This morning was all about getting to the Ma Pa trail to see how the bike (Gravel) would handle the trail. As I expected the ride was not as fast as it would be on my road bike. What I didn’t expect was that it would be softer, and require more effort without taxing my heart rate. As usual when I went to get my things together for this ride, I had problems finding the little things. If it wasn’t my special glasses or my heart rate monitor, it was something stupid like my keys or wallet. I knew that I had just seen them but as it goes, I was unable to find them. Such is the case when you are rushing against the clock. By the time I had everything loaded and ready to go, the sun was already cresting the horizon. This was good news as it meant that I would have more than enough light to be on the trail. This also mean that I would have more traffic to fight on the way back as more people would be on the road fighting to get in to position for the next traffic light or stop sign. Riding the gravel bike on the road today was like riding a mountain bike with drop handle bars. The efforts that I put in to the pedals taxed more of my muscles than my lungs. Usually when I race up hills I am fighting to keep my breathing under control. My legs and on the cusp of burning and my back feels like is has a mind of its own. This can all be attributed to fit. A lower seat height, a slightly turned saddle position, would address most of these issues. On the gravel bike, these were not even a factor. I didn’t feel like I was in any sort of pain. I was moving slower than I would be on my road bike. That is to be expected. What I didn’t expect was to have the bike just chew through the hills. This was a welcome change from the road bike. I’m not sure how I feel about sacrificing power up the hills for speed on the flats and slopes. When I reached the trail head the first thing I noticed was a fallen tree blocking the path. The sun had illuminated the sky enough for me to see all the details that the path would offer. I carried the bike over the tree, remounted an began my trek along the trail. The trail was surprisingly well maintained. The flats and most of the turns were clean and free from debris. IT was the rises and the hills that were mostly covered with gravel rocks and garbage. The first half of the trails I negotiated cautiously. Never dropping the chain from the big chain ring, I feathered my brakes to keep my lines short, maintaining control of the bike. Its easy to get carried away and think that you know what is coming when you cant see it. Its even easier to get yourself in to trouble that you cant get yourself out of. Turn after turn, hill after hill, I found myself handling the bike more and more like a mountain bike. I would have powerful surges to get up hills, then I was either coasting or just noodling my legs to keep the bike moving. By the time I reached the second half of the trail, everything changed. I was no longer surrounded by trees, now everything was open and well manicured. I was no longer riding on gravel, but a paved trail that called the bike to speed up an fly. I was no longer riding the bike like a mountain bike with drop handle bars, now I was pedaling like I was on a race bike, fighting to get to the front of a non-existing pack. The trail turn in a series of ‘S’ patterns that tested my biking handling skills. At the end of the slopes I was climbing a ‘S’ up the final hill of the trail. As I let the park I was reminded how hard it was to climb. This climb was one that was particularly difficult as it turns and continues to rise up wards. As the end is unable to be seen that makes it harder to climb as there is nothing to focus on. The ride just feels like it goes on forever. When I did reach the top. I turned to the left on instinct as opposed to the right. This lead me up a set p stair step hills that spit me out at Mountain Road. The hills were abnormally sharp and steep. Had I followed my GPS, I would have found myself at Harford Road, where a set of rolling hills would have guided me to a waiting traffic light. Being I didn’t follow this route, I found myself waiting for passing traffic before I could head back. This ride feels like a cheat. There is a lot of climbing at the beginning, but there is little pedaling at the end. Should I feel the need to just noodle my legs, its possible to coast all the way down to Route 40 /Pulaski highway. Lessons learned. This was still a great ride.