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Poto, Passion, and Personal Demons - A Ride Recap (Prologue) (37 posts)
|  Poto, Passion, and Personal Demons - A Ride Recap (Prologue) | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 9:27 AM | | A few years ago, I got into this thing called cycling. But it took some time to develop this idea we all share called "Passion".
Many years of baseball and workouts at Bally's convinced me that I was being good at keeping fit. Then as I approached my 30's my body decided that baseball (and working out at Bally's) just wasn't doing the trick. Baseball games riddled my body with nagging injuries - ankle sprains, arm problems, not to mention a bruised ego for not doing better at hitting (though I could knock the snot outta the ball in a batting cage). The workouts at Bally's were getting old too. Not only was it getting expensive, but the atmosphere of egotism, arrogance, and the sense of everyone just being there to checkout the other "bodies" while hogging the machines and not really working out just wore on me.
Then the idea started to grow. My younger brother had bought himself an MTB in the early 90's and wasn't using it much. The seeds of cycling passion started to bud. I started riding his old bike. Then I started riding more. Each ride leading to ideas of another ride. Then each ride leading to ideas of getting my own bike.
In '99 I finally got my own steed - and Passion had burst wide open. It was a full rigid Alu HT beat-me-up (my Cdale), but D@MN did I love riding it. That one led to another bike the next year - a dualie with nice lines and a sweet ride (my Sugar). That one led to yet another bike a couple years later - a Ti CX bike to expand that cycling passion to my road rides (My Carpe Diem). Then the gods of bike passion presented me with a gift a few months later with a great deal on a Ti HT. It was a deal I couldn't resist and (unbeknownst to me at the time) dreams of a Ti MTB were realized (My Lucky Strike).
It was through these years that I'd read of a trail that brought a little fear to my heart... and yet a challenge to my head. In MI they call it Potawatomi. It became my goal to train and prepare myself to ride a trail that caused me such trepidation. No, it's not as big a deal as a
race, or a century, or a 24 hr epic. But personal demons and fears (much like passion itself) are sometimes hard to figure out. Poto became one of my demons... (one of many).
This year I decided it was time to confront a demon... not only once, but twice.
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| The Pre-ride routine... (pics) | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 9:30 AM | | ... was as familiar as all my other rides...
Check the bike...
Get the body ready...
Ok, seriously, now I'm getting the body ready (LOL) ...
 |
| Holy flexibility batman! | Mary Ann
Sep 10, 2003 5:21 PM | | Nice stretching moves. I'm envious of your flexibility. You must have some yoga in your background. ;-)
Great post Randy! The long rumination period was well worth it. Loved the pics. Looks like a beautiful place to ride.
Thanks for the passion hit. (I always wanted to say that).
Mary Ann |
| lol ... | ®andyA
Sep 11, 2003 4:25 AM | | And y'know... the older I get, the more difficult that stretch becomes :p. No yoga involved - believe it or not. I was taught that move back in my high school sports days. Back then, I used to be able to touch my toes on the ground with ease. Now, I have to get warmed-up before I even attempt the stretch at all -hehe.
Glad I could give you a "fix"
Randy |
| Heading out... (more pics) | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 9:36 AM | | After getting myself mentally prepared for the grueling ride I took a couple warm-up laps around the parking lot. After which I head out to the trail head where and I'm greeted by something that will become very familiar on the trail - a climb! And so I climb...
and climb some more...
The logs, roots, and rocks forcing me to work and move and react as I reach the peak of the first (of many) hills.
The trail then opens up and I get into a groove. And while the sweat starts, the refreshing breeze blowing by helps to me cool off as I head further into the woods.
The first few miles helped to assure me that my road rides and my previous trail rides served me well. Besides the that first climb, I was able to keep a steady pace and I was able to not only to ride with some confidence but also take in some of the trail's beauty.
One of the things that surprised me was the amount of bridges and planks Poto had. It sure made for interesting scenery.
Meanwhile the trail continues on. The bridges/planks make for easy riding, but they also serve to conspire and deceive the senses as soon after those usually comes something coniving like sandy, technical hill climbs.
It's climbs like these that make the legs complain as I start feeling that - oh so familiar - burning sensation.
And to make it more interesting are the technical aspects, which add to the challenge...
But the struggles of the climb seem to always be rewarded by the opportunity to cruise downhill afterward...
