Mud, Mud, Mud, and Mud

was all we saw today. Met up with Dave and Randy on Belt Hwy, then headed out past Old Macdonald's Farm on the country roads. Met up with Jason in Amazonia, then did a loop up to the North in the hills. Randy split off and headed for home and we headed back to Amazonia to drop Jason off. From there, Dave and I headed back home on Hwy K. I think we probably slugged through about 40 miles or so from my doorstep to doorstep. Don't know what the other guys put in. It was one of the tougher days I've put in for awhile. The roads were soft, muddy, wet, and in standing water at times. It was good to be out though.

By far, the worst part was cleaning equipment when I got home - I'm sure the other guys felt the same way. Nothing like having a butt crack full of rocks and sand, nothing quite like it.

Hopefully we didn't scare Jason off. When he rolled into Amazonia to meet up, I about half thought he would see us covered in mud from head to foot, and just keep driving. He jumped in though, and we all proceeded to get even muddier.

It was a good day. They were a good start to the base miles that I need. Now I just need to stay with it.

Thanks for the good day of riding guys.

Whooo... I'm Whipped

After a long day of trail work - the GSC upper trail section is once again clear, at least to the point we had cut before the storm. We have still not touched either part of the lower section, but we think it is a one morning deal. Great turn out - 4 chain saws and 2 chuckers over the course of the day. I think we probably bladed through 3 miles of trail today, give or take. Thanks guys (Randy, Dave, Brad, Jim, Jason).



Spent some good time on the trails Friday. Last day of skiing for awhile. Honey creek was in good shape and the snow was fast. So fast in fact that I did not do some of the hilly sections.
Lovin' it!

One pole skiing - sucks when you drop a pole...

Gettin' dark, time to head in...

Even the Escort looks good with the right back drop - what you don't see is me cussing and kicking when it was stuck right after the picture was snapped. Piece of crap...

Maybe ride tomorrow???? Need to see how wet things are.... Probably would set out around 10AM. Post if interested. It's not a for sure thing for me yet.

Rushin' Out to XC Ski

Skipped out of work early today and headed to Honey Creek with the dogs. We did about 12 miles on the B loop. Out on the backside I got my directions confused and got lost for a while. Very hilly over there. Monster climbs and drops that I thought were going to kill me a couple times. Wednesday probably ate her weight in deer pooh - not your average chick!

After I finally got back to the lower parking lot I had about a 1/2 hour of day light to get 3 miles back up to the upper lot. I was toasted with a long climb to go. The skis were slipping on my kick offs because the snow was starting to ice up as the sun dropped. When we finally hit the crest of the hill I stopped and snapped this picture. I dropped back into the trees and headed the last 1/2 mile to my car. Pulled out of the parking lot as darkness hit and I turned my lights on.

I haven't felt this blasted for a while - feels good. Bet I can sneak out there tomorrow too, although I'm not sure I can make it up those hills again. Still, worth a try. Some of the best country in the world - just my opinion. I bet Lily here agrees with me.

Happy last day of skiing!

Lansen

Trails to clear!

Randy just called and reminded me that before we start riding, we have to clear the trails that are still trashed. Saturday is going to be 50 degrees and too sloppy to do anything but get dirty. Lets hit the GSC trail with a vengence at 8:30 AM.

So far we have 3 saws and an ass load of trees on the trail.

Lansen

Race Trainin'

Got this idea from Jason's comments (see below). I was thinking that it would be helpful to anyone on here who is thinking about racing for the first time. There are several of you who will be racing at some point this year or who have raced sometime in the past. Please share your training tips, racing stories, or anything else that may be inspirational and beneficial for anyone preparing for the upcoming season.

I remember my first race well, and here is TIP #1: always wear some type of eye protection. My first race was on a very rainy/sloppy day in the Springfield area. You'd think that it would be common sense to wear glasses, especially on a muddy course, but it didn't occur to me. By the time the race was done, my eyes were full of grit. But I can honestly say that I had a blast; met a lot of new people; and just enjoyed the atmosphere. So come on everyone, share your experiences...

