Tuesdays are Back!

Seems like everyone has been pretty busy with life this summer, but apparently schedules are starting to open up again. We had 6 riders last night! It was a good ride too, everyone was going pretty hard, especially on the North loop. Although it was an all out, full open, leg twister - I think everyone felt like they got a good deep breath or two. I know I was sweating pretty good.

Trails were in good condition. No major blockages, besides one reroute on the South trail. There is some small debri that needs to be kicked off on a hike, but nothing that will take you down if you are paying attention.

I'm thinking about Krug tonight. Any takers? Call if interested. 752-2025

You thought this shit was ugly before

But look at it now. That's right, we're going for the ugliest page on the web. Getting close, I don't know. Probably should have ridden tonight instead of screwing around with this piece of shit.

Spiders

After eating about a pound and a half of spiders on the Corby South Loop I ran into Dave, Randy, and Tom heading out for a Sunday AM ride. Stopped to chat for a bit as Randy fixed the cables that he previously put on Dave's bike, that were originally purchased from Tom. Confused? Me too, but I think the jist was that everyone in that little circle had screwed eachother in one way or another.

Here's a picture of Randy tuning up Dave's bike on the back of his car - while he tells me what a pussy I am for the previous posts this week. Excuse me for having feelings. Well, after a good cry and a group hug we hit the trails again. I had to peel off after a North lap but it sounded like the rest of the group was heading to the girlscout camp trails. Good times....

Hey Guys!

Ran into Mike and Jeff at Corby North this evening. It's fun to see those guys - and I love Jeff's teal Yeti, should have got a picture of it. They helped me cut out one of the trees that had dropped in the storms this week. Trails were generally in good shape on both sides of the parkway, and there were only about 4-5 trees that made the trail impassable. There was only two that required the saw.

The big rains have brought some opportunities for improvement to light on the South trails. There are a couple steep ups and downs that have become white water washouts. On one of them I added a diverter log to send water over the side of the trail and down the hill. Hopefully no one knocks it out of the way. The other trails will need something similar, I think the water just needs to spill off the edge of the trail periodically and it should be fine.

All in all it was a beautiful ride. There were some unpleasant challenges though. The flying ants were out and I think I must have had over 100 of them in my hair by the time I got home. That's okay though, all the spiders I ran into in the trails needed a snack anyway. I think I shook 3 spiders out of my hair and jersey when I got home. Nasty.... Starting to look forward to fall and the first deep freeze. Also looking forward to day hikes in the long slow drizzles on a 40 degree day. The woods are just a completely different world on those days, and they are one of the things I have come to love about Northern Missouri.

Saw mama deer and what looks like a brand new fawn. I thought August was a little late to have a wobbly legged fawn tripping through the woods, but what do I know. I guess practically living in backyards, they probably don't have to work too hard to survive in the winter, but I imagine things would get a little rough if doe and fawn were in a little more wild area. Good luck friends.

Mid-Summers Night Acoustic Prelude

Last night was like a sweet, warm cup of cappuccino. The woods were opening up, getting ready for the rain. Wildlife was also out getting ready for a good soaking. An olfactory potpourri from a thousand sources settled into the low areas and hung like fog over the river.

Everything seemed like it was in tune and on rhythm, the cicadas, birds, and crickets filled out the string and woodwind section. The adjacent neighborhood dogs provided the rhythmic brass, and 29" tires rumbling through a rigid frame provided the essential base line.

As acoustic as it gets..... Every season has its perfect ride - Last night was the one for this summer.

Weeks Off

It's not just updates that I haven't been doing. I haven't ridden or maintained trails either.

After painting the house, I went to New York for a whirlwind weekend. Got to drink some of the good stuff, and see some sights - but no riding.

Since I got back I have been working quite a bit. Pretty far behind still.

Did get a chance to ride Corby on Sunday. Spent most of the 2hrs cutting out downed trees and branches, and as far as I know - all trails are now clear. Looked like most of the trees and branches had been there since the last time I rode 2-3 weeks ago - even the small stuff. Com'on gang, at least kick off the small stuff - the wheel you save could be your own.

