To Ride or To Train?

It’s not so much  a question as it is an obvious answer…obvious of course only if you’ve trained at Merriman’s Loop (roughly 10 miles) near Seminary (Loch Raven).  As Rod mentioned in his last post, the rest of seminary truly pales in comparison.  Not to mention the shades of paleness that evolve throughout your entire face as the loops go on and on and on.  Like you, we luv to ride and don’t really dig stopping all that much (unless someone takes a digger in which case it’s customary to laugh and THEN ask if your neck still turns) but last week we took a camera anyway.

Because the Baltimore area has decided to double as lake recently, you can certainly expect slick roots that diagonally terrorize your new baby-knobbed summer race tires and force you into what I’ve come to call a “Latin Laydown.”  Lot’s of front tire pick-ups involved is what I’m getting at.

Within the first few miles (maybe 2 or so) there’s only really 2 technical spots that require you to start paying attention.  The first being a short steep root drop off that instantly puts you into one of two situations…face first into a metal grated walking bridge or the one I prefer which is watching your front tire grab onto said bridge.  Literally about 20 yards ahead is a cool little log ride that slides right into a short yet steep incline.

The dirt then takes you along the water for a little while which requires me to mention that I wrecked here before and almost went into the drink if it weren’t for a log.  However, it was our 3rd loop so I guess that’s my excuse.  Then the fisting starts.  The first real climb just doesn’t SEEM like it’s going to be all that bad.  You’ll know your there when you see all of the leaves that cover the single-track as it begins to accend.  I have no idea how these leaves are always in the same place regardless of the season.  Just enough to spin your back tire slightly to make you work.  Up and up you go until it culminates into a steep incline speckled with big quartzy rocks…stay to the right.

As your breathing hard and climbing you’ll start to hear the traffic to your right.  The clearer you hear it, the closer you are to completing the first climb.  Any creative names for this first climb are fair game by the way.  You’ll then come to a tram road where you’ll head downhill (finally) and bust a quick left putting your bike back on what it luv’s…single-track.  Fun and twisty you can finally open things up.

The next few miles start pulling you into some bigger woods heading to the Iron Bridge.  Hook a left onto the bridge and roll down the hill to a short pull-off on the left and dip back into the woods to do the backside…which is REALLY flat.  However when you slide back into the words the grass is super tall and there’s a sneaky little horizontal log that Rod got to know personally a few weeks ago.  And by personally I mean he never saw it and it completely compressed his shock into his chest and out he went!  I was directly behind him in the 3 spot and I couldn’t have had a better seat.  It was almost like his seat didn’t like him sitting on it anymore and wanted him to be in that thorn bush.  Again…very funny.  So…this is where that flat backside begins.  Of course if by saying “flat backside” I really mean gnarly climbs with rocks all over them then yes, I mean “flat.”

The first one shoots from the hip immediately.  Use the long downhills to gain momentum moving into the climbs.  I can’t really remember the mileage of the climbs but I do remember where the squirrely downhill is.  Keep your eyes peeled for a house in the middle of nowhere when the trail rolls left.  It’s steep and rocky and you get a big fat gold star for staying on the bike.  Sometime after that you’ll sweep through an open field spotted with huge power lines that lead you back into the woods via a loose coblestone pathway.  Gear down and crank cuz the ultimate decision lies ahead.  Here’s the scenario: you’re feeling really good (assuming it’s your first loop) crankin’ at 20 mph or so downhill.  You see a log across the trail that creeps closer and closer.  It’s then that your mind and you balls must come to an agreement.  MIND – “just slow down and ride over it like you would any other log on the trail.”  BALLS – “your flying and you can definitely bunny-hop this.”  MIND/BALLS TOGETHER – “dkjovheeksohuakkkdjoih43iooiagu8hoohliughfpihap9yhekjht.”  That’s about how much sense it makes to do it.  However, something will have to take over…mind or balls.  It is 100% totally concievable that you could literally kill yourself  your balls win and you don’t make it. For instance, your back tire doesn’t clear the log and instead bounces on it launching you over the bars at a high rate of speed.  We also call these types of physical mishaps “car accidents.”  Or if you balls somehow manage to get you over it….well, you can say that you did it and Ez and Rod can say just that.  Me?  Latin Laydown.

So then you climb and climb and climb some more.  I guess you can ride Merriman’s 3 ways as far as I can tell.  1.  Hammer it and basically redline the entire thing.  2.  Pace ride it for some distance riding (which will end up turning into #1).  Or you can go for multiple loops for which bares an explaination of its own.  LOOP 1 – totally fine, no mechanicals, and very fun.  Return to the car for food and water and set back out.  LOOP 2 – the wrecks start and those climbs become very hard.  Repeat car stop.  LOOP 3 – starts with asking yourself if you can do it, mechanicals start, and violent wrecks continue to plague you.  We call the 3rd loop the “Death March.”  Team Luv Cycles (Rod, DJ, Rocco, and EZ) currently have the 3 loop bragging rights but would luv to hear of someone doing 4.  4 is way strong but we’ll do it…at some point!

Well, that’s Merriman’s Loop for ya and the site will have some pics from the trail too.  Do yourself a favor and skip the ride this weekend and go train at Merriman’s…just make sure you say hello to the bear and take heed his words of wisdom.

LUVroc.