Bay Park West - 10 years later!

If I had to guess I'd say it's been about 6 years since I last rode at Bay Park West, but it has been 10
years, 4 months! It's a little sad how quickly life is flying by. I'm 51 years old now. How much longer will I be able to ride?

Today I rode at BPW, and just like in the past, I'll say it stands for Big Punishing Workout. I have been reasonably maintaining my fitness, so that helped, but the reality of it is, there is no way I can ride BPW in a continuous way with no dismounts. There is simply too much elevation change packed into a tight area that does not provide enough time for recovery. And on top of that, the trails have become more difficult due to erosion and lack of maintenance. They're probably still within ridable tolerance for today's modern mountain bikes, but for muni there's no hope for a run without dismounts, at least not for current me, or even younger me. The number of exposed roots on trails is probably double in places, the roots are higher, a number of sections are channeled down the middle which is no good as it grabs my tire, and the hills are even steeper.

The reality is that there probably isn't a great reason for me to ride muni at BPW. Maybe if I mapped out one somewhat viable loop, but there would still be a dozen dismounts to rest or take a few steps past something unridable. To be honest, now that I think of it, it's kind of a neat challenge. 😅

There have been changes to the trails since my last visit, including some new trails. Most don't appeal to me because they were created to appease advanced mountain bikers, with jumps, berms, and even steeper hills. But one was very welcome, as it was a less steep way up from the main parking area.

Before my ride, I saw photos online of two skinnies posted four years ago, which I don't believe I ever saw in person in the past. Unfortunately, they are no longer ridable. One has rotted away and the other has shifted off camber. Though it's high off the ground and would have been pretty scary for me.

skinny #1 from 4 years ago?

skinny #1 from today

skinny #2 from 4 years ago?

skinny #2 from today

I'm glad I got out and am continuing to ride. I saw a few hikers and mountain bikers out there.

Also this colorful fun guy!

Hot and Humid in Webster Park

I've been thinking I should ride at Bay Park West and was leaning toward that today. But in the past I joked that BPW stood for Big Punishing Workout, and today was 80F and high humidity, so I decided instead to ride at Webster Park yet again.

Some small notable things:

• Last time I climbed 'short hill #1' like a pro, impressing myself, but this time failed. The roots and required sharp direction changes got me.
• Last time I failed to climb 'short hill #2', but this time I did like a pro, impressing myself.
• This time I climbed 'short hill #3' past the 'tricky root', but if I recall I unfortunately got tripped up on something else.
• There is a location that is a very root-covered down and up that is significantly longer that the 'short hills'. I don't think I've ever made it through. When I attempt it, I always go in a particular direction but today I planned my route so I could try the other way. I do think it offers more hope, but the up portion is still a killer and I'm just not sure I will ever have the endurance to do it.
• With all of the hill climbing, if I fail, I generally take 30 to 60 seconds to breathe before continuing. It genuinely feels required. I don't get those breaks when I succeed, which means I arrive at the next big challenge sooner without a break. It's tough.
• There was a huge tree down across one of the trails near that area. It will require a large chainsaw.
• I fell to the ground with a roll due to a pedal strike on a tall root I didn't see. A smaller wheel, like I've been considering, would put my cranks closer to the ground. Something to consider.
• It was nice to pass all of the trail work areas that Kessa and I cleared last weekend, without having to stop!

Something I find more interesting, is there is a side trail off a main trail that I prefer to take and last time there were two old cut tree sections laid across the trail. It seemed intentional, as if to prevent people from going that way? But it was already maybe 20 feet into the trail and could be stepped over or moved. Maybe they want to keep bikes out? But any rational person would understand that wouldn't work. So what's the deal? The side trail ultimately goes right along the back properties of 3 houses, so maybe someone living there doesn't like that? Last time I move the trees out of the way, but today they were back! I moved them again, a bit farther from the trail. Will they return?

big downed tree

one of the reoccurring blockers

Webster Park Trail Work

 We had a huge thunderstorm a few days ago and the area had a lot of downed trees. I rode at Webster park and again brought my folding saw expecting some trails to need clearing of fallen trees and branches. And that was the case.

Kessa jogged while I rode, and together we cleared four significant trail blockages.

The ride was ok. I felt off a bit. We took the loop I typically ride in Webster park but with no extras added. It was 2.5 miles.