Hoping to get out a little this week, and will try to post here and there. Sorry for the lame post, and lamer pictures.

Paint Sucks

Been off the bike for over a week now. Knees are fully recovered, so that is good.

I am in the middle of painting my house, and have vowed not to ride until it is done. Hopefully I have not bitten off more than I want to chew here.

Group is riding the trails tonight. Call down to the shop if you want in. Should be a nice cruisin' group.

Have fun sweating like crazy and munchin' spiders guys.

P.S.
I have all the wood needed to get the bridges repaired at Krug. Will need some help hauling it down there and setting in place though. Any volunteers for later next week sometime?

Down hill Slide

Well the Laramie Enduro is out of the way for me. It was a mixed success. Finished about 40 minutes faster than two years ago (when I was on a full suspension geared bike vs. this year on a full rigid single speed). Even still, the field was faster and I finished 101st this year vs. 88th two years ago.

In the single speed division I locked up the 14th place, right in the middle of the pack. We started with the Pros andExperts, and I am reasonably certain that some of the ss guys were pros too. The guy that got 7th in the ss division last year came in way behind me, so I don't know what that means.

Anyway, weather was beautiful for the race, course was in good shape, and I had a great time.

My daughter made the trek with me and my mom and stepdad caravanned up too. We all visited some family afterward and that was cool too. It was a great road trip with my daughter though, we had so much fun.

Here are a couple pictures from the race. Do I look shot?

Since then I haven't ridden. Trying to get the house painted, and as usually happens it is a bigger project than I hoped or bargained for. See you when the paint is drying.

Saddle Time

No trail riding for me this weekend, all dirt roads. Did 4 hours and 50 miles yesterday. Went out by Honey Creek, around the Amazonia Levy, then up through the hills to Country Club Village. Seems like dirt road rides usually turn up something interesting, but this one was pretty dull apart from a lot of deer on the road, beside the road, and bounding through corn fields.

Only a couple days till Laramie. Anything else going on this weekend that the world should know about?

Itchy

Well I got into something nasty. Poison oak, poison sumak, poison ivy - don't know which, don't care. All I know is that I would like to cheese-grate myself to death. Uhhhggg.

Rode last night with Aaron (who is getting pretty darn fast), and Tyson who hasn't ridden much this year but is still riding well. Did 2.5 laps on the south side and 1 on the north at Corby. It was a good ride.

Will be doing sporadic riding this weekend, so if anyone wants company - give me a call.

Quiet

It was a quiet evening in the park last night. I did one lap at Corby and didn't see a soul.

Be careful near the Corby South enterance. There is a tree that is about to fall on the trail. I tried to bring it down, but didn't feel like I could do it safely with out some rope or something. The wind will probably take it in the next few days.

Tried to map the GPS stuff last night for Krug, Corby, and the Scout Camp. Just as I was finishing up there was a fatal program error and I lost the file. Guess I will have to start over on that one.

Another Ass-kicker

Winding up for the Laramie Enduro at the end of the month. Did two-furs today. 2-laps Corby South, 2-laps Corby North, 2-laps Girl Scout Camp, 2-laps Krug. I figure this was about 32 miles of trail at the end of the day. Bet I ate 250 spiders at Krug. Next time I'll get a picture of one of those little bastards, incase some of you don't know what I'm talking about.

Took along the GPS from Forces of Nature to get a map on some of the trails that haven't been mapped yet. Batteries died about half way through the journey, so I didn't have a solid read on what I had accomplished.

32 miles doesn't sound like much, but when you throw the single speed, rigid bike, and type of trail into it - I think it was a good training day. Total bike time was about 4 hours.

Ran into Lance on the parkway between trails, he was on his way to infect a youngster with mountain biking fever. Hope everything worked out on their ride.

Jim was going to race at Smithville Lake - how did that go man?

