Exploring

In an effort to always find new places to ride, particularly the fat-bike, and to further my knowledge of small and large chunks of green-space scattered  throughout my home range, I went for a recon/exploration fat-bike ride. I had to work on Saturday and brought my Pug along just in case I had the urge to ride. I wasn't all that enthused about riding after putting in 7.5 hours of hard labor (construction) beginning at 6am, but I'm glad I did. Initially, I headed for an area where I thought I might find some trail. Early this spring I saw a guy riding a full blown downhill bike in the woods. strange ? It turns out there is the layout of a secret downhill run being built on a very steep bluff. For the sake of not ruining this, I will not reveal it's whereabouts. P.S good luck finding it.

This was so off-camber the Husker-Du's could not hold an edge on it

The drop on the other side of this jump would have killed me if I had tried it

I thought I could ride the last section of the downhill course, but it was so steep I went over the bars and nearly bit through my lip. The trees did a good job of keeping me from rolling all the way down the hill. I didn't have my helmet either.

If only I had found the pole, I could have been fishing

Home Sweet Home

I really like what they have done with the place

I found this unattended fire, perhaps cavemen inhabit the area

The Goat path

More Goat path

         Next, I headed over to some renegade footpath trails I knew existed from my days of living in the area. To my surprise they were in excellent condition for riding. Although not legal/approved, they were well trimmed and well traveled. In the past they were so choked off with brush and sticks it was a real pain to try and ride them. Now, I'm sure lots of other cyclist know about them, as I saw the tell tale chain ring marks embedded in the fallen trees crossing the trail. One sketchy downhill brought me to the bank of the Mississippi. From there the trail sort-of ran out and the fun began, as I was plowing my way through brush, rocks, trash, and fallen trees. I made it nearly to the lock and dam near the old Ford plant when the angle of the bluff got so steep it was a straight shot into the river. I backtracked a little and scrambled my way up a cliff and headed back to my vehicle. Part of this route will most likely be added into the Fat-Bike Adventure Ride next fall.