White Clay - Virgin Voyage

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Finally got to White Clay State Park and Middle Run last Sunday. Andrew had been telling me about this place for months, and he and Eric were kind enough to show me around. Since I've got more than a decade on these guys, and since they are stronger riders, I left the decent digital camera in the car - I needed to save every friggin' gram I could. So once again the pix are crappy cell phone images. Heck, the only decent picture we took - one of Eric cresting a big log pile - couldn't be saved because the camera was still full of crap pix from Marsh Creek. So not only are they crappy pix, they do no justice to White Clay. Next time... As it was, Eric and Drew were riding light - smart! I had a MULE on my back filled with about 2L of water, GPS, food, etc. Not to mention a seat pouch filled with some emergency goodies: tube, tools, first aid kit. Both Drew and Eric were riding rigids - Drew on a Moots YBB (26er) and Eric on a Niner SIR9 (obviously a 29er) set up for SSing. Way cool bikes. And of course I was on my Kenworth. I really, really want a rigid 29er with short chain stays. It would have to be geared thanks to my POS left knee. We hit the trails shortly before 10 AM. Temp was maybe 20 with little if any breeze - perfect, really. Trails were nice and frozen. Andrew was right - there isn't much technical about White Clay and sister park Middle Run. Alot of it is tight flowing twisty stuff, an admitted handful for my cautious self on a big long bike. But don't get me wrong, there are plenty of cool challenging spots - like riding thru an icy pipe (duck!), log piles, rock piles, and short steep dips. One very cool area was sorta like a half pipe where you swoosh back and forth the dirt walls as you descend. I think it might be the segment they call "The Corkscrew"? I was doing OK until some leaves led me astray and I missed a turn... but nbd, just clipped back in and kept on going. The "Logzilla" log pile section was also fun. I was too chicken to ride the biggest piles but Andrew and Eric polished 'em off. Actually the piles are pretty wide so as long as you stay straight you could jump out of the pedals at the top if you're tighty-whiteys bunch up. Another cool area was the skills area. Of course I told myself beforehand there was no friggin' way I was heading in there but Drew said "Oh yeah you are" so I did. You can watch YouTube vids about the White Clay skills area all day 'til the cows come home, but suffice it to say I did some of the stuff, not all of it. Just the easier stuff. Of course Drew nailed everything. And so did Eric after what I think was a brief pause to gather himself and reflect on his life before entering the elevated bridge and teeter-totter section. I bypassed the elevated segment, but it was cool to ride under the "el" while they were on it. Yeah, more photo opps totally blown, I know... but Ken Cox has a nice slide show of it here: http://www.kencox.net/?page_id=12&file=skills_trail_2007/ We rode 'til well after 1 PM. I sorta lost track of time. I was doing fine for probably the first 15 or so miles, but after that my "winter legs" were sagging. We did somewhere north of 20 miles and I had to granny ring a few hills just to keep from burning up. Eric kicked butt on his SS Niner and Drew was always right there. Me... well I had my GPS if I needed it! But in the end it all worked out - no cramping, no hallucinations, still breathing. All good. And after the ride we fixed everything that ailed us with some Guinness, some real B&Ts, and some lunch in Kennett Square. Man did that hit the spot! So, without further adieu, here's the only crappy pix I got:

Here's me showing Andrew how to work the camera on my Blackberry. With gloves, of course, those dam little buttons are impossible and thus this pic was taken. Uhm, like oh it just took a picture.

Random shot of the least interesting sections of trail. I was too busy navigating and catching up to "the kids" on the fun sections to take pix in those sections, despite Drew encouraging me to do so. My bad. Anyway, you can see the trail is fairly tight even where it's not twisty.

After a breather, Drew's tire decided to shed most if its air courtesy of a defiant thorn. So, what do friends do but take pictures of them changing tubes?

Many thanks to Andrew and Eric for taking this fossil out for a ride!