Long Day

Randy and I did an epic. It had a little bit of everything.

We met some folks on the river. We talked to a guy on the hiway. We wend through some woods. Hung out with an old guy on a 4-wheeler. Rode into the Honey Creek Conservation area. Had lunch in a bar in Amazonia.

Randy was having a heck of a time with cramps, and it was hot - but we made it. Went through some interesting terrain, saw some interesting stuff.

Thurs night

Rode Corby with Jim, Rusty, and Aaron last night. Great weather, although I got rained on riding home in the dark.

After Corby, Aaron peeled off and Rusty, Jim, and I rode the Girl Scout Camp trail a couple times. Coming out of the trail Jim ripped a sidewall, bummer. That trail is a lot of fun, and definitely a technical challenge. I have to put my foot down a couple times in the rocks, at least until a good line develops. I think it is a little tougher picking through that stuff with the big wheels.

Here's Jim racing up the parkway to get to the Scout Camp:

After the flat we all rode back to Corby where Rusty and I took another full lap in the twilight. Rusty and Jim are riding fast - put them in the lead for most of the ride, as I was just trying to keep up.

It was a good night.

Heavy Use

Great night last night. Went out for a couple laps at Corby and found myself in a relative mtb traffic jam. Ran into John, who I had ridden with once or twice last summer. We did a lap South and North. Ran into Rusty, and did a partial lap with him. Saw some teenage types out on mountain bikes. They were walking the hills, but it's a start - and any start is a good start. Saw a guy on a nice Cannondale. Rusty talked to him and I forgot his name.

Also saw a couple hikers on the South loop.

Weather was great, trail conditions are very dry, but good, and people are friendly. It is fun to see the trails being used. Hats off to Randy, Shawn, Brian, Brad, Lance, Jim, Rusty, Javier, David, the Boyscout Troop, and all the others not listed who have worked so hard making these trails a reality. This trail system is really becoming something you can be proud of.

BTW, if I forgot someone - sound off in the comments.

News Story

Yep, Made the news - see below

Driver injured after hitting treeSt. Joseph News-PressA one-vehicle accident on Corby Parkway sent one woman to the hospital and blocked traffic for more than an hour as workers cleared a fallen tree from the roadway Sunday afternoon.Laurel J. Grimm, 21, was driving southeast at 4:16 p.m. on Corby Parkway between Corby Pond and Ashland Avenue when she lost control of her 2003 Chevrolet S10 and veered off the right side of the road. The truck crashed into trees along the road, one of which fell and blocked traffic, according to Sgt. Richard Ketchem of the St. Joseph Police Department."By the time city yards employees arrived and got it all cleaned up, it was probably an hour to 90 minutes or better before we opened the road and traffic could come through," Mr. Ketchem said.Ms. Grimm was transported by ambulance to Heartland Regional Medical Center, where she was treated and released, according to a nursing supervisor.Ms. Grimm was issued citations for careless driving for failure to maintain control of her vehicle and for failure to provide insurance, according to police records.

Manawa Race

Well, it was really hot. Really hot.

The trails were in fast condition, even though they had sustained major flood damage earlier in the year. Poised between Lake Manawa on one side, and the river on the other, they didn't have much of a chance in those big rains. THOR (trails have our respect), the trail building group in Omaha, is awesome with good community support, good funding, and strong membership; they got the trails whipped into shape really quick.

For my part, I forgot just how flat the course was, and I have apparently forgotten how to gear for flat races. I spent about 1/3 of the race totally spun out. In the heat spinning like crazy blows energy quick. The rest of the 2/3 race was spent in very, very tight and twisty single track. This is the kind of trail that I have always preferred, and I was able to at least sort of hang on because of the single track part. I guess that's the cool thing for me about single speed, it is just as much about planning for the race as it is about riding during the race. I fell down on the planning part this time.

Regardless, it was a fun race. My mom, step-dad, and daughter also came to the race - so it was fun to have a fan base, even if I didn't perform like I deserved one. Here are the results -

Note that Woodman had almost 4.5 minutes on the next 3 of us. What an animal... And a helluva nice guy.

