Whiting Has Changed

Look at me, getting out again for a ride!

I went to Whiting. Wow things have changed a lot since I was last there. Both the trails and myself!

There's a new (to me) Black trail branching off from Blue and cutting across the Orange loop, leading to the new (to me) Pink trail. Black seemed easier and has a several bridges and one boardwalk, if I recall. Pink is more difficult with some root covered steep sections. The Pink trail has a lobe that's still considered Pink that I did not try. The small part I saw at a glance looked even more challenging.

I rode the Blue, Orange, the easy portion of Yellow, Black, and Pink. I rode 3.5 miles.
MapMyRide

Orange and Pink really showed how out of shape I am. How did I ever climb that big hill on Orange?!! I could hardly even give it a real try. Although there were still a number of respectable climbs that I did accomplish. Like a different one on Orange that a mountain biker apparently witnessed from the bottom. A minute after I made it up, as I was stopped leaning on a tree to catch my breath, he pass by and said "That was impressive!". Well ok, but what is impressive to me is past Buzz being able to climb that hill and ride on without stopping to rest.

I think I may have found what will drive me to continue muni and get into shape. I really want to get back to being able to climb these hills, and also not puss out on some of the scary downhills.

To maybe give myself a little credit, I was riding my fat tire muni. That's a 26" tire but measures 28". My 24" muni measures 24" and is what I would normally ride at Whiting in the past. A bigger wheel is like a higher gear, making it harder to climb with. On the other hand the fat tire muni has 165mm cranks versus the 137mm cranks on the 24", and longer cranks should help in climbing.