A new old bike, and a familiar trail
The Specialized Hardrock rigid steel mtb is an old bike. But it was given a new lease on life when I installed drop bars, road cranks, spd pedals and a bar-end shifter for the rear gears. Running the 42 'ring up front, with the big ring serving as a bash-guard.
Essentially a heavy touring or 'cross bike, the drop-bar mtb has held up well on the street, but it was its first trip back into the dirt that made it shine.
The trail by the passaic river didn't change much in the last few years, though it has been nearly five years since I really used it a lot. Getting the bike into the dirt I was immediately impressed. Tree roots and even a small log were all hopped with ease I would never have thought possible on a drop-bar bike. Having only the rear gears of the Specialized didn't hurt, I just used the easiest three when off-road and it seemed no trouble with the 42t ring up front. When the trail got narrow, the bike handled better than a flat bar mtb, tho in some of the curves I should have wished for tires with bigger side thread or knobs. I get the feeling that when I install narrower street tires it'll have a hard time doing some of the more sketchy offroad bits, but for now it handles great. Braking could be better but nothing a new set a' pads wouldn't fix. Riding through the clearing where there was once an abandoned camp site, I saw a fence around a protected area of shrubs -- courtesy of park service or PSE&G, I couldn't tell -- and a stretch of wood chips on the trail, no doubt intended for hikers. Not like any hikers use the trail. I slipped between the trees, crossed a tiny ravine and found myself in the tall grass. The old trail led down to the riverbank, but the new trail here appeared to have been routed up on a steeper slope close to the edge of the woods. I could see house through the trees as I negotiated a few tight turns and the trail narrowed down to what could be called singletrack. Thorn bushes abounded and as I write this I am pulling brambles from my ankles and reminding myself to wear thicker socks next time in the woods. Deer darted across the trail towards the end, frightened by the sound of my tires on dirt and gravel, but they were far enough ahead I didn't have to slam on the brakes.
Towards the end the slope of the trail changed. They had chosen to reroute the trail onto a slope, so one section was at an agle. On my semi-knobby tires there was no way I'd be able to negotiate that without sliding out so I walked past it and then started up again, cursing as I did the "walker" mindset of the people who "fixed up" my trail. Okay, it is nice the gov't has an interest int he woods, but why did they have to make that section unrideable? I also had to clear away a broken bottle that was just asking to bust someone's tire. It was sticking up like a sharp edged booby trap. Clearly whoever made the trail -- that section was new and some yards from the original path I'd followed years before -- was not a mountainbiker.
In all, the bike survived with flying colors and I can tell it wants to go back to the woods again. So do I. Ah, we are in agreement.
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