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| awesome Andy....... | namaSSte
Sep 10, 2003 10:51 AM | | I have never ridden Poto when the leaves aren't down and I can't believe how green it is!!!! Nice shots and nice job on that demon! |
| Thanks (nm) | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 11:14 AM | | |
| A chance to stop... (yes more pics) | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 9:42 AM | | ... and take a breather. A quick review of the map, and I start to realize that maybe this will be tougher than I thought. A trail that's 18 miles, and I'm barely a 1/4 of the way through.
A double take on the map, and a dark thought grows in the back of my mind. Serious Hills...!?!?
Fock it! Bring it on!!
But first I need to find my way to the hills...
The interesting thing here was that you actually should go straight to get to the street crossing. One could go right, but that would take you onto a dirt road which leads to the same road crossing. I happened to find that out the first time I rode the trail the week before - and wasting 20 minutes (and precious energy) riding around trying to figure it out. pffffttt!
Of course, then (on that first ride) I got to the street crossing... and wasted more time and energy trying to find the continuation of the trail...
It's kind of hard to see in the pic, but it's adjacent to the small road sign on the other side of the street.
Once back on the trail, the sense of struggle starts looming close by. The legs aren't as fresh, the breathing isn't as smooth, the sweat flows like flood waters. D@mn, how much water is left in the camelbak? Geez not another climb?!
Positive thoughts and emotional pushes get me over and through. The singletrack swooshes by and I gain some of my momentum back. Then, like a sneaky stealth fighter or tomahawk cruise missile, the "serious hills" I saw in the map are upon me. And so I place the fear aside, ratchet down to the granny gear and begin to climb...
All my trail rides before fail to compare to this struggle. Again, my legs flare as they pump the cranks. I push and pull concentrating on keeping my cadence as consistent as possible - focusing on pulling up and well as pushing down. My mind works overtime reminding me to stay in the saddle...
... as I continue to climb...
It started to take hold of me. Somewhere deep inside, the ramblings and thoughts of stopping and walking started to leak into the forefront of my mind. My lungs screamed for more O2. The logs, roots, and rocks made the climb tougher as they conspired with those thoughts to make me want to give up...
... but I climbed some more...
... until finally (FINALLY!!!) I reach the crest. No words could explain the joy, the exhilaration ... the sheer exhaustion (hehe) I felt upon finishing that hill. I was so tired, I forgot to take a pic (and I wanted to to DR-1 tribute pic too - 'course, I was so tired I probably wouldn't've been able to hold the bike up anyways).
Unfortunately my pics fail to really capture the sheer breadth of that hill. |
| A chance to stop... (yes more pics) | Billy Rousell
Sep 11, 2003 8:30 AM | | Ya nice pics too bad all 19 are the same thing...boring |
| After another breather... (still more pics) | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 9:47 AM | | ... I had a little fun as the trail rewarded me with a gentle downhill...
... which then led to a screaming, yet technical, downhill.
The fast downhill loosened me up a little and I (with help from my bro) was able to take some pics of me "trying" my best hucking.
(NOTE: I had to ride that downhill 3 times - not that I'm complaining :p. My bro wasn't familiar using my S30.)
Unfortunately, that little fun was short lived as further down the trail was yet another steep, technical climb. And to make it more interesting, this one added a very nasty sharp right hand turn which was crowded with rocks and roots (very top of the trail in the pic).
Sadly, I made the mistake of stopping for a breath before attacking the hill. Once I got mentally psyched, I approached and downshifted (which sadly started giving me problems and wouldn't go down into the granny gear). My lungs wheezing, my legs burning, my heart pounding... and just like the former climb, this one had me rejoicing in between gulps of air and water. |
| Another break... (geez still more) | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 9:51 AM | | Another break... (geez still more)
... and then the trail continued on again...
We reached the sign... and both my bro and I thought "18miles...!? D@mn this trail is relentless!"
On this day, we were surprised to see that there was a marathon being run at the same time. Unfortunately we decided to cut this day's ride short by taking the Poto shortcut. We didn't want to be too much of a hindrance to those competitors.
Actually, my bro and I would stop and pull off to the side to cheer and encourage the runners that passsed. What surprised me - somewhat - was that many of the riders there wouldn't. I remember trail ettiquite stated that bikers would get right of way. But I figured, at least in this case, it would be more considerate for the biker to give way since the runners are in a competition. Unfortunately, the other bikers didn't share that view.
Onward the trail led. I reached another bridge leading over one of the many lakes in the park.
