Redneck in Spandex

Author: Chad

  • I actually rode with somebody

    With my schedule, it’s hard to find a time to ride with folks.   Today was different, as my buddy Mac and I took a quick trip out to Sells Park from Grover during the lunch break. I was running a bit late from a meeting, so we didn’t get started right when we wanted. Nevertheless, we hauled it down the bike path and up Avon to Sells, and spent a little time rolling up and down the Rockhouse Trail. Despite last night’s rain, Rockhouse was perfectly dry, and even the boggy sections have almost totally dried up. We only made it about 1.5 miles down the trail, as we had to be back at work, so we didn’t get a good look at the entire section of trail.   Sections closer to the intersections of the White Ash and White Oak trails may still be damp. We totaled 7.75 miles in a little less than 40 minutes.   Mac led the entire time on the trails, and I found it   to be an interesting learning experience to watch the lines of another rider.   We’re definitely looking forward to going again soon.

  • Lunchtime ride: Athens Trail

    The view from Rockhouse Trail over Athens

    I got out today for a nice little trail ride over a long lunch break.   I left Grover Center, rode the bike path to the Community Center, and then took Avon up to Sells Park.   Once at Sells, I rode up to the top of the ridge (pushed it mostly) and took the Athens Trail until it connected with the Rockhouse Trail.   I took the Rockhouse back to Sells Park, then back to campus.   Total ride time was about 70 minutes, including stopping for breathers and the red light to cross East State Street.

    I was actually pretty impressed by how well I did on the trail today, considering this was only the second time out this year.   I was able to make it up some of the hills and clear some of the more technical sections that I couldn’t do last year.   This gives me a good deal of confidence going into the cycling season.   It was a fantastic day to be out on the trails.   Rockhouse was soft in a few spots, but it won’t ever be fully dry until the middle of the summer.   I bit the dust once real good, likely caused by my front wheel sliding out in a muddier gully section.   Fortunately nothing was hurt but my pride, but only the trees saw me bust.   I also broke a spoke when I first started on the trail, but I continued to ride.   The wheel held up fine,   and I may try to ride it a bit more before getting it repaired.   It was awesome to get out, and I’m already jonesing for my next time on the trails.   Now, just to find some more time to ride.

  • Lunchtime ride to Sells Park

    Quick trip to Sells and back

    Another pretty day, another ride.   I was very fortunate to get   out for about 30 minutes on the mountain bike on my lunch break.   I rode from Grover Center parking lot at Ohio University, through campus, then out the bike path and through the Near East Side to Sells Park.   The trails were still pretty damp, so I just did a quick loop around the pond and left.   I was only there for less than 10 minutes, but it felt great to have a little dirt under the knobbies.   It’s supposed to rain some more this week, so it may be quite some time before the trails are dry enough to ride.

    Total distance was 6.2 miles in just under 30 minutes of riding.

  • 55 and awesome

    Today's mileage

    Today’s ride was a far cry from Saturday. Temps in the low 50’s and the fact that I have Monday afternoons off made or some excellent riding conditions. The bike path was still frozen about one mile south of Eclipse Company town, but I expect another day or so should fix that. I rode from Peden out to the frozen section, then turned around and rode to Holzer, and finally back to Peden Stadium. All told is was a good ride of 17.75 miles and 78 minutes of ride time. It’s great to get two rides in the same week. With rain coming toward the end of the week, it might be a while before I can ride again. Nevertheless, it appears that Spring has finally arrived in Athens, Ohio.

    The graffitti train

  • Cold, but almost spring, ride

    On Saturday, Chris and I met up with Dave at Peden Stadium at around 7:30 a.m. The forecast called for a beautiful day, and we wanted to take full advantage of it. We had hoped to ride to Nelsonville and back on the Athens Bike Path, but the path was still largely frozen just south of Eclipse Company Town. So we turned around and got off the path at Currier, allowing us to tackle the formidable Second Street Hill. We all cleared the hill without walking, which is actually a pretty good indicator that we’re already pretty strong, despite the year just beginning. We then took East State Street down to the bike path and back to Peden, for a total of 12.6 miles. It was a great first ride of the year, leaving us very hungry for more. Oh, and it was 21 degrees when we started. And 26 degrees when we finished. It did reach 45 as a high on Saturday, and a lot of folks asked me why we didn’t wait until it got warmer to ride. For me, the afternoon was already spoken for, so I had to get my riding done early.