Next up - St. Joe trail building story. Went out for a Corby ride this afternoon. Was trying to map the south side for the website, but kept running into problems. The weirdest part: while starting the second lap I heard the snap of a tree falling, then constant honking for a few minutes. I was farting around with the GPS, so I wasn't paying much attention. Then after rolling into the trails, right before the rock bridge there was a yellow pick-up hanging part of the way across the trail. There was a very disoriented woman in the driver seat, and a few by-standers jumping around trying to figure out how to get her out of there. Luckly I had my saw in my pack, so I cut the trees that were pinching her doors shut, then cut a trail up to the road so they could pull her back to the road. Also cut out the trees that she had knocked onto the trails. By-standers and Paramedics thanked me, which was cool. The lady just staggered past without saying anything, might have been rattled, or drunk - not sure. At one point a cop asked if I had a permit to cut trees in the park. I just gave him a look and that was the end of it.

Anyway, it was an interesting ride. Ate a lot of spiders, so I guess it is that time of the year. All in all, I had fun - just wish I would have thought to get a photo of the truck on the trail, it was something else.

Race Saturday

For anyone interested, there is a race in Council Bluffs this weekend at Lake Manawa. It is part of the Nebraska Lottery Psycowpath race series (a well run, safe, fun series). Payouts and prizes are generally very good and the crowd is very cool.

The course is a lot of fun, and is great for beginning racers, as there is almost no elevation change. The course is very twisty/curvy through the trees on an approximate 7 mile loop. It will be a fast but fun race.

Here is the information - hope to see some of you there!

http://www.nebraskacyclingnews.com/content/view/728/190/

Krug Bridges

Repaired 3 bridges this weekend. Scabbed one together to make it at least rideable with out getting wet and muddy (will need help hauling the heavy bridge planks to really fix it). The final 3 crossings didn't have a bridge to start with, but I think we should try to build something across them.

New Maps

Check the STJ Trail Maps link for two more trail maps. Thanks to Dr. Adam for collecting them!

LM

Trail conditions

Has anyone been on the trails today? I hope to ride Corby about 3:30- 4pm, either that or a road ride with knobbies!

Tuesday / Thursday

Probably won't be riding the Tuesday / Thursday night thing this week. Hopefully some folks will gather and cruise. Post if you do.

Won't be around for the weekend either.

Happy riding.

Detail work

Brad and I worked on the girl scout trail the other day and got the worst nub situation taken care of. I think Randy trimed somemore because there was more done Thursday. It is getting down to the end of finnishing that section. We still need more chain saw work done to get small stumps and large nubs out. There is one large tree that will need a big saw down on the trail. The scout that is doing the project is going to blow the trail then trim one last time. There is also trash that needs to be gotten out of there, the city is going to pick it up soon. Get with me to get bags if you are interested in cleaning out the trails. Lansen is there anyway to post trail maps on this site? It would be great if we could refer people to this site to check out the trails.

trail progress

I caught Brian once again clearing South Corby its almost all cleared. The first section of the girls scout camp is almost done except for some chain saw and blowing. It is technical off camber and rocky. It is mostly rideable now except for some down trees we did alot of bench cutting so some of those areas might be a litte soft. If someone would please do about 3 hours of chain saw work on that section that would be great. There are a lot of nubers sticking up any help lopping those would be great also.

Tuesday Night

A new rider out last night. Ty on a sweet new Specialized Stump Jumper. He did a great job.

All trails are in great shape at Corby after Brian trimmed them. Thanks man!

One big tree is down on the trail at the end of the North loop. It is about 18" diameter and is oak, so it is really hard to cut. I made one cut with the hand saw so it can be climbed over now, but the second cut still needs to be made to clear the trail. It took about 45 min to make one cut.