Blue Marsh Trail Map

Updated May 2, 2011

The first time I rode Blue Marsh I got lost a half dozen times... sometimes for only a few feet, sometimes for a half mile. Yes, there are trail markers - white markings on brown fiberglass posts - but some are hard to spot and some just plain vanish from time to time. Some of the markers are cryptic... "hmm, is the arrow pointing that way or - that way?" Not the end of the world, but a better map sure would help. So I tweaked the existing BM map to add some detail about the little things... you know, where to turn, where to find water... little things that are nice to know.

The trail is a diverse mix of everything from old roadbeds to dirt farm lanes to forest singletrack. There are really no technical features on the trail, but there are roots and shale-covered descents which you'll need to pay attention to or suffer a little off-trail excursion.

An important note: this is a multi-use trail. Hikers and horses abound, so think twice about railing blind turns. Scared hikers aren't good for our image, and scared horses are downright dangerous. Remember, bikers should yield to all others. In practice, it's usually the hikers who step off the trail to let you by. A little trail courtesy and a nice "thanks" will go a long way to keep all the users happy on this trail, and ensure mountain bikers access to this great trail system for years to come.

Trail miles are marked by mile markers. Mile 0 is at the Stilling Basin (the dam outlet). The mile markers run clockwise from Mile 0 to Mile 29. There is no mile marker 30 because it's not quite a mile from mile marker 29 back to the Stilling Basin. Thus, the "big loop" at Blue Marsh is about 30 miles and is said to include 4400' of climbing. I have no reason to doubt that number and no one would call you crazy if you rounded up to 5000'. Luckily, that also means there is 4400' - or 5000'! - of downhill fun too.

Most riders will ride the shorter loop which is created by shortcutting over the Old Church Road (aka just Church Road) bridge between miles ~14 and ~21. This leaves out the old ski area and the highest point on the trail at ~558' above sea level. Note that normal summer water level is ~290'.

This shorter loop (which is also the original loop) is about 23 miles. Riders in good shape can do the loop in 3 hours or less. Plan on taking more than 3 hours if you're riding in a group and/or stopping to smell the roses every once in a while. There are some really nice rest spots along the way - everything from grassy spots to lake overlooks. Small groups will usually take about 4 hours including a lunch break. Big groups can easily hit the 5 hour mark with all the requisite regrouping, mechanical issues, etc.

Preparation is critical to enjoying your ride here. Despite the proximity to the lake, there is no drinkable water on the trail except for the Visitor Center, Dry Brooks Day Use Area (rest rooms) and Dry Brook boat ramp (behind the rest rooms). There are some soda machines at State Hill and Dry Brook boat ramps, as well as a concession stand at Dry Brook DayUse Area, but don't count on these being available when you want them to be... you know what they say about "assume".

Depending on fitness level and weather and ride duration, you will probably need about 2-4 liters of water for the 23 mile loop and an additional liter for the big 30 miler. You will also need to fuel your body before and during the ride. Some energy bars and bananas seems to do the trick for most, but bring whatever works for you. We typically stop about every hour or so to eat something - even if we're not really hungry. The constant barrage of hills can really deplete the old muscles, so keeping them as happy as possible will help insure miles of smiles.

If anyone sees any errors in the map, holler. There's a lot of trail and I'm not always coherent when I finish riding there. Some might say they couldn't tell the difference... but never mind that. Just go out and ride.

