321 – Phase One

Since I’d driven all the way to Columbus for the Beach Party, I figured I might as well make a day of it. After lunching on some delicious chili, a jalapeno cheese brat and a donut, courtesy of C.O.M.B.O., I changed out my bibs and race jersey for baggies and a MTB jersey, and headed over to Phase 1, one of 3 mountain bike trails built into Alum Creek State Park.

First, a confession: when it comes to mountain biking, I’m something of a homebody. I’m fortunate to live just a mile and a half from the trailhead at MoMBA, and my work is near John Bryan, so I ride those two trail systems almost exclusively. Sure, I’ve had the chance to sample singletrack in seven different states while traveling, but even while on the road, I tend to find one set of trails near where I’m staying, and then ride the daylights out of them. It’s not that I don’t like to explore, it’s just that I’m not all that good at it. It takes me awhile to learn a new trail well enough to go out and hammer it, so once I have, I tend to stay put.

If you are at all familiar with the ethos of mountain biking, you’ll know that this borders on a cardinal sin. Mountain bikers are supposed to be beard-clad, devil-may-care adventurers, exploring every trail they can turn a wheel on and deftly negotiating obstacles that make mere mortals (and roadies) quake in their Nike’s.

By that standard, I’m just not a very good mountain biker. I tend to approach things cautiously and methodically, which means it may take several laps for me to get in a groove on a new trail. I don’t crash much, but that’s more because I spend a lot of time trying not to crash than because of some innate skill on my part. I’m okay with it; I’m still having fun, it just means I have a longer learning curve. In most two-wheeled activities, it takes me longer to go fast than everybody else, but I do get up to speed eventually.

Anyway, all this year, my mountain bike buddies have been bugging me to get out of town. I did get to ride some in Brown County during the Death March, and in Nashville on our anniversary trip (thanks, honey!), but there are a half-dozen trails in the local area that I’ve never sampled, simply because I haven’t loaded up and gone there.

Well, now I had the chance to rectify that, and tick at least one other Ohio trail off the list! And what a trail it was. P1, as it’s known, is a 6-mile loop in the woods on the east side of the reservoir, and features lots of punchy little climbs, rock sections, gobs of roots, and more than a few bridges. It’s a bumpy, technical course that rewards good suspension, low tire pressures and smart line choices.

I had planned to hit P1 and the more advanced P2 while I was at Alum Creek. As I bounced and jostled my way along my first lap of P1, I thought maybe I’d do two laps there, then check out P2 for a lap, before returning to P1 to finish out the day. Then I looked down and saw that I had only gone two miles! The density of features and challenges at P1 is such a sharp contrast to the fast, flowy and mostly buff trails at MoMBA and John Bryan that it created the illusion of having covered much more distance than I actually had. While 6 miles isn’t a very long way for me, by the time I had finished my first lap, I felt like I had gone much, much further. I quickly revised my plan for the day to include just two laps at P1, and then a nice warm bowl of soup on the way home! P2 will have to wait for another day.

I took two surprises away from my first lap. First, this place was far more technical than what I’m used to riding. I could really improve my bike handling skills riding here more frequently. Second, I couldn’t believe how well I did! I finished my first lap without stopping, and only balking at one feature, a steep run-up that I just didn’t look far enough ahead to see. Most days, I come away from a ride feeling that maybe I’m not as good of a rider as I think I am. After riding P1, I felt like maybe I’m a better rider than I give myself credit for! Yes, I’m still cautious, I spend entirely too much time on the brakes, and there were a lot of guys railing around on hardtails when I was wishing for even more suspension travel, but I did do it, and I did a lot of things right. My line choices were solid, my shifting and braking skills are much better than I remember them being even last season, and I didn’t fall off. Heck, I barely put a foot down and only unclipped a handful of times, something that would have been incomprehensible 18 months ago on a trail of this level.

I’m probably always going to be a cautious rider. I’ll probably always learn slowly, and take longer than others to get up to speed. But the only solution to that is more seat time, and to get out and explore more trails like P1. Hopefully, they all go about as well, and I’ll just keep becoming a better mountain biker, one pedal stroke at a time.