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.

20" Muni Test and Trail Work

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am thinking about the possibility of moving my Schlumpf hub into a 20" wheel. The small wheel could be good for technical trail sections and climbing, and the high gear would boost its speed to about a 30" wheel for easier sections.

Today I brought my 24" muni and 20" 'trials' uni to Webster Park. The 20" uni already has a KH muni saddle on it, as that is more comfortable when Kessa or Sydney have ridden it in the neighborhood.

I did a particular loop on the 24" and then the 20". A few observations:

• The 20" did not give me instant superpowers at climbing hills, but there were a few other variables:
  
  
•  I am not used to this uni. I noticed as I climbed over roots and pulled up, I got more bounce over them which is probably good, but kind of surprised me. It tripped me up at least once.
  
  
• The pedals currently on that uni are flat plastic pedals, with no grippy pegs. This is bad for climbing steep hills with roots, and when needing to turn in different directions on those climbs. I slipped off and fell, lightly, once because of it.
  
  
• The 20" did not seem too slow in the trails, like it does on the road, but faster would be better for sure.
  
  
• The cranks are about 137 mm. These are slightly longer than what I learned was best for my Schlumpf shifting, which is 127 mm. Longer is likely an advantage for climbing, so would I lose any advantages if I had a Schlumpf and had to use 127 cranks? 

So it's not seeming to be a no-brainer for me. I may try again with the right pedals.

I did a third lap, bringing my folding saw and pruners. I removed some fallen trees on a less popular side trail that I like, and removed some encroaching branches here and there.

before

after

Still not busted

 After my injuries from falling in April, and my efforts to get back into shape, I'm generally fit and strong. Unfortunately, some weeks back I did have another injury from overextending myself during weight workouts, and my right shoulder needed a lot of rest. I think it was a rotator cuff issue. It's still not 100% but much more tolerable. Not that my shoulders are critical to muni, but I didn't want another fall to injure it more.

Feeling strong enough at this point, I rode at Webster and Whiting today.

I felt a good combination of strength and stamina, but also a reminder than muni is tough. I had a successful technically short hill climbs that I know would trip of a lot of riders. I also had some heroic pushes and recoveries that impressed myself, but also plenty of trip ups that shouldn't have happened. I'm a bit rusty perhaps. I rode 5 miles.

I also stopped by Bauman's Farm Market to get some Pop's Peanut Brittle which is made by a past coworker and friend, Chris Wegman.

During my ride I was thinking about an idea I've had. With the falls I had in April on my geared 27.5, I'm not really excited about getting back to the fast life. Maybe I will, but I have another idea. Since I really like riding on the local trails with their short technically challenging hills, maybe I would enjoy a rather unorthodox setup: a geared 20" muni. Most of the time I would be in high gear, meaning about a 30" equivalent wheel. I know a 29'er would be great in most cases on trails, so this is good. And then for the steep hills and technical sections, I shift down and have a 20" wheel. That could make climbing easier. I'd likely convert my current geared 27.5 uni for this. The frame is big for a 20" wheel, but not really. It's just unnecessarily more legs than seat post. I'd need to buy a new 20" rim and to have the Schlumpf hub taken out of the 27.5 wheel, which is a bit of a shame. But it's something to think about.

Insert Training Montage

 It's already been over a month and a half since I fell a bunch. My ribs still hurt in certain strenuous movements and exercises, and my pinky finger still hurts when flexed or pushes in certain ways. Both seem to slowly be improving so I assume they're just that kind of injury, and being 50, maybe I'm slower to heal.

Like a Rocky movie, I'm turning my defeat into motivation. I'm rising up, back on the wheel... just a man and his will to go ride.

I've been working out every day, losing weight, improving cardio, and getting stronger. I'm doing a combination of workouts from my collection, Fitness Blender, P90X, Insanity, some freestyle workouts, riding bikes with Kessa, and riding bike and uni in the neighboring trail path.

The two rides I did on that trail path were 5.25 miles each, on my 26" Oregon fat tire.

