It's just fun to say. "Scarce O' Fat" This is the name of a gravel road in Brown County. This road connects Hwys 45 & 46 through Yellowwood State Forest. With temps around 18 degrees in the morning, I opted to do a gravel road ride on Big Wheel.
This is a ride I've been itching to do for a while. It's not that the ride itself is that spectacular; I guess I've attached some sentimental value to it. Scarce O' Fat road has given me plenty of "Firsts." It's the first place I took Max on a hike; it's the first place I went cross country skiing; and it's the first ride I did on Big Wheel.
Angela's Mountain Biking History: In 2003, I went to visit friends in Arizona where we rented mountain bikes. Mine was something like a Specialized Enduro with buttloads of travel and suspension. I WAS HOOKED! I knew I would be a mountain biker during that ride.
Megan and I riding in Sedona--my first mtb ride!
Upon returning to Indiana I bought an entry-level Cannondale. I started riding with my current neighbor at Wapehani and a couple of other trails. THIS WAS AWEFUL! The trees, roots, and layouts were
nothing like Sedona. I hated it. After only a handful of rides I retired the bike. Three years later, Mr. Wonderful decided he needed a new mountain bike. Out of spite, I joined in this "team" purchase of Gary Fisher Paragon 29ers. My childish reasoning, "
if he can spend money, I can too."
These bikes were beautiful. The Pearl Yellow had gold flakes that glittered in the sun. Having never ridden it, I knew I would love it--because it was pretty.
So, Jason suggested a ride through the forest, and I happily agreed. We packed a lunch and embarked on a non-technical mountain bike ride--the one I did today. We ate lunch on the dam of Yellowwood lake then turned for home. I thought I was going to die; the hills at the end were excruciating! But the bike was awesome.
Having got in on "the deal" with the bikes, I was "required" to race at least 3 races for The Bicycle Station. I entered the local race, my first, and won the Beginner category. I've been hooked ever since.
Today I found myself doing the same ride only with snow and lots of sun. THANK GOODNESS for the sun. I've missed it lately.
Turning off hwy 45 onto Tulip Tree, I questioned my sanity. The road had been plowed--good. The now packed snow seemed to have a glassy look in places. Ice? Riding alone, would I fall, break a bone and be left to freeze until my husband figured out I should have been home 59 hours ago? Just do it. I kept riding without problems. That is, until I reached the gate. The gravel road ends at the forest where it becomes a fire road. Snow plows don't traverse fire roads. Within 10 feet I knew it would be difficult. Hikers & skiers made the crusty snow produce an odd path that bumped me every which way. When I wasn't getting bogged down in snow I was getting bucked. This would call for some skills practice! YAY! After more than a half hour (slow learner), I realized it was best to blaze my own trail on the fresh snow instead of trying to ride over partially frozen foot/ski prints.
The little chain ring was quite useful in providing easy, even cadence for the rollers. I still had to pay careful attention as my tires were sliding all over the place. Again, I was ecstatic to get in some practice while keeping my HR at a somewhat acceptable level. As I type, my arms don't hurt--tomorrow may be another story.
I had estimated the fire road to be 3 miles. I think I was way off, but I have no way to tell since I didn't bring the GPS. On the Google map above, I sketched the red line in where no road showed on the map.
The instructions given to me were, "the trails that go off to the left are hiking trails. The roads to the right do not take you where you need to go. Also, don't go on any of the logging roads to the left or right. At the Y, go" AHHH. Go which way???? I didn't remember. I got to the "Y" and couldn't remember which way to go. I stopped to look at some trail signs that were over 300 years old. Best I could tell, I should go right b/c left takes me to the lake.
After miles and miles of nothing, I finally came upon a sign for Scarce O Fat & Tecumseh. I knew I was where I needed to be.
The rest of the ride was snowy gravel roads. Even the hills weren't as bad as I remembered. After reaching Lanham Ridge, I was even short on time. So, I turned at the next gravel road--County Line Road taking it to Southshore. By this time, something had frozen and seized on the bike leaving me with only my middle chain ring in the front. I was happy to have gears in the rear but worried about Richardson road as it's kind of steep and was covered in snow.
It was no problem. Well, no problem when I'm supposed to keep my HR down; I could just slow down with a reasonably good excuse!
The ride was awesome today. I downloaded my HR data just to see how many calories I had burned. My own theory is HR monitors severely miscalculate calories, so I knew the number I was looking at was at least 13000 too few. So, I enjoyed my new favorite ice cream: Edy's slow churned peanut butter cup. MMMMMMMMMm.
Happy Saturday and Happy Sunshine! I'm ready for Summer. Have I mentioned that yet?
