Andrew Knizner
ask002@marietta.edu
As I walk up the front steps of Dorothy Webster Hall to meet the Marietta College Mountain Biking Crew, I instantly become weary. Ryan Till, 21, a senior at Marietta College majoring in environmental studies and creator of the MCMBC, is sitting on the porch listening to music blasting from his iPod. He is equipped with a red specialized mountain bike, already splattered with mud from earlier rides. He wears clip-in shoes, a full water bottle in its holder, an aggressive-looking helmet and a hiking backpack carrying what I assume to be bike tools, as well as a spare tire or two just to be safe. On the other hand, I only have a water bottle and my black specialized mountain bike. I have no helmet for head protection or backpack filled with extra supplies, just my phone and wallet in my pocket.
As we wait for others, he tells me about the group. “I created the Facebook group to organize group rides, but the crew itself came alive as the community became stronger,” he said. “Mountain biking is only half the fun. Being able to connect with those in the group on a social level is the real purpose.”
Other riders are very appreciative of the group Till has created.
“It (my favorite aspect) would have to be meeting new riders and just going out and enjoying ourselves,” remarked Johnny Lo, 21, a senior majoring in petroleum engineering and MCMBC group member.
The group Till created has been successful at bringing Marietta College students together under their common hobby of trail riding and turning strangers into riding buddies.
“Usually we get out in a big group ride once a week too, but bikers are always posting about smaller rides throughout the week,” Till said. “It’s a self-sufficient group.”
It seems this afternoon it will only be Ryan and I riding together, most likely due to the last minute post in the Facebook group.
Although it’s Friday and the weekend is upon us Till seems to at ease for a person who is a community advisor, member of Delta Tau Delta, orientation leader, member of Student Alumni Association, member of the McDonough program, and supervisor at the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center climbing wall.
“You want to start with the warm-up trail,” said Till as we rode our bikes, nodding towards the Old Walnut Trail trailhead located on top of the steep hill at the intersection of Butler and 7th Street at the edge of the wood line.
Old Walnut Trail runs through the thin stretch of woods located behind The Mustard Seed Café. Till leads this stretch. I am careful to place my wheels where he did his because the early fallen sycamore leaves conceal the jutting rocks and winding roots that plague the trail. I only take my eyes off of the trail for a split second to look at the scenic view of Marietta College’s campus and my handlebars scrape the bark off of a tree. Till is rounding the next turn, attacking the trail with his legs bent absorbing the uneven terrain laid down before him.
“I have to change my gears,” Till said at the end of the section. “You lead this one.”
Through heavy breaths, I consent.
As I take off, I notice Till waits a little. I am not sure if it is because he knows he will catch up and doesn’t want to crowd my space, or that he wants to identify my skill level. I pedal hard and try to speed through the narrow trail.
We proceed to the middle school trail, which covers public and private land. Ryan quickly ascends the hill pushing forward doing little wheelies –bringing the front tire off of the ground- as he pedals hard over the roots crowding his path. On our descent I only see flickers of him through the thick foliage and the copious amounts of wild flowers that line the trail. I then catch a glimpse of him riding high on the crude edges of a wavy right-left switchback as if he is surfing it.
I’m starting to realize that this ride isn’t simply going to be a relaxing ride through the woods, taking in the scenery while carrying a conversation. Ryan is racing against himself, in search of a heart-pounding white-knuckle ride.
“I haven’t done that trail in a long time,” said Till, smiling – although most would have thought he had ridden it earlier that day.
“Mountain biking gives me something a little more than just riding down a path,” he said. “There’s a control factor. You’re balancing between giving too much and too little, crashing and not going hard enough.”
I lead the next section and find myself pedaling harder than before trying to find that thin line between shredding the trail or eating its dirt. Again, Ryan lets me gain distance before he begins; I am starting to think he knows he will catch up.
“Where to next?” I gasp between gulps of water.
“You know that one trail with all the rocks and the three-foot drop?” questions Till, as he gets visibly excited thinking about it. I nod my head. “Let’s go there.”
In a vacant lot up on the hill behind Subway, a connector trail that leads to the Kris-Mar trail begins. While ascending a step hill our tires spin out as the treads fight to gain traction against the thin coat of pea gravel that covers the trail. This small section is full of gnarled roots that kick up our back wheels much like a school bus going over a speed bump.
The rest of the section is a long, slow uphill involving gear changes and the clank of the chains as the derailleur continuously moves it up and down the chain rings. At this moment in time I wish that I had clip-in shoes like Till’s.
When I bring this up to him, he replies, “They give somewhere around thirty percent more power, because you are locked in during the upward motion.”
I have never bought clip-in shoes because I want be able to ditch my bike if I am about to wipe out. Till uses the clip-in shoes because they make him feel one with the bike he has to fully commit to every action he makes. He likes the control it gives him, so he can react to whatever the trail throws at him in a moment’s notice.
The thick vegetation makes me curl my body inward, so I do not scrape against the briers and limbs crowding the path. I can hear Till’s tires behind me as they crunch over the dead leaves and twigs covering the ground. I tell myself to get my fingers of the breaks and my bike rushes forward as it begins to pick up speed. The mechanical sounds off our bikes coincide with the natural sounds of birds chirping and squirrels scurrying through the woods. The trail brings us to an over grown field that shows some remnants of a trail going through it. Our speed drops and slowly we make our way through what seems to be tick city. I almost fly over my handle bars as my front wheel hits a large rock hidden in the under growth.
“Rock!” I yell to warn Till who is close behind.
At the end of the trail we decide to take on one more before we call it a day. After biking a mile and a half up-hill on roads, we are high up on a ridgeline and we begin our decent through the steep topography. After a minute or so Till is ahead of me and the only sign of him once being there is the dust dancing in the afternoon sunlight from his tires kicking it up. I finally see him and think I am gaining on him then I realize he has stopped to let me take the lead. We escape the darkening woods as the trail pours out in to a well-lit power line. A few twist and turns later the trail ends just above Goodwill as it hits Academy Drive.
As we bike back towards campus we ride down the big hill on Glendale Road. Cranking our bikes to the highest gear, we begin to fly down the hill hungry for the speed that is absent on the trails. Ryan hunches over and leans out over his handlebars, getting into an aerodynamic position. We whizz past parked cars and we are forced to slow down when one pulls out in front of us assuming it could accelerate as fast as our speed. Ryan rides close behind, tailing it.
Having other friends who own mountain bikes, I ask Till about how others can join the group.
“Anyone who has experience or is interested in getting introduced to mountain biking is welcome to join,” he said. “We have guys riding who just picked up their first trail-bike last week. They’re just as a part of it as anyone else.”
As I leave dinner, I tell Till to inform me when the next group ride takes place. After Till assures me he will, he continues talking with other members of the group, mapping out the next adventure.