Ski'n w/ Randy

Been off line for a little while. Pretty much been somewhere between busy and lazy.

Have skied a couple times since the snow fell. Once at Snow Creek (my knees and head still hurt), once on the parkway, and a couple times at Honey Creek. Honey creek is awesome for cross country skiing, and it is just awesome period. We saw a flock of turkeys today, which was pretty cool.

Snow was really good for skiing a couple days ago. It's cold now, so it is a little slow compared to when the temp is in the high 20's. We had a great time and ended up doing somewhere around 6-8 miles today. I did about 12-14 miles a couple days ago. Anyway, it was a great way to start of the new year.

By the way, happy new year!

Oh the SNOW

Not counting on there having been much of a workday today on the trails. I got a lot done at work though... The Man will be happy.

Really itchin to do some xc skiing. Got some other stuff that I need to attend to this afternoon, but you can bet I'll be up at the ass crack tomorrow looking for some snow to glide through.

Here's Wednesday's rendition of the little devil on my shoulder - "come on, no one will care if you disappear for a few hours - come on lets go jump in the snow!". Lily looks on in the background.

Saturday Corby Workday

For anyone interested in working to restore the Corby trails this weekend; Randy will be hosting a trail workday at Corby.

He is planning on starting on the Corby South trails at 8:30AM on Saturday.

Aaron has been working on the south side and made good progress. A new guy named Mike and I went out there tonight and made it through about half of the South loop. My recomendation is to start going backwards on the south side. If you start on the North side it doesn't matter where you start, it is a mess everywhere.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to help on Saturday as I will be working.

If I don't see you all before: Merry Christmas and Happy Trails!!!!!

Thanks for everyone's hard work!

Lansen

Scouting

Scouted some of the trails yesterday. Parked at corby south with the dogs, then skied up to the north side. Found the trails completely impassible by ski or bike. Then skied up the parkway to the Girlscout camp and checked out those trails. They are in pretty bad shape too, but don't seem to be as bad as corby. Didn't check on Krug. Skied back to corby south and started hiking them with a saw. Seemed like pretty easy going until I ran into Aaron and found out he had been cutting ahead of me. We worked together for a little while. Progress on clearing the trails is moderate, but there is a huge amount of down branches, limbs and trees. We didn't see any huge trees across the trail, but then again we only made it to the fire pit.

I'll be at corby south this afternoon some time with a hand saw. It's going take a lot of hours to get the trails rideable again.

Kind of a bummer this year for the trails. Between the floods this last spring and the ice storm this winter they have certainly taken their lumps. The good thing about this storm is that just about every branch and tree that could have come down in the next 5 years... did. So I guess that means once it's all clear again we don't have to maintain again for another 5 years. Heee Hee He, just joking - I'm just being delusional.

Hope all you folks have your power back by now. What a turd of a week for some folks here in St. Joe. I feel guilty to say I was one of the lucky ones this week.

Here's a picture of the bridge entrance to Corby North. Behind that tree leaning over the trail is just more of the same....

Ugggh.... Not Good

Hope everyone is okay, whether they have power or not. For the time being, I still do. Trees down everywhere in my neighborhood. Spent the morning cutting limbs off of a fence in my back yard. Neighbors took the brunt of the damage though. Also have some water in the basement.... Weird.

I shudder to think what the trails look like. Whatever you do, don't go out there until after the melt. It will be like a room full of mouse traps out there right now.

Good luck, stay safe, stay warm.

Snow and Progress

Crossed skis is no good.....

Well, you probably noticed there is snow on the ground... Just enough for skiing, barely. Went early Friday AM, enough melted Friday that skiing is no good till more falls. Maybe tomorrow, I hope. Corby North is pretty good skiing if there is at least 4". Less than that and it's no good.

Made some progress on the Girlscout camp today. Dave, Lance, Jim, Shawn, Adam, Tara, and I hit it for a couple hours. It was pretty cold up by the cemetary. We had a hard time figuring out a good line on the cemetary hill. We thought there was some danger of erosion with the line that was marked, so we had to figure out a new one. After that it started rolling pretty good until all three saws started having trouble. That was about noon or a little after, and I think most of us were toast anyway. I'm guessing that we knocked out between 1.5 and 2 miles today... but it's tough to tell.

