Gravel Ride of the Week: Potomac Heritage Trail
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When was the last time that you played like a kid? We all have that inner kid inside of us, but too often as adults we suppress the fun side of ourselves. Being childish is one thing, but being childlike allows you to see the world as if you're seeing it for the first time. This was very much the mindset that I embraced when I set out on my latest Gravel Ride of the Week. As a third day of consecutive winter snowfall began, I decided that it was time to break away from the indoor training sessions and instead headed outside with one simple goal: Go play in the snow with my bike! The result was one unforgettable ride that you will surely want to check out for yourself in this blog post and the highlights video that goes along with it.
A few months ago, I joked in a winterize your bike post, how "winter is coming" and pulled up historical footage to showcase some dramatic images of the winter storms that can often creep up on us here in Northern Virginia. Well, sure enough, winter came! After two years with little to no snowfall, winter decided to really show its face towards the end of January 2021, bringing with it a good amount of snow. Lots of snow does have one advantage: it provides the perfect playground for a snow day adventure. So, I fitted all the winter riding accessories that I mentioned in that previous blogpost and maximized a snow day with some outdoor fun.
If you were lucky enough to grow up in an area that gets lots of snow, then you’ll surely have memories from childhood of heading outside to build a snowman, or spend hours sledding down the biggest hill in your neighborhood. I can assure you that throughout my 30 years of growing up and living in South Africa that the weather there doesn’t deliver anything close to the winter wonderlands seen in the Northern Hemisphere. I can recall only one winter day that gave us less than 1/4 inch of snow. Since moving to the US, I have surely been challenged to recalibrate my idea of what constitutes winter weather. I’m happy to say that I’m finally at the point where snowfall and colder weather no longer force me indoors for months on end. Instead, I’ve come to really enjoy being outside during the winter months. An appreciation for the cold and snow was exactly the feeling I had when I embarked on my Gravel (Snow) Ride of the Week! It really felt like I was tapping into that inner kid who had no other objective, but to have loads of fun outside in the snow.
The ride followed a fairly straight-forward out and back route. What made it special, however, was that it included the truly spectacular Potomac Heritage Trail, running along the Potomac River. This particular trail runs for many miles and includes some fairly technical sections where only a dual suspension MTB is advisable. In order to avoid these tricky parts I opted to stick to a less technical section of the trail that starts about 2-miles from Riverbend Park in the direction of Seneca Park. While an excellent route in the winter, I’d recommend that you avoid this trail (for riding) throughout the warmer months because it can get fairly overgrown and full of cobwebs along the way. Once the leaves fall and the trail becomes better exposed, it makes for a much more enjoyable experience. Throw in a few inches of snow on top of this trail and it gets elevated to a whole other level!
Wow! Breath taking! I really don’t have the words to fully capture the scenery. I’ll just let the pictures and video paint the landscape for you. Was it a challenge to ride? Absolutely! Was it worth it? For sure! If you ever want to give snow riding a go, then be sure to fit some wide tires to your bike. The wider you can go, the better. I’ve been running the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M 50x650B tires on my gravel bike for the last few months and set the pressure to 20 psi for this ride. It provided just enough traction as I spun my way through the deep snow. Spinning at a higher cadence is a key technique that you’ll need to master for this type of riding. I rode 90% of this ride in my easiest gear (36T front, 40T rear), all while on a perfectly flat terrain. Loose snow, similar to sand, is much better conquered by maintaining a high spinning cadence instead of using sheer brute power. If you can achieve these two things, low pressure and high cadence, then you’re all set to give snow riding a shot!
Wrap-Up
This is a ride that I’ll surely remember for many reasons. I really felt like a kid who got to go play outside on a snow day. From time to time, it’s certainly worth breaking away from the convenience and structured nature of indoor riding and head out the door to simply play and have some fun. Give yourself permission, channel that inner kid for a day. Trust me, the world isn’t all that bad when you see it through awe-inspired eyes.
Leave a comment to let us tell us about a ride that made you feel like a kid.
-Wiehan
