Photo by Joshua C York
“Why learning to mountain bike in the Cleveland Metroparks has gotten me nowhere!”
by Joshua C York
Today I found myself atop what was oddly a very tall hill in an otherwise pretty flat part of Oklahoma. I was in Tulsa, and I rode the Turkey Mountain trail network up and down and back and forth and somehow gained 800 feet to be straddling my bike and gazing down a straight chute of rock and scree and wondering just how I was supposed to ride back down the sketchiest stretch of downhill I have ever attempted.
“Well this is the top. That last part was called Snake and the trails before that were Fairy Dust and Jelly Legs. We call this part Lipbuster. It’s all fun and games down to the bottom, but Lipbuster is an apt name. Just keep yourself back on your seat and you will be fine!” My new friend Bob was the head of the Tulsa chapter of the mountain bike association, was in his mid-60’s, has ridden MTB (mountain bike) for over 30 years, and was making me hella nervous! I glanced over at him and he had a big ole smile on his face, knowing my Ohio trail training was running thin. “Remember to have fun on the way down, you will have HELL to pay for it on the way back up to the trailhead here!” I flicked him my own wiley smile, lifted my grounded foot to the pedal and started rolling into the dirt run. Hell to pay eh? That made me think of something we would joke about while riding back in the metroparks in Cleveland.
But more on that in just a bit.
Photo by Joshua C York
The first time I ever came into contact with the concept of riding trails, I was probably 33 or 34. I was hiking down the hillside in the Ohio Erie Canal Reservation on E. 49th, near the visitor center. It was winter time and there was a good 6 inches of snow on the ground. I was following two long thin tracks in the snow around hairpin turns, and over sharp up-n-downs too. I just kept thinking, “man, there is no way someone could cross country ski through here, is that what these tracks were?” I figured they had to be. What else could make such tracks in this kind of snow?
Then I came to a sign. It was a trail marker and had a little guy on a mountain bike, with the words “Bridge Ahead” below the dude. Holy crap!! Those were bike tracks! How could anyone ride this trail in the snow, or even in the dry summer weather, I thought at the time? Too extreme for me.
I wasn’t even really that familiar with the reservation I had hiked and didn’t know where I had been. But a year and a half or so later, I remember my buddy Duglas asking if I wanted to check out a bike trail he had heard of, where you could ride dirt instead of the typical towpath limestone. I was intrigued, it sounded fun. He said I had to bring my helmet because it was required to ride there. We didn’t wear helmets too much for general riding back then, so I was now even more intrigued. We arrived at the trail and started riding. The trail was rustic. We rode straight uphill for the first 15 minutes. I was immediately winded and the trail was very skinny, with rocks and roots. How could anyone ride this stuff?! Then, after another small hill, it seemed we had come to the top. We started the downhill part. I got going so fast, I wasn’t sure what I was even doing fully. I just kept thinking, “Well, if they say this is a trail that people ride bikes on, then I must be able to do it.” Boy I was so ignorant! I damn near flew off the trail a number of times. I did a weird bunny hop move at one point to avoid missing the start of a small bridge. I jumbled over rocks and roots and somehow did not fall off. Near the end of that trail, I came down a somewhat steep hill and rounded a turn, and there it was. The same sign I saw on that snowy day a year and a half prior!
I just rode that impossible trail!! And I was hooked on the sport of mountain biking ever since!
The Cleveland Metroparks, as well as a number of other city and state parks in the area now have trails dedicated to mountain biking. The newest trails at Mill Stream Run Reservation and Bedford Reservation are great ones to start out on. The Ohio Erie Canal Reservation’s trail is a little more tricky, but it’s a great way to test how your skills are developing. There are trails at West Branch, Findley, and Quail Hollow State Parks too. My favorite trail is out in Medina, at Reagan Park. We even have a world class, and very unique indoor winter MTB hotspot called Rays Indoor Mountain Bike Park on Walton and W 98th. Check out videos of any of these spots to see the action! There are many skill levels represented in the Cuyahoga River area, from beginner up to heavy intermediate.
Photo by Joshua C York
Mountain biking has been great for me personally. I think as an activity, you can really get a sense of exhilaration from speeding down a flowy hill and feeling the wind on you. Also, mountain biking will give a full body workout, working arm and core muscles even, not just legs. Lung capacity increases, your endurance extends, and most importantly, your mind has a chance to clear. You are immersed in nature after all, where your brain can expel clutter and your mind can become lucid. As a matter of fact, the reason I smiled at Bob the way I did today, was because he said something that reminded me of a thought I had while riding at the Bedford Reservation on its opening day.
He said I would have hell to pay after riding down a few hundred feet because I would have a hellacious return trip. Well, that phrase always makes me think, you will have a HILL to pay–for getting a good downhill in! The hill is the hell. Or really a payment for what fun you will have. If you think about it, that hill you pay will eventually always balance the hill you get. That is the reason that mountain biking really gets you nowhere. No matter what style of trail you ride, you will always end up at the very place you began. In elevation and location.
In a more philosophic sense, you can apply this concept to many other aspects of your life.
I have always taught my son that action equals consequence. In a way, having a “hill to pay” is similar. Like, when I leave Oklahoma, I still have 2500 miles of driving to achieve all I want to do on my trip. The driving won’t always be fun, and I may get drowsy, or bored, or hit monsoon style rain. But that is my hill to pay. 3500 miles of total road time, to visit 4 friends in 5 states and hit 7 Mountain Bike trails and 2 National Parks. That is worth it, as is riding 800 feet up a mountain to have a chance, be it a semi frightening one, at riding some wicked crazy downhill in Tulsa Oklahoma.
That is also a bit of the reason I smiled at ole Bob. I met him on the trail earlier so he didn’t know. I came in from the Arkansas River level and rode up that 800 feet to where we sat instead of driving to the lot behind us. So, I smiled at him, shook his hand, and went for it. That hill paid off. I made it all the way down with no busted lip. And now I am searching a taller hill!
