Jumps

3 posts

First ride of ’09

I haven’t ridden in Wissahickon for a few years, but my friends Chad and Rob have been hyping these trails for a couple of weeks.

The sections that we rode were chock full of  jumps, drops, long log rides and berms. A playground for peddlers, the “BMX bowl,” has a drop into, and launches out of it, and a bunch of doubles, log jumps and giant tabletop.

I now have some new New Year’s resolutions…

  • Do the drop into the bowl
  • Jump the big gap that Rob did
  • Get in better shape and keep up with PMBA guys who built the trails

4.64 epic miles

Proof that we rode 4.64 miles – I’m not just exaggerating

Sometimes it’s quality, not quantity, that can make a ride great. My “BMX friends,” Warren and Chad, are always fun to ride with. Even if we don’t do an all-day 30 mile ride, we still have tons of fun – without the post-ride cramping.

Here are some highlights:

  • As we started toward the trails on Spring Mountain a red tail hawk was taking off with a rat in its talons.
  • Chad was kind enough to be the boulder-jumpin’ guinea pig as he showed us some new trails and stuff to jump off of.
  • Chad was also kind enough to bring a bag of carrots on the ride. Not for us, but for Avie (Avalanche), the goat that lives at the top of Spring Mt.
  • I bailed after a rock drop and sent one of my shoes floundering into the woods.
  • There’s a decent jump-to-flat at the bottom of the mountain to play on. We battled each other going for the longest distance.
  • Even at almost 43 years-old I’m still innovating jump variations. I pulled a perfect one-shoe-er when my foot pulled out of my shoe which was still clipped into my Crank Brothers Mallet C pedal. Extreme.
  • Warren went for a big boost over my bike seat and rode a killer nose wheelie to g-turn. His bike should be out of the shop soon.
  • Props to Noah and the guys who have been maintaining trails at Spring Mt. Good stuff.