It was a great evening. Hope to see some more folks out on Thurs.

trail day sat and answers to questions

Saturday 8 AM to 4 PM the scouts are doing trail work for an Eagle scout project on a new section of trail at the end of the parkway walking trail before the Krug pool. I know there are lots of races this weekend but any help would be great Sat or throughout this next week. Meet at the end of the concret ramp on the last S curve towards krug or walk up the ramp you'll see the orange flags on your right just follow them. Chain saws would be great, trimmers, lopers, shovels or hoes would be good to. The new section is 1 mile or so out of 4-5 or more in the area of the old girl scout camp, this is ment to tie corby and krug together. This section is where the old girl scout camp was where the walking trail goes through the woods passed lovers lane heading NW to Krug Pool. Once again there is more there than I thought. This section has tons of rocks!! it will be tight off camber technical single track with rocks!! Did I tell you guys there are rocks!!! in this section? just checking. The ends of the first section of the girl scout trail is about a hundred yards from the end of the walking trail to up the hill to the first curve in the S curve where the pull in is. This Is between the walking trail and the road. Other sections will be added later in the year. That brings me to maintaining what we have already I don't want to over build what we can maintain. We need to get something in place to help assign sections to maintain. I love to ride but we all need to pitch in to keep the trails clear. I am seeing a lot of new people were at the shop because of the new trails so I can see the sport growing lets keep the positive movement forward. Thanks to everyone who has help build and maintain the trails lately. Brian trimed most of south Corby the other day, thanks Brian.

The Pain

Well I've either got tired legs or I'm weak and lame. Rusty kicked my ass all over Krug park for a lap last night before I gave up and went home. Good job Rusty.

I think I'll be taking the rest of the week off before the race on Saturday. Hope to see some of you there. So far its Jim, Rusty, and me heading up to Trenton. I'm looking forward to drinking some of that free Rolling Rock after the race. Oh yeah, riding will be fun too.

City Parks

Talked to a manager in the parks dept today about some city help on maintaining trails. He said he has had lots of comments on the trails we have been building and he seemed pretty appreciative of our cause. Sounds like budgets are tight, but he also sounded willing to explore opportunities for symbiosis.

Cross your fingers!

Corby Cruise

6:30 - Corby Stretching Station. Tuesday Night Ride!

new trails

Well the Corby stuff went well, there was some good articals written about the new trails. Its time to start new ones I'm marking new trails at the old Girl Scout camp towards Krug. Its part of a boy scout eagle project let me know if you want help.

Weekend Rides

Who would like to ride Saturday Morning?



I will be at Krug Park at 8am and will probably be there until about 10:30. I would like to get at least 2 laps in, so the pace will be "steady".



If it rains, change the plans to Corby Pond.



Sorry I haven't made the Tuesday or Thursday rides this week. Been fighting somekind of mild cold or something and haven't felt much like riding.

Wednesday Night

Didn't feel real good last night and didn't ride.

Anyone up for a ride at Krug tonight? Around 5:30 in the lot.

Call if you want -> 752-2025.

Racing Good Times

It was a big weekend for racing. Rolled with the single speed class at Lewis & Clark in Council Bluffs on Sat and again at Landahl in KC on Sunday. Pulled out a third place on Sat (although they recorded me as 4th) and a second place on Sun. Trail conditions were great at L&C, but things were as muddy as I have raced at Landahl. SS class started behind most of the sport field, and I believe I had to pass somewhere around 60 people by the time we sorted through the sport field and lapped the beginner field. It was still fun, and although there were some bad wrecks on the slippery rocks, most people seemed to have a good time in the mud.

Also got to hang with good folks from Lincoln, St. Joe, Omaha, KC, Columbia, and Manhattan. Can't complain a bit. Might have had too much to drink at some point in there, but I don't think I offended anyone too bad.

Here's a brief photo narrative of the weekend:

cvo happy to re-hydrate.

festivities after L&C.

Rusty after riding Krug on Thursday

Beers and pasta after Landahl.

Moab, Part 2

OK, it's been 5 days since our return from the trip...and as promised I want to share photos and some of our experiences along the way.