And as in the other bridge, this one masked a rooted, technical climb. Unfortunately I took a pic of the front end of the bridge and not the exit to the climb.
By this time, my mind was celebrating the idea of cutting the ride short. Interesting how the mind works... somehow with the decision to take the short cut, that was when my second wind started to take effect. Hmmm.... so that's the secret! ;-)
Still, the trail was unrelenting. Sandy, technical climbs still need addressing.
Interestingly, when I rode the trail the previous week, this hill caused me to crash. Like the other hill before, this one also included a root infested turn. As I started the climb, I shifted (or tried - to be exact) down to keep my cadence going. As I rode up, I kept an eye on the best line. Sadly, somewhere in the midst of a manuever where I was negotiating a turn, yet trying to stay in the saddle, while trying to transfer weight to the front end I hit a particularly nasty root. It bounce my front end up which abruptly brought my attempts to bring my weight forward to a screaching halt, and in fact started to swing my weight backward. And when you're in the midst of a steep climb a sudden weight shift to the rear isn't a good thing. I fell back, falling pretty hard on my camelbak and hitting my elbow pretty good on some rocks. After sliding halfway down the upper part of the hill, I got back up and made sure to look like nothing happened. Talk about falling on yer a$$!! :p
But on this ride, with a bunch of runners, I had to walk it up (Honest! The runners were everywhere).
Shortly before reaching the turn for the Poto shortcut, the trail gets nasty again and presents this sandy climb (looking down from the top).
You have your choice of lines:
* The sandy, rooty line on the far left
* The 2 sandy, rooty lines up the middle
* Or the sandy, rooty line on the far right
Hmmm... let me think about that one ;-) |
| The shortcut... (finally...) | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 9:54 AM | | The previous week, I made the entire trip around the 18 mile loop. But with other trail users on this ride, the shortcut seemed the more appropriate route to take.
The shortcut bypasses the nearby trip to He// (MI, that is)
With the shortened ride, I decided to take it easy and enjoy the rest of the ride...
... I even got to enjoy the irony of this little fork in the trail.
It turns out the route to the left and the middle actually meet up a few meters down. While the (barely visible) trail leading to the right is a hiking-only trail. Yet, there's no map to tell you that... hmmm.
The trail meanders along, somehow a little easier than the first 10 or miles...
Up and down, the rolling hills near the end of the trail seem to reward me for making it this far...
And then finally, the uphill climb that greeted me at the start, rewarded me with a downhill on the way back to the parking lot.
Still, even after taking the shortcut, the effort expended was great and the joy of reaching the end was enough to make me want to "stretch" again. ;-)
All-in-all, two rides at Poto in two weeks. Both times enjoying the pain, the exhilaration, the sheer joy of the ride.
One demon down, many more to go...
Thanks for reading and making it this far. :p
Randy
"Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb."
-Winston Churchill |
| Excellent write-up and photos! | michigantammy
Sep 10, 2003 10:17 AM | | You've done a great job of narrating. Your pics are gorgeous.
Thanks,Randy, so much for carrying me back to an unforgetable journey again. :) And it was a great, fun "mother and son" riding trip for me.
Now you have to ride the Fort Custer (Red loop) and Highland next ;).
After seeing your photos, I really want to go for a ride at the Yankee Springs, or Highland, this weekend :).
Thanks again for taking your time to share your passion.
Happy trails!
Tammy |
| Thanks Tam... | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 10:35 AM | | Fort Custer may have to wait till next year though. Lots of family-related, and friends-related gatherings are on the horizon me unfortunately. So my next few rides are gonna have to be roadies.
But if (or more appropriately 'when') I do ride Fort Custer you can bet I'll have pics. :-)
Cheers,
Randy |
| Hey Randy, I just rode the Stoney tonight... | michigantammy
Sep 10, 2003 7:46 PM | | and the "scary" small hill is blocked now with two huge trees/logs. (I guess someone must have been hurt there). So I went for the shorter steep hill instead, but it was still fun.
Well, at least I got to ride down that hill many times before.
If you can make to Fort Custer during the Fall, it should be a good "colors" ride. However, it can be a problem if you're not familiar with the trail. Leaves will cover the entire trail and you might run into something, or go off the trail without knowing it.
Enjoy your company!
Tammy |
| Wasn't it... | ®andyA
Sep 11, 2003 4:33 AM | | ... just a short while back when you were tepid about doing any "stunts"? :p
Now look at you... going to a trail and actually looking to do a tough section -lol!
