Cross Tuesday

As most of you know, a sorry excuse for a hurricane came through and beat up the east coast a bit. By late Sunday afternoon, it was sunny and beautiful again. Monday was perfect, and today was just as nice. Since I had time today, I went for a cross ride in Valley Green.

Valley Green (A.K.A. Forbidden Drive, Wissahickon, or "The Wiss") is a beautiful stretch of parkland in northwest Philadelphia. It's a great place for Mt. biking or leisurely riding. The dirt at The Wiss has a distinct shimmer to it. I'm not sure what kind of rock it is, but you can look at anyone's tires and know immediately that they have been riding there.

The main path is Forbidden Drive, so called because you can't drive on 99% of it. When it crosses roads, it always has the right of way. It follows the Wissahickon Creek and has many gorgeous view along the way. There are any number of places where you can take paths up and run, Mt. bike, ride horses, or just hike. It's absolutely beautiful at every time of year.

The downside to the path is that it is usually very well maintained and pretty flat and boring. It's gravel with a few rocks here and there, but not challenging in any way. It's meant for your average person, not your average cross bike. But, we just had a hurricane. Almost the entire path was underwater for the better part of a day, and that water really did a number to the pristine path. Trees down, sections of gravel washed away, run off from the multiple streams in the higher ground surrounding it... it was completely ruined. Perfect for cross riding.

Last night I finally got around to throwing the S900 crank on my bike and dialing it in. The chain rings are 46/38 and if you're used to road bike gearing, the cross gearing just looks ridiculous. It still rides like a bike though.

I started off at a quick pace, probably because I was pretty excited. As soon as I crossed Bells Mill Rd, I came smack into a dose of reality. I saw the barriers the city had put up, but kept riding at full speed. It wasn't until I was right up on the enormous holes in the path that I made any attempt to slow and change my course. Too late. God, cantilever brakes suck.

Normally, at this point in the story, I would be telling you about the fall I had just had. Not today. I relaxed my shoulders and just went for it, bounced my way through and kept on riding. Other than being a frightened for a moment, I was fine. Just more cautious.

Because I refuse to wear contacts (they feel weird and I don't like touching my eye), and I don't wear prescription glasses when I ride, Things tend to sneak up on me when I ride off road. It makes things slightly challenging, but I manage. It made riding today very challenging, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I was caught off guard by the giant boulder field that had sprouted up where there was just smooth gravel before. It was the only place on the whole trail where I had to dismount for any long period of time. I tried riding across it on the way into the city, but made it maybe 10 yards into it before I lost too much momentum.

When I reached the end of Forbidden Drive, I made the right hand turn onto the path that takes you down to the Ridge and Kelly intersection. That part of the path was fantastic. The water had ripped trees out of the ground right by the sidewalk, so huge portions of sidewalk were just gone. Trees were down every couple of hundred yards, and there were either ways to get through/around them, or there weren't. Lots of dismount/remount opportunities. I had so much fun, and finally saw another two people with cross bikes out doing the same thing. Neither of them said "hi" back.

My Dad lives on Mt Airy St, and at the bottom of his street is an access point into the park. On my way back, I called to see if he was there and then rode up to his house. I knew it was up hill for a few blocks, but I was thinking two or three. Not five or six. It was a long, slow climb. The first section was about 6-8% on gravel and loose rocks. While out of the saddle, I had the rear wheel slip so badly that I thought I was going down right on my face. I geared out and sat down and just crept out of the park and onto the road. At first, the pavement felt great. Much easier than the rocks, but that only lasted for a few feet, because the grade hadn't changed. A 38T small ring still sucks for climbing.

After about three blocks of just dying, I seriously thought about getting off and walking. But then it let off and I just spun the next two blocks until my heart-rate calmed down and before I knew it the road leveled off and I was at my Dad's. But not before I went to the wrong house. What? He moved for the first time in 14 years and I still don't know his address. So what.

The ride back down was just that, and the stone section was a little crazy, but fun. The ride back to my car seemed too short. Tired, hands hurting from bouncing around, and covered in muck, I hopped in my car and drove home. I then spent the time required to wipe down my bike and clean everything by hand. No power washing here. As I swept away the glint of Wiss dirt, I couldn't help by smile. I really love riding bikes and plan on doing a lot more of it.