First off, you'll notice this post focuses on our ramblings around the Fruita area in CO. Sorry...I had to stick with the theme of my initial post, hence the Moab reference.

Let's begin with the cast of characters: Matt, from Lacrosse, WI; Scott, who lives in Glenwood Springs, CO; and Javier and myself from St. Joseph. Matt began his journey by driving to St. Joe the night before our departure, gathering Javier and I into the rental, and leaving early Thursday AM. We arrived at Scott's house sometime that night (after the mandatory stop at REI in Denver) and sacked out at his place. We headed out to Fruita the following morning, set up camp, and hit the trails....

Fruita, Day 1:
Our first ride of the trip was in the Bookcliffs of Fruita. These trails were very fast, hard packed, swoopy, and scary in spots.


Here's Matt cruising along the Zippity-do-da section...


Matt rounding a corner on the upper section of Zippity-do-da. This was one of those scary spots. The photo doesn't really do it justice, but if you don't make the very sharp slightly off-camber turn, you get hurtled down that very steep and rocky slope to the left...ouch!


Here's the gang: Scott (left), Javier (center), and Matt (right) basking in the glory of completing a loop and getting ready to head out for more.

After riding the Bookcliffs, Scott had to go to class (he's working on his Master's). After dropping off Scott, we headed out for some more riding a little west of Fruita.


Rustler's Loop was our last ride of the day. It was a short but extremely fun and fast trail that we would have ridden again if not for the fading daylight.

BTW...while riding the Bookcliffs, we met some guys from Omaha, NE. Later that night, we met them again in the same campground, two spots down from us. More on them in a later post...

Well, that's all for now. I have a crappy internet connection, and uploading the photos is taking forever. More to come...

Lewis & Clark

Sounds like the race is on in Council Bluffs!

Sport/Expert/SingleSpeed starts at 12 noon. I will be leaving STJ at 8:30 or 9:00. Anyone that wants a ride to the race should call me by 8:00. 752-2025

These are great trails. Some of the best in the area. Assuming the rain holds off tonight, you are doing yourself a favor if you ride this race.

Updates of the race and hopefully some pictures will follow. Happy trails!

Thursday Night / Racing

Tonight - I should be at Corby around 6:30. Meet at the stretching station.



This weekend is a racing weekend.



Saturday - Lewis & Clark State Park in Council Bluffs IA

Sunday - Landahl KC Cup in KC.



Will do L&C for sure. We'll see how it goes for Sunday

Moab, Part 1

This will be a very brief post, as I'm catching up on work, etc. There will be much more to come (including pictures).

Well, we made it back in one piece...at about 10:00 PM last night. The trip was awesome, the riding was incredible. For anyone who has not been to Moab, but have read about it or seen pictures; there is a reason it has been dubbed a mountain biking mecca. It's all true...anyone who loves mountain biking should make at least one trip there in their lifetime. Heck, even if you don't bike, the scenery is worth the trip.

As pictures are downloaded and more time is available, the entire story will unfold before your very eyes. Don't miss it....

Famous

Look we're famous....

http://www.stjoenews-press.com/main.asp?SectionID=81&SubSectionID=272&ArticleID=93274&TM=58800.37

Trilogy Sunday

Randy and I had a big day Sunday. 1. Corby South, 2. Corby North, 3. Krug, 4. The River, 5. back through Krug.



Good day. Made a new friend for Wednesday back in the Krug trails. Haven't found owners yet, so looking like it's a new member of the family...



Some bridges are still out, but some have been fixed. Brian has been working on the tree house section, and it looks good. Someone else has been working on some of the bridges, not sure who.

Moab Trip

For all you know, this could be a picture of Javier in Moab this weekend. It's not, but for all you know it could be. Credit for the photo goes to this website

http://www.moabtrailguide.com/main.html

I haven't heard how the trip is going, but I can only assume it is going great.