Glad you had fun Tam. Cheers.
Randy |
| That brings back memories!! | GotMojo.
Sep 10, 2003 10:48 AM | | Wow, its probably been 5-6 years since I rode the Poto. That place is awesome. I felt your pain. I remember the first time I rode it, I bonked with about 5 miles to go...that kinda sucked. All the other times I rode it I made sure I fueled up enough along the way, which made for a much more fun lap. I simply love that trail. Thanks for the memories! |
| Glad to oblige (nm) | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 11:07 AM | | . |
| brings back memories here too | jenny
Sep 10, 2003 11:17 AM | | I learned how to mtn bike at poto. 3 yrs ago. That is one trail that I do miss. I even rode the whole trail twice in one day. |
| Nice story and pics | Nikh
Sep 10, 2003 11:28 AM | | reminds me a lot of England except the sun is shining...now I'm home sick!! |
| thanks... | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 11:35 AM | | ... I have an aunt who lives in England (London suburbs somewhere). Maybe I'll have an opportunity to ride there in the future.
Cheers.
Randy |
| If you go | Nikh
Sep 11, 2003 12:03 PM | | let me know I can recommend some great trails on the North Downs approx 1 hour train ride south of London.
Or take a 2 hour drive to Coed-y-Brenin in Wales awesome riding.
Cheers. |
| Is that all there is? | JimC.
Sep 10, 2003 10:12 AM | | between not being able to ride here, and a really boring conference call, this was great, thanks, Randy! Jim |
| Just think... | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 10:27 AM | | ... if I'd've remembered to carry the spare battery and then rode the whole trail, there might have been more pics. Oh my!!
Randy |
| Iwas there on Saturday too. | Jakey
Sep 10, 2003 11:39 AM | | In fact we were parked just a few cars closer to the beach than you. Couldn't have asked for a nicer day to ride.
Poto is a demon, this was my first time and I have just begun riding this year and as a consequence did a fair amount of hikabiking, (I think you passed me early on) but I was amazed by the words of encouragement that I received from the other riders. I didn't see any rider not yielding to the runners, but I must say that I wish they were not on the trail for my first ride as I was worried about running into them on the downhills.
Riding this trail only fueled my desire and made me vow to come back and conquor it! |
| Kewl... | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 11:48 AM | | ... I might sneak in another ride at Poto before the year is out, but Poto is a demon for sure. You and "Jenny" above are awesome man! Riding Poto the first time out... that's wicked! Took me 3 long years to even get the courage up to try it.
Cheers...
Randy --> hope I was one who gave you good words... |
| Sweetness... | mugg
Sep 10, 2003 11:33 AM | | Good job! Nothing beats going out for a ride on a beautiful day. Thanks for the passion hit! |
| Much appreciated... | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 11:41 AM | | ... especially since your posts always seem to do the same for everyone on this board.
Randy |
| Ahhh, the memories...thanx, andyA.... | Fuelish
Sep 10, 2003 11:52 AM | | Poto was the first "real" trail I rode after buying my first mtb in 1990....I distinctly remember that killer first hill climb, and I got my @$$ seriously kicked by the trail that day (I bailed and took shortcut out first time, but returned many many times afterwards and eventually became quite comfortable riding there ) - Poto is my favorite trail in lower MI, and I miss it terribly since moving south - so, thanx for the pics/memories - looks like y'all had a beautiful day to ride :)
- Fuelish |
| no prob... | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 12:43 PM | | I can already tell that Poto will be a frequent visit for me as well. I've already ridden it twice in successive weekends (once in it's entirety, and the other through the shortcut) and I'm itching to ride it more.
Cheers,
Randy |
| Imagine riding it... | Obie-1
Sep 10, 2003 12:51 PM | | ...for the first time in a torrential downpour, only one bottle of water, no food, piece of sh!t shock seize up, and having one of your clipless cleats fall off midride. The worst part was not bringing food. I'm diabetic and stupid me didn't bring a single thing. I had ridden the 10 mile loop numerous times with no problems, but this ride nearly killed me, both literally and in spirit. After that ride I started carrying ample food, and made sure the cleats were nice and tight.