Marsh Creek Ride

Got an opportunity to hit Marsh Creek for some playing around in the Bonus Loop on the eastern side of the park. I really don't get over to that side of the park much because, to be quite honest, my XL-sized full-squish 29er feels like a Kenworth there. The trails are sweet but tighter and twistier than most of the stuff on the western side of MC. I used my Blackberry Dingleberry to snap a few pix so you'll have to suffer with some low-res photos. Actually you're not missing much because I didn't take any real trail shots... I guess I was too preoccupied with staying upright on the snow-covered trails. Plus it wasn't exactly the balmy, picture-taking kind of day... temps in the upper teens and a good breeze were a constant reminder that summer is but a concept at this point. Speaking of snow, the trails were in pretty good shape. If you stayed on the packed snow, there was sufficient traction. Stray from that, however, and you were on your own. With a couple inches of loose snow over leaves, it was easy to see where others had lost the traction versus gravity battle and done a little impromptu body surfing on the snow. There'd always be the fanned stripe effect from a sliding knobby tire, then the chaotic clearing of snow as arms and legs must've flopped to the ground. Yeah, I was grinning every time I saw one of those brown leafy wipe-out spots until I made one of my own. Heck, it was only a little log I was approaching, and I slowed down to check out the other side... well I never saw the stick in the snow which chocked my front wheel on the other side of the log. And naturally my clip hung for an extra second in the pedal, and down I went. Of course the pedal unclipped just in time to clock my shin, but I earned it I suppose. Well enough of that - here are the crappy pix:

It's finally been cold enough to freeze the lake.

Saw some bike tire tracks on the lake but this was as far as I dared to venture onto the ice. In the good old days I never would've let common sense stop me from enjoying a little ride on the ice, but today... nah. Good old terra firma provides enough challenges.

Easy section of trail. From here it starts to get more interesting as you work your way toward the bridges near the horse farm and then enter the woods on the new lakeside trail that I helped cut in almost a year ago.

That was quick - I'm back. Told ya I didn't take any pictures of the good parts of the trail. Maybe next time. This is near the boat ramp on the south side of the lake.

Time for some hardware / documentary shots. This is my 2.55" WTB Weirwolf I was running on my front rim. I was using it to help "float" on the snow, but it was lacking in edge grip - no manly knobs on the side. Good in a straight line, not so good turning. Next time I'll put a Kenda Nevegal on the front - a little less float, a lot more bite. In theory.

...and here's the rear tire. At about 25-30 psi, it was doing a kick-butt job in the snow. Climbing traction was not a problem, and cornering was predictable - which is all you can ask for in this stuff. There was not one single hill where the tire let me down. As the center knobs have ramps on one side, the tire is mounted for max forward traction, not braking traction.

Parting shot. Yes, the once-hot water in the bottle was now freezing.

AAaaaahhhh! Geezis, that's scary. Hey, I told you it was cold, didn't I?

Blue Marsh January 2009

Yeah it was cold and windy but what the hey. Trail was 2-3" of ice and snow mix... real pleasure to ride on... but this is what you have to do if you wanna get off the trainer! I didn't have tons of time today so my goal was to ride the ski area loop - a little over 7 miles. NBD, but those of you that know Blue Marsh know that the trail's highest elevation is in this loop - about 558', or 270' over the frozen lake. Tires were aired down to pseudo-flat and did a better job than I on the hills... but neither the tires nor the rider could handle the really steep stuff. I was doing this loop CCW (mile markers decreasing) so the steepest segment is an up, not a down, for me today.

This shot is past the high point and heading downhill to a bridge crossing between mile markers 16 and 17. Pretty sight with all the snow cover. Luckily the trail was never as slick as it looked... no face plants or impromptu snow angels today.

Onto the doubletrack near Sheidy Rd. between mile markers 15 and 16. "Travel at Your Own Risk" sign seems appropriate. Did see another set of bike tracks here, but they dwindled away at mile marker 15. So for most of the ride I was the only idiot out here on a bike over the last few days.

Ride is winding down... down the bank, across the frozen lake, and just past the bridge is my truck. This section is a real nice ridge run just before the descent to Church Rd. Once on Church Rd., it's only 1/3 mile back to the parking lot.

All in all a nice, quiet ride. I was way warmer than I thought I would be, but that beats the opposite feeling. The only thing that was a little cold were the toes, but they've been colder.