Dave and Lance going to town on a helluva big fallen log - Dueling Chainsaws.....

Lance and I hiked what is left to do after we were done cutting. We were guessing that there is probably 2.5 or 3 miles to go still. Some of it will go very quickly, some will be a fight for every inch. Still don't know for sure, but it seems like the GS trail could pretty easily be 7 miles when finished.

Hey where did everyone go?

I mention trail work freezing temp and rain and there is no one on here blogging. I hope I didn't scare everyone off. Seriously we are going out to do trail work tomorrow morning. Lancen, Dave, Jason and myself plan to be there for chain saw work. Randy is deathly ill and won't be there ( like phumonia is an excuse). Remember More people building trail=more trail=more riding

Blown away

Thats what I've been doing for the last few mornings, blowing the trails. We have a good start on finishing the trails that were started Sat. It will take me about a week to finish trimming and blowing the leafs off the trail. Dave Crook spent four hours the other day going almost to the turn next to grave yard. Randy is going back and cutting nubs we missed over the next few days. Its raining on Sat. and there won't be any riding anyone up for more trail work????? I estimate it will take two more days like this last trail day to finish rough cutting the trail. So why sit at home and be warm and comfortable lets get out there and do it again.

U Animals

Sorry I didn't make it Saturday morning. My boy had bball games Saturday morning. Pretty impressed you guys made it a work day as crappy as the weather was. You guys are animals! I am now going to try to figure out how to posts pictures so I can share the trip this summer. Brian

Successful Trail Work Day

We converged on the Girlscout trails an tore it up for most of the day. Even though 35 degree rain poured down for most of the day, we made good progress considering the conditions. I don't think there was a person out there who wasn't soaked to the bone. and freezing. Personally, I discovered that "waterproof" is only waterproof to a point, after that "waterproof" is just like a baggie to hold the water nice and close to the skin. On the way home I picked up 5 McD's cheeseburgers and had them down the hatch by the time I hit my driveway (about 1 mile from my house), I was starving.

The rain did cause some problems with the chainsaws, and it definitely made weed whacking impossible. Not to mention the conditions slowed us down a little bit and wore everyone down quicker. Even still, we are thinking that we cleared around 3 miles of new trail on the upper section. Some of it was pretty easy going, other sections were a battle for every inch.

Would like to thank everyone who made it out all these awesome trails couldn't happen with out you guys. What an awesome group.

Randy, Dave, Rusty, Javier running the blades - I know it isn't easy, or cheap keeping up with thrown chains, oil, and gas.

Jason, Bob, Jim, Shawn clearing, grooming, and lugging tools around to keep the saws running.

Hope I didn't miss anyone - let me know if I did.

Also, a super thanks to everyone who has been working the trail outside of the trail work days. I know Shawn and Randy have put in a ton of hours. Jason and Adam have been out there too I'm pretty sure. Probably others too, sorry if I missed you.

Finally, I want to thank Shawn for marking all these trail routes. Yesterday I was telling Rusty that I thought you had a toy poodle or something that could get through the under brush to place some of those flags. It really is going to be a cool trail.

I had more pictures from the day, but I don't know if the memory was full, the phone was shorting out from being soaked all day, or what - but only one of the pictures saved. It's Dave standing in a down pour getting ready to attack a thickett of brambles and bushes.

Trail Work - This Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trail Work on Saturday. We're planning on several chainsaws - hopefully 4. We'll need at least one support person per chainsaw team. Any one else that shows can run the leaf blower or weed whacker.

Shawn, can you bring the shop weed whacker and leaf blower?

Chainsaws I know of right now are Randy, Rusty, Jav, Bob, and Dave.

We can park in the grass clearings just off the parkway near the new lower section that is cut and rideable.

Meet at 8:30AM, or show up whenever you can. I'll have some refreshments and dirt work tools to keep everyone rolling.

Plan and dress for rain and crappy weather - which is good, because then no one will be tempted to ride instead of hack underbrush (that goes more for me than anyone else).