Like others above, I haven't ridden it in 5 years. Before I moved to Berkeley, I was in school at Michigan and would ride that trail system 3 or 4 times a week. I never got tired of it; 2, 5, 10, 15, 18 miles, you choose. I still remember getting up that first climb over all those logs. Actually I can remember pretty much every obstacle there was, and I never did clean the entire run. I got really close, but there was always something, like that stupid sandpit climb that eats tires and drags the bike to a complete stop.
I really miss that trail. I love the riding in Cali (TAHOE RULES!!), but Poto made me feel like I was riding into the middle of nowhere. I guess it was my escape from reality. There's just something really beautiful about rolling singletrack through the trees in summer with the sounds of thunder in the distance. A ride in late fall with the smell of decomposing leaves of red, yellow and orange strewn about the forest floor. And a jump in the lake after a nice hard ride. I'm hoping to enjoy it once again when I visit the parents next summer.
Excellent recap, thanks!
Jay |
| you're welcome... | ®andyA
Sep 10, 2003 12:58 PM | | Yup, 100oz of water in the c-bak, another bottle of H2O and 2 PB&J's in a cooler and I was still beat! ;-)
Poto is definitely one-of-a-kind. Hope you get the chance to ride it again.
Randy |
| re: Poto, Passion, and Personal Demons - A Ride Recap (Prologue) | pedalinbob
Sep 11, 2003 6:20 AM | | the poto is not a ride for beginners--it will kick your butt!!!
I have been riding it for over a decade. the first time i rode it, I was on a 35lb rigid steel murray. ouch.
I think there are several major challenges to the poto.
the first is the climbing. the severe hills you spoke of are also referred to as "the hills of Hell". there are 3 distinct steep, looose and quite technical climbs...closely spaced. you barely get your breath before climbing another. there are many more hills to conquer.
the next issue is the sand/roots/rocks/loose gravelly conditions. they are everywhere--and the sand can be DEEP. i cannot stress how difficult it can be to safely navigate these atrocities!
another issue would be decending: at the sign that reads "caution, steep downhill", you had better be careful. it has roots with 1+ foot dropoffs into sand/rocks with trees in the middle and a dropoff to your left. oh, and it is very loose and you are going downhill into a rt hand turn.
there are several hair-raising downhills to play on.
Bugs? plenty of bugs.
the poto is a wonderfully fun trail--truly a deceptive demon.
Bob |
| Agree whole-heartedly... | ®andyA
Sep 11, 2003 6:38 AM | | Deceptive is a very applicable word to describe Poto. Just reading about it a couple years ago made me cringe. Luckily, with time and patience - and bolstered confidence :p - I was finally able to enjoy the experience of riding the demon. "Wonderfully Fun?" - HE// YEAH! (yes, pun intended -lol).
Randy |
| There's something about that place.... | Ska!
Sep 11, 2003 6:53 AM | | Another Passionate (mac) and I went there a while back to meet two other Passionates (MiGuEl (sp) and ftcuster, or, as we like to call him, "ftcusser" or "flat custer" or... long story that maybe someone will tell you.) Anyway, on our way up, a monsoon started and our guides backed out thinking there was no way we'd show up in that mess. Seriously, the rain was incredible. Well, they don't call us crazy Canucks for nothing; we were there, early.
Once we figured they were a no-show, mac and I bolted on our own. We finished the loop alright but not without literally a dozen mechanical problems, a water-destroyed map, bugs, bugs, bugs, and more mechanicals. Everything was attributed to that rain. I could seriously go on about it all day. The weirdest stuff imaginable happened that day. I still talk and laugh about that adventure. I always thought the area was appropriately named (Hell, Michigan). Back in the day when someone tried to come up with something to call it they must have tried to ride it in the rain! Voila! Hell!
I've always wanted to go back and I think I may in the next few weeks if all goes well.
I loved the technical descents and the climbs there are fantastic but I don't like the beach-like sand much on any trail.
It's an interesting place. Great fun.
Way to tackle the demons. In Hell no less.
Ska!
p.s. anyone know what happened to Migs and/or ft? How they doing? |
| Appropriately named... | ®andyA
Sep 11, 2003 7:19 AM | | ... for sure. Even in great weather, the ride was a challenge to complete. It's just a he//uva (Oooo, another pun :p) ride. Just can't imagine doing it in horrid weather like you and some of the other posters mention.
Unfortunately sand (of all types) seems to be a common trait to many MI trails - or at least to the half-dozen I've ridden.
Thanks Ska!
Randy |
| test | JimC.
Sep 12, 2003 5:03 AM | | |
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