More time in Naples

Naples, NY is just too much fun to stay away from. Trails are about 45 minutes away give or take and offer multiple routes, incredible scenery, lung searing climbs and bike busting descents. With the trail building going on at Ontario County Park (check the map for the gory details), the trail network in the area is getting even better.

Last night, I headed for another go with Matt Hanggi down in Naples.

Yup, we climbed up to the top of that overlook and we are heading down into that valley!

The plan was to get down, do a few sections, grab the lights and do a little bit more. I've been doing a ton of riding lately and getting a little dis-satisfied with the constant intake of gels, liquid supplements, bars, etc. Last night I decided to go a whole different route:

The dawn of a new age in riding nutrition

We managed to pull of a nice little ride. Stats: 3:15, 52k, 1350m of climbing.

First 10k was a nice little road climb to the trail head

Right of the bat we hit a nice little 10k climb. I noticed I was feeling quite good and decided to test myself a little bit. I climbed about as well as I could. I wasn't ever really suffering and I toiled along on the flats not pushing it as hard as I could've. After a bit I realized I was on pace to set a new PR, so I started grinding away the last 2-3k to set a better time. I managed to climb it in 29:30, a good record, the usual 'decent' time to climb the hill is around 40 minutes. A far cry from my PR on the road (23:30), but I'll take it for sure.

At the top we dove into OCP where Hanggi has been spending plenty of time, marking manicuring and ensuring the existence of the trail network. Got to ride a few new sections. It seems every time I head to Naples, I'm treated with a new trail. Kinda like Edmund's turkish delight heading down there. Can't ever seem to get enough.

Superfly is rocking and rolling as usual

After the awesomely fun OCP descent, we headed over to Cutler to ride the Orange Trail. It's a main staple on the Hardcore 24 course coming up next weekend. I've ridden and raced the trail numerous times and it never disappoints. Besides I'll need to know it inside and out as I'll be half asleep riding it here in a few weeks. We were greeted by the Wednesday night Crew at the parking lot for Cutler. 20 or so fellas, out escaping from the wives, riding and sharing a few brews. We chatted and hung for a bit, but the lights were at the car and dusk was approaching fast. It's nice to see a large group of riders like that out and having fun.

After a brief pit stop at the car to mount the lights, we headed up the Parish road Carriage Trail climb. I was still feeling pretty good so I was able to gave it a little bit of gas there as well. At the top we jumped into the Hi-Tor section and had fun negotiating the slick roots and rocks from the short and light rain that we had just ridden through. It's always fun to work on the tech skills, even more fun at night!

Luckily we emerged from Hi-Tor unscathed and were ready for the finale, the DEC descent. Blasting down the descent at night is a little hairy. High speeds, singletrack on the edge of a ravine, shale rock gardens and some good drops keep you on your edge. The first section, I might as well have closed my eyes. Hitting the shale river bed, my light was bouncing around and creating all kinds of funky tricks on the eyes. I just pointed the Superfly straight and kept moving forward. Ate up the trail with ease.

I'm feeling great and ready for this weekend's Plattekill 6 hour race. round #2 of the NYSERS.

Currently playing in iTunes: Step Right Up by Black Lips