I'm certainly ready to do some muni at Webster Park and Whiting now. But I'm also going to continue with workouts. I'm thinking about more strength training. I've looked at a number of programs that use barbell lifts, and I'd like to give one a try. I've done some Strong Lifts 5x5 in the past but I think I was using improper form or moved too fast or inconsistent, and tweaked my back, so I never stuck with it. I think I need to be ok with starting at low weight and maybe video my profile to analyze form. I found this r/Fitness Basic Beginner Routine which surprises me. Reddit users created this? I hope to feel ready to start this soon.

https://thefitness.wiki/routines/r-fitness-basic-beginner-routine/

One Two Three Four, Now I'm Feeling Very Sore

Back in the day it was an upcoming race that kept me motivated to keep riding and stay in shape. These days I'm not really into racing. Are any muni riders in a four-hour radius even organizing muni events or joining mountain bike races? So I made my own goal for the year: to ride the Hojack regularly, through the Chiyoda and Bird Sanctuary trails, and try to top my own round-trip time, from home to the end and back.

Today was my first ride. It was a cool 45°F and I was joined by Kessa, patiently riding lazily on her mountain bike. I'm out of shape and this was the first real ride of the year.

Unfortunately it did not go well. I fell FOUR times while in high gear. Every fall was caused by me just losing control in high gear. There are enough bumps in the trail to cause me to wobble forward and back and have to correct my balance, and my corrections clearly aren't good enough sometimes. It feels like a feedback loop and a series of over corrections but just kind of happens in the blink of an eye.

The first fall was on the outbound leg on the Hojack.
Moving fast, I lost it, fell forward, pushed the handlebars down, a step or two, one tuck and roll to my back, and a short slide.
My left knee hurt and was dirty from an impact and my palms were chaffed and stung a bit. It hurt but I was ok to walk it off and keep going.

Fall two was also outbound.
Same, moving fast, I lost it, fell forward, pushed the handlebars down, a step or two, one tuck and roll to my back, and a short slide.
I think I hit the same parts. My left knee hurt more and was now bleeding and dirty and my palms we more chaffed and stung more. But this time I got some wind knocked out of me. I think I jammed my left elbow into my left side during my roll and my ribs hurt. I'm 99% sure my unicycle never hit me during a fall, but maybe.

Seeing that it wasn't going well, my knee was weeping blood, and I had already felt like I probably wasn't in great shape to get to the Hojack end and back, I decided heading back home would make sense.

Fall three then happened on the Bird Sanctuary trail.
Same, moving fast, I lost it, fell forward, pushed the handlebars down, a step or two, one tuck and roll to my back, and a short slide.

The fall added some dirt to my bloody knee, but more notably caused my left calf to cramp up. I think I stepped off awkwardly and pulled it wrong. I had to remain on the ground for a few moments for the cramp to subside before my leg was usable again.

Fall four happened soon after getting onto the Chiyoda trail.
Same-ish, just not moving too fast yet, I lost it, fell forward, pushed the handlebars down, a step or two, one tuck and roll to my back, and a short slide.
This time my right calf cramped up! And my right pinky must have gotten pushed funny because it hurt in a worrisome way.

But everything was still working, and Kessa and I continued home.

On the road portion, I didn't want to press my luck again, and there was a noticeable headwind to contend with, so I sadly kept it in low gear and hobbled home.

Once home, of course I cleaned up and checked myself out.
The left bloody knee was the focus.
Palms were raw and ached.
Pinky is sore but ok.
Left side is on the edge of scary sore. Laughing and breathing deep makes it hurt more. Bruised ribs?
Right knee is sore and scuffed by an impact.
Shoulder is scuffed through my clothes.
Ego a bit hurt.

So what happened?
I'm out of shape and fatigued to the point of failure?
I'm getting older and my balance is suffering?
I'm expecting too much from myself in high gear?
Tire pressure issues?

And now what?
End my personal year challenge on my first ride?
Get back on the horse once I'm healed and try again?
Train more first?
Do smaller wheel slow muni more instead?

The ride was 8.7 miles. I also rode 3.4 miles while Kessa jogged the neighborhood streets, last Sunday.