Back here in joe town, the biking has been lame. It has rained every day. DD didn't make it down here on Thursday. And each time that I have had time to ride it has been thundering and shooting lightning bolts. Then, when I don't have time, the weather clears and it is beautiful.

The good part is, all this sitting in my garage watching rain has given me a chance to fix some nagging problems on my bikes. So, they should be ready to go for the next ride.

I also feel a little guilty, because i usually like to get out and do some trail work when it rains. Over this weekend when the rain kicked up, so did the wind. Quite a few trees have been coming down lately, and I really don't want to get crushed - so I haven't gotten any trail work done either.

Tuesday?

I missed the Tuesday nite ride, was anyone there?

I did get out later for some trail work on the Corby South Loop. Got some weeds knocked down and the big downed log by the water cut out.

Good Luck Guys

Well Jav and Rusty are off to Moab this week. Good luck and safe riding guys. I'm sure it will be sweet!

Conflicts against Riding

Didn't ride much last week, had some big days at work instead. Opted not to race this weekend either. Ate Junk food and drank a bunch of Beer instead. Road Krug on Sunday evening and it was great. Every thing except for the Bridge Trail is rideable. Looks like Randy has been out grooming trails and fixing bridges. Pretty fun.



Javier and Rusty are preparing to leave for their epic summer MTB Trip. Heres hoping they have a safe fun experience in Moab! I'll be staying here, checking out all the local trails on a couple days off. Might run up to Nebraska to cruise the Platte River State Park Trails on one of the days. Any one interested in joining me? Also have DD coming from Lincoln on Thursday to ride the local trails. That should be a good time.



LM

Corby North

Rode Corby North Last night. Randy and Shawn have completed the weed whacking and it is very open on the North side.

I hand cut about half of the South loop and it is better. I would like to get out there and do the other half one of these days, but it is not nearly as itchy as it was before.

Thinking about racing in Omaha at Swanson this weekend (Sunday)..... We'll see.

Krug Bad Shape

Jim was right. I had an hour to ride on Sat before company arrived and I chose Krug. While the trails were in great shape, nearly all of the bridges were out, or badly damaged. One of the few bridges that had survived had been mangled by a 4-wheeler so it could cross at the bottom of the down hill chute. Most of the bridge planks have been washed away... The bridge trail is now a water crossing trail and is not worth riding until the bridges are rebuilt.

Might try to contact the Parks dept to see if they are willing to help out, but I'm not counting on it. Does anyone have a contact in the Parks Deppt that would be open to providing some city resources for repair of this great section of trail?

Sorry I didn't post the Sat AM ride, it was a quick-eee.

BTW... Happy Mothers Day

Good Ride

great ride down the park way to the trails at Corby. Lots of people out, great weather.

Javier cruisin' on the grass section.

Bailed on my last lap on the South Loop. Kind of hurt, but no major scrapes. Guess I was going to fast.

Great ride. Had fun.

Krug Tonight

I miss Krug. I will be riding Krug tonight. I intend to ride hard tonight. Come out and twist your legs off.

Should be in the parking lot at 6PM.

fast and furious

Jav and I ripped it up last night. Corby was in good shape with the exception of a big down tree near the pond and one soggy spot (see Jav going for a swim below).

There were a few washouts and down limbs that we had to fix, but that was to be expected after 7" + of rain and only 36 hours after the last rainfall. The trails were fast in 99.5% of the loop with only a couple soft spots.

The log crossing on one of the creek crossings had washed out, and I didn't see it before my front wheel had lodged in it. I went over the bars and into the drink. Only got my socks wet and muddy, not hurt, no bike damage, all good.

Ran into some new riders on the way in. We got them started on North loop. They seemed enthusiastic. Also ran across 2-3 groups of hikers. High traffic! That's good.

Javier was in rare form. Haven't seen him ride that hard since Crowder a couple months ago. Way to go dude, never could shake you! We need to ride like that every time.