Can't wait to see you all there!!!!!

cold morning

I closed the loop today on the side closest to Lovers Lane. The run on the ridge next to the grave yard is nice. I only need to mark the return run back to the other side of the park and the marking is done, I'll finish that part tomorrow morning. Is anyone riding tonight?

New bridge/Heartland

Spoke with Roger from the city he said that he was working on designing a bridge to span the creek at the end of Corby North. This will tie the trail into a new section that runs up to Ashland Ave. for another 2 miles. He said that he could get the building material but the trail group would need to build it. Does anyone have any experience in building bridges? The Heathland race is rolling along I'm finishing the final paper work now. I know we are working on the girl scout trail now but we need to plan to start getting Corby ready for the race by spring. This could include several miles of new trails the new bridge I mentioned and some detail work to make everything flow better. The race loop will include both North and South Corby starting in the field by Noise school. If anyone has any ideas let me know we need this first race to be killer to keep Heartland up here. You never know we could be a good 12/24 hour venue later on.

Tuesday - Night Ride

Anyone in for a night ride tonight? Start with Corby South - see what happens from there?

6:00-6:15 ish start time...

Chainsaw Kenny

Went for a steady little jaunt this morning through the Corby's and Girlscout trails. Things were a little slippery due to melting frost, but it was a decent ride.

On my way back through the other direction I ran into Chainsaw Kenny and his buddy in Corby South. They tell me they have permission to cut down trees for fire wood. I said cool, and asked if they would be willing to do trail work too. Kenny said if there's wood in it for him, he's all over it. Anyway, sounds like we'll have another chainsaw for Saturday.

You never know who you're going to meet in the woods.

Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend Rides

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday yesterday. We have so much to be thankful for... like these new trails and getting HSP to host a race in our back yard!

Just spoke with Jason and we're planning on starting from Corby tomorrow around 1PM... hope to see several out there.

I'm still contemplating going to Crowder SP on Sunday... call me if interested.

Lansen at Waubunsie

I'm finally getting around to posting the only photo I took of Lansen during our trip last weekend. Those steps were VERY slippery... so much that Lansen didn't want to wait at the middle for me to pull out the camera and snap the photo... that's why he's so happy in this photo.

I'm ready for another another epic adventure. How about Crowder SP this Sunday... anyone? Hopefully I won't loose another pair of mtb shoes this time!

more marked and built

Jason and Randy rough cut another large section on top yesterday. I was boarded this morning so I flagged because the snow prevented me trimming. I ended up running out of flags about noon so I packed it in. I now roughly know how everything will lay in even though it isn't marked. Wow!!! this is going to be the coolest trail yet it will be challenging but fast with some steady climbing. We will need to bench a fair portion of the back side but some of that is already there as deer trail and old single track. I found another tent that looks lived in to the east. I plan to mark trail from now till the work day and get the rest of the planning out of the way.

Heartland!!!!

Everybody thank Shawn when you see him! He got the Corby loop on the Heartland series. Checkout the Hearland link to your right to see the details.

On another note: Dr. Adam did a rough map of the Girlscout section. We'll get some more refined maps for the Maps and Routes link. Thanks Dr. A!

Feeling Kinda Growely

Not really feeling the ride tonight. I'll be back in town on Saturday, maybe catch the gang then.

Hope everyone else makes it out tonight. Have a good time.

one mile down

Randy and I cut another mile across the trail. Just a little benching and its done so don't be shy to pick up a shovel. I discovered a large section of old single track already cut down the hill towards Karnes, it is awesome back there. We will have many miles of riding ahead.

Different Trails on a Rainy Day

Sooo Jav, what did you do today? Some rid'n? Cool.

Any hills on that ride? Oh, just a couple big ones huh?

See anything else? Oh, there was evidence of other trail use huh? Quite abit huh? Well, that's the shits, isn't it....

So we went to Waubunsie State Park in Iowa today. Left at dawn. Trails were different, so it was a good trip, although trails are more suited for equestrians and hiking. Still, saw some great vistas and rode some really fun downhills.

