspension and I get none of that bothersome bobbing.
Laugh all you want, but maybe it's because we don't have the moderately hard fireroad climbs that go winding up for six miles, so I actually enjoy them. You stand, you pump your legs like pistons and rock the bike back and forth until you can't take it anymore, then sit down and cool off a little. After settling for a few minutes, then you stand back up and repeat.
I surprised myself when I made it up the six mile climb which greets you at the very beginning of the ride. Doubly pleased that I made it up there first. Sure, Camp, NickD, and JoeP can beat me on their worst days, but I lucked out as they waited to lead people in the right direction. I just kept chugging along because I felt great. At the top, I dare say I felt refreshed.
After the long climb, you ride along a long flat section through an interconnecting maze of double and singletrack. On this section I hit a new type of surface that I've never seen before. There are sections that are basically "crusts" that easily bust through when you put any weight on it. The tricky thing is that you can't tell where it is, or worse, how deep it is. I don't recall busting through anything deeper than about six inches, but if you aren't lucky, you get stopped a lot because your tire keeps diving into the holes.
Anyways, that'll wrap up my recount for now. All I can say is that the Catherine Furnace is a worthy destination in the DC area trails quiver.
I also just finished reading my buddy Chance's blog, and his sentiments about different parts of the trail are the exact opposite of mine. Where he was hating life, I was enjoying it tremendously. The sections that I liked least he probably liked most.
He's a gravity kid: big bike, big sneakers, big travel. His Santa Cruz Heckler was meant to attack the mountain at full blast, so long as it's pointing downward. My bike's travel is all self-contained. I probably get as much travel as he does - five inches - by pivoting my elbows and knees. I do take a beating when it comes to downhills, but on the uphills (that I could ride), I was having the time of my life. It's easier to lock out my suspension and I get none of that bothersome bobbing.
Laugh all you want, but maybe it's because we don't have the moderately hard fireroad climbs that go winding up for six miles, so I actually enjoy them. You stand, you pump your legs like pistons and rock the bike back and forth until you can't take it anymore, then sit down and cool off a little. After settling for a few minutes, then you stand back up and repeat.
I surprised myself when I made it up the six mile climb which greets you at the very beginning of the ride. Doubly pleased that I made it up there first. Sure, Camp, NickD, and JoeP can beat me on their worst days, but I lucked out as they waited to lead people in the right direction. I just kept chugging along because I felt great. At the top, I dare say I felt refreshed.
After the long climb, you ride along a long flat section through an interconnecting maze of double and singletrack. On this section I hit a new type of surface that I've never seen before. There are sections that are basically "crusts" that easily bust through when you put any weight on it. The tricky thing is that you can't tell where it is, or worse, how deep it is. I don't recall busting through anything deeper than about six inches, but if you aren't lucky, you get stopped a lot because your tire keeps diving into the holes.
Anyways, that'll wrap up my recount for now. All I can say is that the Catherine Furnace is a worthy destination in the DC area trails quiver.
posted by rickyd 2 at
4:43 PM
1 Comments:
It was great to see you out there. I was definitely wishing i had that road bike feel on the way up. Once i get the locking shock on the rear, i'm hoping it'll feel close to a rigid bike on the climbs. Great ride though, i look forward to heading out to that area more often. I'm thinking we gotta try at least once a month! And one day, hopefully i'll keep somewhat close to you guys on some aspect of the ride. :)
By
Lee, at 10:55 PM
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