A Couple Weeks in...

Well its been almost two weeks that I've been in my new town. The weather has been damn good compared to what I've been training in, though its too cold for most down here. Funny how that works. I've been able to get about 7 or 8 nice long rides in, and its great to be getting in the mileage and the quality miles. I mentioned in my last post about Cherokee Park; I've ridden there quite a bit, but I've branched out to include Seneca Park which is right next door. Its got a nice climb in it too, but I use it to loop back into Cherokee. With these two parks, and all the roads around there, I've been able to make great, entertaining, and challenging loops.

This past Monday, I had a great 4 hour ride that started off somewhat dry, and turned into and wet and windy funfest. I rode up into what are known as Floyd's Knobs. They rise up around 700-800 ft or so, and you can really pick and choose how you want to climb and descend. Leg-searing super steep climb, or would you like a nice long gradual rise to the top? The same goes for the descents. I chose a relatively middle range climb up, and rode the top for a while, until the rain really came down. The descent I chose is my favourite, its long, and sweeping, so its very fast. In the rain, it was a little sketchy. I made it down, and by that point, my legs were covered in grit and grime. I continued on south in to a town right on the Ohio River, I found some interesting roads, and good climbs and scenery. I also found some nice brick streets to play on as well. That ride ended with me being covered from head to toe in grime, and I loved every minute of it.

Yesterday was a super slow day at the shop, so I took off early and headed to Iroquois Park. Its another huge park on the Southwest side of town. I did a circuit race there last year, and really enjoyed the course. I'm not sure of the distance of the main loop, but it rolls and has a couple twisty climbs and descents. The best part about Cherokee is the really long ascent to the top. Its just off of the main loop, and gradually rises up to the top, and then there is a loop around the top that would make for an excellent hilltop crit. From up there, you have views of the entire city in every direction. You can also see the forest on the south part of town that really has climbs in it. I'll be making it out there in the next week or two.

All in all, this move has proven to be a really positive one for me. The riding is just plain awesome compared to what I have back home, and the community really supports it. Riding in Cherokee, on a colder, and windy day, there were at least 30-40 cyclists out there. I think that the community supports overall recreation, because while thats a pretty good number of bikes; the number of runners and walkers dwarfs that.

I'm looking at a house to rent, and one of the best things about it, it is in a neighbourhood that has ALL brick alleys, and a bunch of long streets. Now these aren't your nice smooth driveways that people have, these are old, rough, broken, cobbles that really require some focus. I can't wait to play on those.