MWSU Speed Challenge

Rode the "woodchip" trail loop out there for the first time since this past Spring. I shattered my personal best by over thirty seconds. Did the entire lap in 9min 31sec... so that's over 14mph average for the entire 2.34 miles.

So the challenge is simply to do a lap and then see if you can beat your previous time. When I started out there I was in the 30 minute range... so don't be intimidated by my current time. Just go out there and do your best... it's really fun to see yourself go faster and faster over time.

Whoa

Just ran across this pic, made my guts churn, thought I would post.

Nice Work!

Shawn and Randy, I have to hand it to you guys; you really know how to build a nice trail. The Girlscout camp trails are looking pretty sweet. We rode Girlscout, Krug, Girlscout, Corby North today. Almost rode Corby South, but we were so shelled we called it quits. Shelled... and we didn't even ride all the trails in a 3 mile radius. That's a good problem to have, isn't it?

Trail Work Day!
We're still planning on doing the trail work day for December 01. We'll get started at about 8:30 AM and will wrap it up when ever. I'll have a couple hand saws, a polesaw/lopper, shovel, hoe, and a sythe. Sounds like we have a couple chainsaws lined up and a weed whacker or two. We should be able to make some pretty good progress pretty quick, I think. If enough people show, maybe we can finish the loop in one day. Of course, that assumes Randy and Shawn don't finish the whole thing before we can get to it.... Heee Heee Heee, just kidding.

BTW, if you aren't feeling lucky today - take a look at the Folks From Lincoln Blog. Our brothers up North are in the middle of another skirmish with the city. Makes me feel pretty lucky that St. Joe's parks & rec department is so cool about building and maintaining trails on city property. Other places are not so lucky, to be sure.

Saturday

Would like to ride Sat AM. Probably Corby, Girlscout, Krug. Any takers?

I'm looking for steady the whole way. Not much stopping, but not super fast either. Just cruising.

Meet at Corby, 9:00AM.

New trails done!!!!!!!!!

Randy and I have completed The next section on the Scout trail between the walking trail and the road. The entire area between the two have trail now. It needs some mild trimming to get sprigs , some bench cutting done and one small bridge. Randy says ride new trail to pack it in or else!! I have started new trail on other side of just follow the flags That needs loping and chainsaw work it will be a bear because it is really thick. Please come out and work on the trails in your spare time so we can make quick work of these new trails and we can get to riding them.

Good Showing Tuesday Night....

There were 5 of us in the dark last night, it was a good group by any standards for any time of year. No mechanical problems, smooth riding, and nice trails. The leaves are starting to pack and form what I hope is a protective, regenerative layer over the trails. I guess we'll see next summer. I'm still convinced that leave blowing the trails last fall did more harm than good. Wish I would have never done that.

Beautiful Sunset last night...

Got a call from Randy. He said that he and Shawn have cut most of what has been marked on the Girl Scout Camp trail. Not sure of the mileage so far, but Randy claims the trails are pretty sweet so far. Can't wait to see them and start mapping them out for the site.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE TRAIL WORK DAY 01DEC2007!!!!!

TNR - Tuesday Nite Ride

Well, I need to be home by 7, so I have about one lap, maybe. If I'm not there by 6, don't wait.

Have a good ride if I don't see ya.

TRAIL WORK DAY!!!!

Time to get the Girl Scout Camp trail going again this winter. Randy and Shawn have been busy marking routes and will be ready for a builder crew to start making some headway.

Here are the pertinents:

1. Date: Saturday December 01, 2007


2. Time: 8:30 AM


3. Meeting Location: Bike Path Trail Head on the Parkway


4. Parking Location: Park along the road that connects the parkway with Karnes Rd.


5. What do we need?: We need at least 2 chainsaws ; 2-3 Polaskis, shovels, or heavy hoes ; 1 Weedwhacker ; Everyone should have a folding handsaw if you can get ahold of one.

A cooler of water will be available, and I'll get ahold of some sodas and beers for a couple post work refreshments.

We'll probably work till 2 PM or so. With a good group, we should be able to get through most of what is currently marked right now.

SEE YOU ALL THERE!!!!!

