Bear Swamp State Forest's namesake, Bear Swamp. Anyone want to paddle this? I do.
Saturday was 75 and sunny. Can I tell you how happy I was to have a (mostly) free day with warm weather? Very happy. Thunderstorms (and ensuing colder temps) were predicted for late afternoon/early evening on weather.com... by now I should know that this is only their opinion and the forecast really isn't accurate until about one minute after weather has occurred. But I'll get to that in a minute.
After taking care of some things in the AM, I packed up the car and started my journey to Rochester via Bear Swamp State Forest. The last time I rode there was 2005 although I have always enjoyed this place. It lives up to its title even in the driest of months so trail erosion is a consideration but overall I think it is a great place to ride. After setting everything up, it was about 2 when I got rolling. Excellent, perfect for a nice long afternoon in the saddle, right?
A harbinger of spring - the Trillium framed by an Eastern Hophornbeam.
I started down the main dirt road looking for the turnoff to the beginning of the looking for the loop I usually ride. Spinning along, working out the kinks from the ride Friday evening and an hour car ride, I was reacquainting myself with an old friend, noticing the changes three years had brought. New areas of private land logged, larger potholes, and - what - A NEW TRAIL!?! Most excellent. I turned around to try it out. It headed up - not exactly the way I had hoped to start - but still it was fun stuff. For the most part, the ATVs seemed to be leaving it alone so it was pretty tight singletrack. I continued to climb and topped out at a trail I was familiar with, heart pounding and legs burning. As I was climbing, I was thinking "Man, this'd be great in reverse." Not being someone who deviates from habit much, I decided to not do the normal loop in reverse but rather try the new trail in reverse and continue on to the normal loop's start. Oh, what a fun downhill that is - pretty good terrain change for maintaining a good speed, well banked turns, a few bumps to "jump" - I like keeping the rubber in contact with the ground as much as possible - overall, great flow. She's a keeper.
Picking up some mud - but not as much as I expected.
Back out on the road, I continued on, passing a pickup who must've thought I was a semi because the driver pulled way off to the side to let me passed. I waved a hello. Finding the turn, I descended into the singletrack and my memories from rides past. Mostly, these consist of watching my brother pull away from me on downhills such as this while I think "Please don't let me find a pile of flesh and bike as I come around the bend." Thinking further about this, I realize most of his crashes happen when he is behind me... What does that say?
I reconnect to one of the dirt roads and decide to grind up the major climb in the forest. It is one of the steeper, longer climbs I know of so I enjoy it a lot, especially from the sense of accomplishment I get knowing I did it without stopping. Again, I remember my brother doing laps on this hill once when I wasn't as well versed in climbing. He rode to the top, then back down to meet me, then beat me to the top again. This time the burning lungs/legs and stitch in my side were my only competition and while they bested me near the end, it was still fun. I took a turn off to a trail I thought I knew but managed to take a few wrong turns. I did finally find the correct trail to lead me where I needed to go. I popped out in time to see the truck I passed earlier returning. Again, wide berth and a smile hello.
Young Pitcher Plant distracting me from the incoming clouds/storms.
So remember how I said the storms were forecast for late afternoon/early evening? Well, I guess they decided to now show up mid-afternoon because it was clouding over and getting more windy. I decided to continue on after a quick half a Powerbar, hoping to finish the loop. I got distracted many times along the way by snapping some photos of the evidence of spring so I never quite made it... well, even half make it. I got to bomb down a few more hills before it became very evident that if I didn't turn around here, I would be on a ridge in the middle of a t-storm. However, at this point, I was the farthest I could be from the car even though it was a straight shot down the dirt road. I started bookin' it but after a few minutes and the start of the rain, I knew it was a lost cause. Hoping the Ipod and camera were resilient enough to handle a serious drenching, I sat up and enjoyed biking in the rain. The tree canopy had leafed out enough to soften the downpour but I was swiftly soaked through. The front brought a chilly wind and cooler temps so I started to cool quickly, taking me back to the hypothermic-esque rides of past.
I made it back to the car just as the rain let up (go figure) with enough time to take down the bike and get in the car before the next cell arrived. My drive to Rochester was in all sunshine so I think I was in the only place in NY with cloudy skies and downpours. Don't worry, I'll be back for a longer stay - and maybe a few trips up the hill for some training...
Post first-down pour - the clouds were a lot more ominous in person, I swear.
2 comments:
The rides at Norwich were the worst for hypothermia. I bet this one was pretty close, though. It's difficult to believe that it's really been four years since we've ridden there. What a bummer.
I agree, most of the hypothermic rides were staged at Norwich and, thankfully, this didn't come close. I distinctly remember our last ride at Bear Swamp because it was a day that I felt really great but we had to cut short because of me needing to get back on the road to PA. Next time you're in town, we shall go.
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