Out of My Trail Shoes & In the Saddle by Jules Moore
Today’s outing wasn’t on foot but on the wheels of my mountain bike. The plan was to ride familiar and new trails at Lewis Morris Park. I’m not an avid rider but I like trading in my trail shoes for my mountain bike. The bike gives me the opportunity to explore the trails in a new way but also allow me to do some great active recovery and cross training especially since I am coming back from a recent ankle injury.
I arrived at the Lewis Morris Park around 7:30 am with my friend Derrick. We got our bikes off his car and gave them a quick look over before setting out. In the Sunrise Lake parking lot I gave my bike a test spin to get a feel for the it. Man…the air was fridged! As a runner I tend to overlook how to dress for a ride. I’m going to freeze I thought but I knew once I hit the first climb I would be fine.
Derrick and I utilized the green, yellow trail and Patriots Path which is a mix of rocky/rooty singletrack and gravel rail trail. After the first climb we hit a nice fast downhill single track which was extremely fun but at the same time required a lot of concentration and reflexes.
The downhills are the toughest part for me because I tend to fight the trail a lot which makes me waste a lot of energy. As the ride progressed I started to relax a bit and began to sync in with the trail.
As we continued our ride we hit Patriots Path trail which is a nice switch because it allowed us to keep a steady rhythm. Riding patriots also gave me the opportunity to enjoy spring and see the wildlife active, after a long hard winter.
Derrick and I finished our adventure and felt content with the morning on our bikes. On the way home our mind started to drift to future bike adventures. As much as I love running it’s also important for me to get in other activities and movements. If you feel burnt out, want a different adventure or simply need some active recovery, just mix it up and change the pace.