New Group Ride Format

We have been struggling with developing a ride format that is both fun and challenging for all riding levels and goals. So far I think our group rides may have discouraged and turned off some, either because they are too fast or too slow. This isn't the intent of the group rides, and our goal is to have 20, 30, or 40 people showing up, and everyone feeling like they got a good ride within their respective capabilities. Here is what we are thinking we can do to fulfill this desire and goal.

Each ride advertised on this site will abide by the following format:

1. Ride will begin within 10 minutes of the posted start time.
2. The first segment of the ride will be geared to keep everyone together. The "keep it together" part of the ride will be between 1/2 hour and 1 hour in length, and will be chosen based on the group that shows up.
3. At the end of the first ride segment, we will stop and make the decision on what's next.
4. If everyone wants to continue on at the same rate and pace, that's what we'll do.
5. If there are diverse riding abilities and goals present, riders may split. One group will continue to be geared for a cohesive group ride. The other group will be geared for higher speed and a more "race pace" type of ride. The higher speed group may hit several different trails and will not be as concerned with maintaining the group structure.

We'll give this methodology a try on Tuesday night. Hopefully lots of people will be able to make it out and we can try out the format.

See you all at Corby - start the "keep it together" ride at 6-ish.

Saturday AM

Jim and I will be meeting at Corby, 9AM, Saturday AM. All are welcome to join.

The tentative plan is to ride Corby South, North, Girl Scout, and Krug. Should be a nice ride, if not a little leafy. I'd like to keep a smooth steady pace, maybe do Krug twice if the mood strikes.

See ya in the AM.

LM

I do believe...

it's a ride night tonight. The light is on the charger, and I'm ready for some Corby fun in the dark. Anyone else cruising with me?

Cold, Burrrrr

Went out last night, but was late for the 6PM ride. Knew I would be, so I took the dogs with me. Looks like Jason rode, but we never crossed paths. It was a great night, and even though the wind blew like crazy on Monday, not much was on the trail in the way of branches and trash.

The dogs had a great run, and it's not quite as spooky going through there in the dark when you have two mouth fulls of fangs on your side. They made it two full laps before Wednesday was ready to give up. Lily was still raring for more, but 2/3s of us were cooked.

Rode by myself on Sunday. Jim was out at the same time, but I think we both figured we only had time for a quick ride - and neither of us planned ahead far enough to make contact. Ended up riding Krug - what a great park. Here is a shot over the fence row on the Power Line trail -

Fall Trails

Had a great time on a ride this morning with Randy, Rusty, and Jason. Awesome ride!

SS Madness

Now almost everyone has one! Ran into Spellman, he's riding a single speed. Rusty pulls one out of his trunk and starts ripping it up on one. Who's next?

Great ride. No pictures, but they would have just been black anyway.

Jason was ripping it up, getting faster every day (kind of scary). Jav and Rusty were in form as always. I only did one lap, but it was still a great night.

See you Thursday.

Not a Bad Ride

Rode with Javier, Rusty, and Joel on Saturday. It was great to be back on the bike after a week of just running. I felt kind of dull, but still had a great time. The fall colors are just starting to "pop" at Subridge and Krug. All of us maintained a steady pace, and even though Joel and Javier ran out of water, they still rode like a couple of champs. Rusty climbed the big hill at Sunbridge again. After three attempts I still couldn't make it, and I gave up. It is climbable, and doesn't look like it should be that hard. I just loose footing about 2/3 of the way up, then when the rear spins - I'm done.

Over all the trails at Krug and Sunbridge were in pretty good shape we had to stop a few times to clear down trees, but nothing that took more than 10 minutes to clear.

Saturday nite was the St. Joe Bike Club Night Ride. I opted to watch game 3 of the World Series instead - go Sox. Sounds like it was a fun ride with pretty good attendance.

Did a 2-hour Corby Ride Sunday Morning with the dogs. Pretty un-eventful. Fast and fun but not much interesting happened. One weird thing though. Kept seeing dead mice on the trail. Think I saw 7 or 8 in all. Not sure what that was about, was kind of strange though. The dogs sure enjoyed it.

