Sunday, April 29, 2012

MTB -- Mohican State Park




It's been a while since me and my vintage steel Yeti got a healthy dose of single track medicine.  Today was bright and sunny but cool, the perfect conditions for a bike ride.  I headed out to my favorite trail located in Mochican State Park and departed from the trailhead located along OH S.R. 3



If the above photo is viewed on an ipad or similar device you can zoom in on the map and get a decent look at the park.  The trail climbs and descends and skirts ridgetops along the Clear Fork Gorge.  I rode a total of about 17 miles.  Starting at the far right side of the map on the North side I rode 8 miles of single track then descended down into the valley.  I crossed the Clear Fork River on a covered bridge (Located near the cluster of 3 red icons and 2 blue ones near the left edge of the map).  I climbed up the south side of the gorge using the paved park road then back to the single track for another 8 miles back towards the trailhead  on the South side of the river.



The first or West bound leg starts off with a beat-down 1 1/2 mile climb to the ridgetop.  After that the trail becomes a mixed bag of sweet swoopy downhills and lung busting climbs and a few short rock gardens.  The leaves are all well on their way but the foliage is not dense yet and beautiful views are plenty from the higher elevations.

As a middle aged mountain biker I'm not as fast as I once was but I feel my off road bike handling skills have developed over the years to their highest state.  Today I was spot on hitting every line through root and rock with precision and balance.  Any mountain biker knows that off road riding is a crucible of pleasure and pain and the pleasure (downhills) always seem so much shorter.  It's really sweet and almost a spiritual experience when your game is on and all goes well on a ride. 

I started the ride with 40 psi in my tires but soon let about 10 pounds out improving the ride  even more.  My bike is a chromoly Yeti from the late 1990's running a 32-20 single speed conversion.  My fork is a '05-06 Rock Shox Sid that has given me flawless service.  I run about 110-120 psi in it's +/- air chambers.  I call it my vintage Yeti complete with old school V-brakes which actually work fine for me.



When in the woods I always take time to admire the plants and wildlife I see on the way.  They are varied and plentiful here in North-Central Ohio.



Where telephone poles come from.

Eastern Yeti in it's natural habitat.





I don't have a computer on the Yeti and don't worry about ride times and statistics when I go trail riding. I simply enjoy the natural beauty around me and that unique symbiosis between me, my machine and the trail.



5 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos, entertaining narrative. Thanks.

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    1. Thanks Spence, Killer day on the bike! -I still got a buzz from it.

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  2. What a great trail. Now were there few people using it or did you just wait until people were out of the picture?

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  3. Having lived in the "West" all my life, I am amazed by your photos of Ohio. I to this day have always thought the "East" was house after house after house.

    I guess I'm having another Senior Moment.

    Norm

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  4. Hi Nate, I encountered maybe 10 other bikers and half a dozen hikers. Very peaceful and I'm surprised it wasn't busier.

    Norm, Ohio has some beautiful places if you know where to look. If you just pass through on the highway yes it looks pretty mundane.

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