New Riders

Was approached by a guy at work today that wants to go mountain biking. He said he had heard about the new Corby trails and wants a guided tour. I told him to get his bike tuned up and ready to go (should probably follow that advice myself).

Assuming we are not all under water tomorrow, is anyone interested in a 600 PM tuesday nite ride?

LM

progress

Randy, a younger guy who is building trails for his Eagle project and I worked on the trails this morning. When I left Randy was heading towards the bridge half way through the north section. The trail looks great especially the sections we blew. I rode both sides of Corby last night it was perfect, today should be good too.

trail day

Randy wanted me to post a blog for a trail day tommorow Sat. at 7:30 am. Bring any tools you might have we will be working on the north side of corby. Randy said Javier was in charge tommorow.

Sweet

Fun, but short ride yesterday. One full lap, Corby north and south. Things are getting a little over grown in spots. Needs a good weed whacking.

Love the new bike. It's awesome. Maybe my favorite bike yet - certainly the cheapest. Who would have guessed? Here's more about it... http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=11&itemid=341

Oh yeah, Wednesday says hi!

Rainy

Kind of rainy today. Still thinking about a ride at Corby though. Any takers?

Perry Lake Race

Rusty, Jim, and I cruised over to Perry Lake today and raced. Pretty hot, but we had a great time. I tried out the new single speed. It did great. I thought the head set was loose for the first lap, but it turned out to be that the front wheel quick release was loose. Thank goodness I stopped and checked it, or there could have been trouble. Lost about 4 minutes screwing around with the headset, but still pulled a relatively solid 4th place.

Saw CVO from Lincoln. He pulled out a 5th place in one of the expert divisions. Good job dude.

Jim nailed a 4th place in the Sport Masters. Nice job man!

Rode behind Roxy from Omaha for awhile (the women experts took off before the ss class). She took 1st place in her division. Always kickin ass.
There's Ryan from Omaha in 4th place in one of the expert divisions. Rode with him for awhile too. He somehow pulled out that podium place after 2 flats.

Anyway. Fun trails. Fun bike. Hot weather. Good friends, new and old.

Later, LM

Look what I did to this PC-1 chain...

Note the cracked roller barrel in this one.

In this one, several of the barrels had shattered off all together, leaving only the inner bearings. There were probably 15 links like this. As far as I can tell it all happened in one ride. The chain was about a year old, so it had seen a few hard miles on two different bikes (first frame was broken during this chain's life span).

I tell you, those Sram PC-1 single speed chains are tough.... Still, never have witnessed anything like it.

Pics from the weekend

Weather in the 80s on Sat... Wednesday was hot:

Fast trails at Corby:

GPS courtesy of Dr. Adam!

Still Truckin

Didn't make the ride last night at Corby. I ended up mowing the lawn and eating an entire pizza. Training has kicked into high gear.

Got an email from Adam with a map of Corby North. I will probably post it tonight. I might also be able to get Krug on a map tonight too. We'll see.

Planning to ride Corby South and North after work at around 5:15, if any one cares to join me.

Happy Friday.

Tuesday Nite is Back

Rode with Rusty and Shawn last night. Weather was perfect, trails were too.

Ran into Don also. Them were some sweet yellow wheels.

Groomed

Corby south is groomed and fast. Thanks Randy, nice work. Most of the big logs are cut out too. Randy again? Thanks!

Corby north is looking pretty good too. Getting faster every day.

Only one down tree, kind of a big one.

Corby North Upper Section

Corby North has been trimmed on the South side of the Clearing and through the clearing. I know a lot of people were confused about how the grass section flows. I think everyone will be clear on what is going on now.

To start the North section; head east on the bike path until you see a park bench on your left. Shortly after you pass the park bench you will see a service road that goes up to the clearing. Turn left onto this and take the first trail off the service road (the trail will be on your right). This right turn will start you on the curvey ascent into the clearing. You should be able see where everything is going from there on.

The only other section that still needs to be cut is in the middle of the North section. Just keept your eyes open for flags, and you will be able to pick it out.

Have fun!