The First Ride of the Year
The weather was finally in my favor and I decided to hit the bike trail for the first ride of 2010. I was not sure how far I would go, as it had been a long winter and I had been very lazy. I thought that I could at least make it to the Belmar Bridge and back, so I set out south on the Allegheny River Trail.
My first stop was before I even got to the trail, in Riverside Park. I pass through this park on the way to the Franklin trail head. I stopped only to take note of the height of the river. All of the recent rain and melting snow had the water level high, but normal for this time of year.
I made it to the trail head and started my journey south. As the temperature was still only in the 50’s, I packed on a layer of Under Armor and my rain jacket. I was feeling pretty warm for such a cool day and had a good feeling about the ride. My legs were enjoying the exercise; I had a slight tail wind and was making good time. I was enjoying the scenery and stopped a couple of times to further document the river level and the beauty of my surroundings.
By the time I made it to the Belmar Bridge, I was pumped. The adrenaline was flowing and I was ready for a longer ride. This would be a good time to test out my new headlight, which was purchased over the winter. So far, this headlight has worked as a great flashlight and car repair light, but I had no idea what it would do inside of a tunnel. So, I slowly climbed the steps up to the top of the Belmar Bridge. I was really a little out of shape for this, but once I reached the top, I took some pictures and was ready to head out the Sandy Creek trail towards the Rockland Tunnel. I knew that the trail was slightly uphill on the way out to Rockland and Van, but I really did not care at this point. It would be a little rough on my innocent legs, but they needed a good beating.
As I started out the Sandy Creek Trail, the sun really began to warm me. The air had turned from chilly to the perfect combination of overall warmth with an accenting cool breeze. I was really happy to ride now. The sound of the rushing water peaked my interest to the point where I would have to stop and take video and pictures at every bridge as I worked my way east. Eventually, I would make it to the tunnel.
This is the big moment for a bicycle geek like myself; the first use of my new headlight. I turned it on and rode into the tunnel. At first, I had the light pointing straight out, thinking that a 200 lumen light could provide sufficient light for the entire tunnel. Once, I realized that this little light would only light the path in front of me, it worked great. I felt a lot safer riding through the tunnel when I could see what was ahead of me. I kept my speed a little slow as I was afraid to outride the path of the light. It will take a little adjusting to get the light positioned perfectly, but it should work great.
I continued on past the tunnel and the Rockland trailhead. The trail was littered with either litter or nature. At one point, it appeared that someone had a mishap with their garage sale items. There were many broken appliances laying under one of the bridge that run above the trail. I saw a television, a kerosene heater and some garden gnomes. To make matters worse, the trail was also littered with the broken glass form the television and computer monitor. I had to get off the bike and literally carry it past this obstacle. I can only assume that these accidentally fell off some redneck’s pickup truck or they were purposely thrown form the bridge above. I am hoping it was an accidental littering.
Beyond the garage sale litter, there evidence of rock slides and tree up-rootings. The winter certainly took its toll on the bike trail. I got halfway from Rockland to Van and decided that the tree down across the trail was a sign to turn back home. I could have carried the bike over it, but I was ready to turn back. It was going to be about a 20 mile ride at this point and that would be enough for me.
I was certainly slower riding back. The tail wind that helped me earlier in the day was now a head wind that was holding me back. My legs were starting to not like me very much as I pushed them even harder now to get home. The last 3 miles were rough; my butt and legs were numb, yet very sore, an odd combination. I pushed myself the rest of the way to Franklin and was very relieved to be sitting on my couch after that ride. I know now what it will take to get my body in shape for the ride to Foxburg, and I am ready to do it, if the weather helps me out.