September 2008 - Spokes Magazine

COLUMNS
SINGLETRACK by JOEL GWADZ gwadzilla8@yahoo.com
FAVORITE LOCAL RIDES
Friday was an unseasonably cool August day. It had
been a busy week and I had knocked out a good deal
of what must be done so I was granted permission
to get out of work a few minutes early. The day had
started with me loading up the family wagon with
various suitcases and two small bikes so that my wife
Lisa could head out of town for a weekend with her
parents. This long weekend away involved taking our
two young boys Dean and Grant. This gave me the
freedom to spend my time pretty much as I pleased.
When I was treated with the surprise of getting out of
work early I made my best effort to use this time wisely.
Out of work and on my bike I rushed home and
traded by commuter bike for my car and then tried
to beat the rush hour traffic out to The Family Bike
Shop in Crofton, Maryland.
Roughly ten days prior I had ordered the Niner Rip
9 from Jonathan at The Family Bike Shop. This righteous
dual suspension rig with five inches of travel
front and rear had been built and was ready for pick
up. My initial intention was to head to the shop on
Saturday morning on my way out to the trails, but this
unexpected window of opportunity presented itself…I
modified my trajectory.
With a little more than a swipe of the credit card I was
leaving with a machine which is pretty much a motorcycle
without an engine. It was a tad ironic that I was
buying a long travel full suspension bike from a man
I know from riding and racing single speeds with over
the past few years. It was also odd that I purchased
this righteous machine from a shop that operates
under the motto of GEAR DOWN. But that is how it
happened.
There was still some time before the sun set so I asked
for directions to Rosaryville State Park for what would
be my inaugural journey on my Glow-In-The-Dark
Niner Rip 9. In less than 30 minutes I had traveled
from Crofton and was at the trailhead of Rosearyville
State Park in Prince Georges County, Md. This nine
mile single lap ride at Rosaryville would be ride one
of a three day mini mountain bike epic which included
rides at Rosaryville, Schaeffer Farms and Patapsco
which has inspired me to share a short list of my
favorite trails in the Washington, DC area.
A Short List of My Favorite Mountain Bike Trails
in the Washington DC Area
This is a short list of my favorite and most frequently
visited mountain bike trails in the DC/Baltimore
metro area. The least difficult trails are introduced
first. It is important that people understand that there
is a difference between beginner mountain biking
and beginner biking. To begin mountain biking it
is important for the rider to be comfortable on the
bike on non technical terrain. This is a list of various
locations for off road mountain bike riding, not just
places to go for a bicycle ride.
Rosaryville State Park in Prince George’s County,
Md., may not the most technical set of mountain bike
trails but these wooded trails are still a great place to
get out on the bike. This nine mile loop of twists and
turns is a great place for the beginner mountain biker
as well as the advanced mountain biker.
The beginner will be able to gain confidence riding
the bike on this slightly limited technical terrain while
the more advanced riders will be able to obtain a solid
cardio workout while practicing riding this mountain
bike roller coaster at speed.
With all the twists and turns the sight lines are limited
so it is recommended to back off from race pace
as there just may be a hiker, a biker, or a horse right
around the blind turn. These are a great set of trails
to attack on your rigid single speed!
This trail is about flow! Personally I would much rather
spend a few hours repeating this loop three times
rather than hammering on pavement on the road
bike which is why these trails have become a popular
mountain bike ride location for me. The team work
of trail building crews and volunteers of IMBA: The
International Mountain Bike Association and MORE:
The Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts has created an
amazing network of trails at Rosaryville State Park.
Wakefield Regional Park in Northern Virginia is the
location of Potomac Velo Club’s midweek four race
summer training series Wednesday at Wakefield.
Similar to Rosaryville these are not the most technical
set of trails. A few more rock gardens and logs to cross
than Rosaryville, but similar to Rosaryville these trails
are about taking turns at speed and being able to
maintain that speed on short steep climbs and short
steep descents.
There are a good number of trail options where
the rider can try to follow the race course loops of
Wednesday at Wakefield or they can create a different
loop to suit their own personal rhythm. The trails at
Wakefield are also single speed friendly.
The trails at Wakefield Regional Park are also beginner
friendly, but do not let this beginner friendly rating
make these trails seem that they are unworthy to the
seasoned mountain biker. These trails are a hoot, a holler,
and a scream for mountain bike riders of all levels!
Wakefield Regional Park is also one of the few networks
of trails in the area that allows for legal night
riding! The trails at Wakefield are open to night riding
from dusk to 10:30 pm on Monday, Tuesday and
Thursday nights. Check the MORE website for information
on Night Group Rides at Wakefield.
Another set of trails in northern Virginia where people
can ride and race are the trails at Fountainhead
Regional Park. The Cranky Monkey Series as hosted
by EX2 Adventures hosts mountain bike races at
Wakefield Regional Park, The Quantico Marine Base,
and at Fountainhead Regional Park.
Fountainhead is similar to Wakefield in twists and
turns but the short steep climbs and short steep
descents are a little bit longer, no extended climbs but
what these climbs lack in duration they make up for
in steepness.
The trails at Fountainhead are a little more demanding
than the previously listed sets of trails. The
descents are not only steep and twisty but they can
also be rooted and rocky. These trails are slightly less
single speed friendly, but still a great place for the
single speed. While the Fountainhead Regional Park
as a whole is not open year round, the mountain bike
trails are open for use year round.
It is arguable which set of trails are more difficult
than the others. As difficult is in the legs, lungs, and
technical ability of the rider. Yet I still rank the trails
at Schaeffer Farms in Germantown Md. as being more
difficult than the trails listed above.
Schaeffer Farms would be best known for its pyramid
log crossings. Throughout the tight twisting wooded
single track of Schaeffer Farms there are countless
numbers of log pyramids of different difficulty. It is a
skill. To aid the beginner many of these log obstacles
have cheat routes that loop around. But once the skill
or rolling over these log pyramids is mastered the logs
are part of the draw to Schaeffer Farms. In addition
to the log crossings in the woods there is also a wide
open section that flanks wide open fields.
As a person who lives in the building clustered city
18 September 2008