Exploratory Dirt Time

Yesterday was an unexpected day off, so I used the opportunity to jump on the Troll and ride some more trails before I take the knobbies off. Once again, I headed to Veteran's Park. It's close enough to my house that it's lack of trails is beat out by it's convenience. Yesterday, though, I made an effort to seek out some new stuff. I was glad I did. It turned out to be more than I expected.

The first little off-shoot trail turned out to be nothing. I went out with a goal of finding something new. Although this little deer trail was new, it was boring. It went on and on into a field. I followed it for about 100 yards before I got bored and turned back to the main trail. I kept my chin up and decided to keep looking.

Eventually I found miles of double track with lots of side trails to explore. This hill was a bit daunting with all the mud. I was in my granny gear, just sliding from back and forth with each pedal stroke. It was tough to get traction but I slowly made my way to the top. When I descended sloppy hills like this, it was a wild ride. My front tire would slide out from under me and I'd have to work hard to stay upright. Somehow, I managed to keep the rubber down for the entire ride.

The mud wasn't miserable by any means. It seemed to only be on the very top of the ground surface. I've had trips out here when I would sink deep into the ground and it wasn't ridable. This stuff just made things interesting, not impossible.

I found an old barn that was still in use. I guess I was on someone's property. There aren't any markings that tell you when you leave Public Park and enter Private Property. I would imagine that these land owners get a lot of trespassing for that reason. I didn't see anyone around though. It was an erie system of single track and double track. I would guess there are lots of people that come out here for no good reasons. It's so close to suburbia but remote enough to stay unseen.

This basketball goal was literally in the middle of nowhere. Someone would have had to walk hundreds of yards or ride a four-wheeler out here to play. It was quite odd.

From the ghosts of mountain bikers passed. I'm just assuming this guy was trespassing like me and his wheel was shot with a shotgun. This tire tread is the only evidence :)

I was very pleased with this exploratory trip. Veteran's Park is great, but small. There's nothing technical out there for interesting riding. It's just a couple miles of trails. From what I found today, I could get in decent mileage on dirt without doubling back over and over again. It'll be fun to keep these trails in the rolodex of riding options.

Get out there.