“Don’t forget your bike shoes.” It’s a familiar statement that I repeat while I’m going through my mental checklist before every ride. Unfortunately, not everything that makes the list, makes the car. So, today I rode Bass River in my hiking shoes. There’s two challenges with this, really. The first being the obvious that you’re not connected to your bike the way you’re used to which affects your climbing technique as well as your navigation over obstacles. The second is that my insulated booties don’t fit over those bulky shoes. Still, I was 30 minutes from home and had a lot to accomplish out on the trail so I made the best of it. The video is below.
Bass River is a 4 mile mountain bike trail that makes up for its lack of elevation change with it’s technical challenges requiring strong handling abilities. There are two loops, though the first loop crosses the main entrance to the trail head about 3/4 of a mile into the trail. This makes for an ideal situation for someone who doesn’t have all of their equipment because you’re never that far away from the car in case you get cold or its not working.
I was out to accomplish three tasks today: get a video of one full loop; get 90 minutes of trail riding in; and figure out what Strava segments exist for a small event I’m planning in May. I’m happy I was able to accomplish all three (though I could have ridden a bit harder with my bike shoes) and enjoy a fantastic winter day out in the woods.
As a quick video note: you may hear me chatting if you turn the video up real loud. I had downloaded an app on my iPhone to record a voice-over for the video, but once I got home I was unable to find the file on my phone to merge it with the video. I’ll be exploring this a bit more.
joseph lampen 