Alum Creek Phase 1
Another trail brought to you by COMBO, today will be all about Alum Creek Phase 1 (P1). We are big fans of the trails at Alum Creek and nine times out of ten you can find us here on nice weekends. The beauty of these trails is that they are short enough that you can do one lap for a quick ride or do more than one lap to rack up the miles, and maybe shoot for a time PR. If you’re not feeling P1, there are two additional trails: Gnomewood (1.6 mile beginner trail) and Phase 2 (5.5 miles intermediate trail).
Map at the trailhead. It says the trail is 6.4 miles, but is actually more like 5.4-5.5 miles.
Phase 1 (P1) is a 5.4 mile beginner/intermediate trail in Central Ohio. Don’t be fooled by the ‘beginner’ label; while there may not be a lot of climbs on this trail, your technical skills will definitely be challenged with all the roots!
In general, I love this trail for a) the aforementioned lack of climbs and b) the constant need to stay focused on picking your line. The moment I start to feel cocky is the moment I let a root kick me off the path and directly into a tree. The first time I rode P1, I remember thinking “OMG I’m a real mountain biker!” because of how intentional all my lines had to be.
Side note: if you keep hearing people say ‘pick your line’ but don’t really know what it means (like I didn’t for far too long), it essentially means looking ahead at the trail and deciding the line or path where you want to go. This impacts how you enter the section, exit the section, and prepare for the next one. For example, if I’m crossing a wooden bridge, I actually want to look ahead at the end of the bridge and the next section to avoid falling off. Learned that the hard way.
P1 has a lot to offer - loads of roots, some flowy sections, a few switchbacks, wooden bridges, and, if you’re feeling adventurous, a fun wooden downhill ramp and wallride. Heads up: there is a section on the back half that requires riding in gravel alongside the guardrail of a busy road (but not actually on the road). If it’s been raining, be sure to check trail conditions before hitting P1. It doesn’t drain as well as the others and can remain pretty slick and muddy. You’ve been warned!
One of many bridge sections. This one has an option to bypass.
Since this trail is a bit harder to identify unique sections, I’ll be trying something a little different than my usual recap. In no particular order, some of my thoughts from this weekend’s ride, which will give both insight into the trail and also way too much insight on me:
I legitimately feel like I don’t know how to ride a bike. I’ve done this before? News to me. Oh boy, here we go. Roots right away. Okokokok focus. Get out of your head! Wait, no, stay in your head, pick your line. WOAH where did that drop off come from? Not even a quarter of a mile in and I almost just clipped the trail and slid right down. Wouldn’t that be a great way to kick off this ride. Ok, up this little climb. Oofph. Why did that climb feel so hard?
Log pile. Cool. Ride through it.
Where’d Tyler go? He must get so bored riding with me. Oh well, it’s good for him.
Roots. Roots. Roots. So many roots.
Oh yeah, this section. Hit it hard, but not too hard. Shit, too hard. Popped my back wheel out. Need to work on that. How do people remember how to do everything AND go fast? I could never.
Why is my helmet strap so tight? Breathing through my mouth feels like I’m being choked. Am I already that tired that I’m breathing through my mouth? Yikes. But really, why is it so tight? Did I gain weight? Are there neck and chin exercises I should be doing? Oh wow, why did I immediately go to losing weight instead of simply loosening my chin strap? The conditioning is deep.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Wooden bridge. LOOK AHEAD STOP LOOKING DOWN.
Really another bridge? Bridge, slight descent, roots, bridge. Recipe for an Annie crash. LOOK AHEAD.
Log pile. PUSH IT. Quit letting the bike ride you. Pedal over it. Why are you slowing down? Trying to let your foot get caught on the logs?
I should stop and take some pictures. Gotta get that content. Except, every trail picture looks the--OOPHF okok focus. These roots are nonstop.
Ok, one of two climbs down. Great.
Log pile, again? Do people enjoy these? Am I the odd man out on these?
Maybe instead of writing a normal blog post, I should just dump all these stream of consciousness thoughts and see what happens. It’d probably just be lots of “Oh shit, log pile, bridge, bridge, bridge.” To the point, though..
Oh shit, the long bridge. Except this isn’t over water. Could easily just hop into the grass if I needed to. What was it Michael said? ‘Just pretend the wood is the trail’ seems easy enough, but why do these damn bridges have me wobbling left and right like a newborn deer?
OUCH WHERE DID THAT TREE COME FROM? Did I just break my pinky? No, no way. I would know. But that does NOT feel great. That’s what I get for trying to turn my brain off.
Okay, are we doing the wooden ramp today? Is today the day we try it? It’s coming up, time to decide. Okay, we’re doing it.
Shouldn’t have done it. That’s going to leave a bruise.
Oh wow, almost done. This trail always flies by!
Just the tip of the iceberg here, but you get the point :)
It’s hard being this photogenic. At least I loosened the chin strap.
All in all, P1 is a classic trail that is always fun. Depending on how you hit all the roots, it can feel like a new experience each time. The biggest downside to this trail? Two port-a-johns right by the trailhead, providing little privacy if anxiety gets the better of your stomach. Otherwise, they’re usually in decent shape and stocked with TP!
Have you ridden Alum Creek P1? Drop in the comments if you love log piles or not!