Sounds like we will have a good turn out on Tuesday night. Make sure you have a light. Be there at 6:00 PM and we'll have a good ride.

Maine Is Sweet

I'm in Maine for work this week. Have never been here before, but if I could afford it would definitely consider the location. It is probably the most beautiful country I have ever seen.

Ran on the beach this morning before sunrise. It was awesome.

Watched the sunset on the ocean. It was awesome.

Crawled around on the rocks during low tide. It was awesome.

Sat through some training classes (no pictures, and not awesome), then went and had seafood. Food was awesome.

I'll be back and looking to ride on Saturday. Hope some folks are available.

WET and NIGHT

Well dark riding is here. Bring a light if you are coming out after about 4PM, cause you'll be seeing some twilight for sure. It was getting pretty dim about 7pm on Tuesday when I ran into Jason. He was out riding with Ryan, a guy I don't know. Jason is pretty new to the trails, but is improving quickly and I'm thinking he'll be out running me pretty soon. Keep it up buddy!
Just before dark I was enjoying all the crazy mushrooms and fungi that are blooming in the Corby areas right now. There is a whole different flora in Krug. This is one of my favorite times of year for hiking and riding for that very reason. Kind of makes me think of going to another planet or to the deep ocean some of the organisms are so big and exotic. Here's one with my bike in the foreground for scale.
Keep in mind those are 29" wheels, and these crappy photos don't do the fungus any justice. Still one of my favorites are the huge white ball mushrooms. I saw bigger ones last year, but there are definitely more numbers this year....
Pretty much since I finished riding on Tuesday, its been raining. The dogs have not been enjoying it (this is a picture I took when I got home from work to find two very wet dogs in the back yard). They have a dog house, but they aren't smart enough to go in there out of the rain. Apparently sitting in the downpour at the door is more comfortable. I'll tell you, these two are getting ready for some winter riding. If you think you can outrun these two on your bike, think again. They are also great for trail work, they've got backpacks, and the backpacks carry supplies (mostly beer). They've got to earn the right to run on my rides, and they're happy to oblige.

Hope for dry on Thurs. If so, I should be out around 6-6:30.

Have a good one.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Ended up hiking the Riverbreaks trails Sunday AM. Did a 4.5 - 5 mile loop on the East Section of the area. It was great. There were some trails that would be really fun on a down hill bike. Looonnng down hills, wide open, I bet you could carry 35 mph without too much effort.

Afterward, met Rusty, Ray, and Randy (R^3) at Sunbridge. Things were a little wet, but not slippery or sticky. Rusty climbed the big hill that almost everyone walks. On a single speed, I don't think climbing it is even an option - but Rusty ripped up it on the gears. I even saw him stand up out of the saddle, almost didn't recognize him at first. Congratulations man, what a climb.

We also went looking for new trails at Sunbridge. Found some really overgrown stuff that required lots of hike-a-bike. Then we ended up climbing up the side of an old motor cycle climb, which was nearly straight up - tough with a bike slung over the shoulder. Definitely a challenge, but it was something different that kept things interesting.

Rain, Rain...

Kind of rainy today. I don't think many folks rode today. Usually when it rains I like to go hiking with the dogs, but ended up going to Pumpkinfest downtown with the family. It was a good day for it as the weather cleared in the afternoon.

Hoping that we can get a ride together in the AM. If its clear, lets try to meet at Corby Parking Lot around 8:30. Corby will be rideable by tomorrow AM. Krug will be a mess. The River will probably be okay, maybe we can check that out too...

Thursday Already?

Can't believe it's already thursday. After a lame attempt at a ride on Tuesday, I'm ready for some trails. Got the SS fixed up and I plan to be there around 6. Hope some others can join me.

Saturday is the Beer Ride in Lincoln. It's a blast, but not sure if I will go this year. It is the last weekend that bikes can be in the conservation areas for the winter (deer hunting time is here). Would like to do an epic on Saturday and hit Honey Creek, Riverbreaks, and maybe Sunbridge to round out the conservation area tri-fecta.

Any takers - don't want to do it alone. It will be a long day though, I guarantee. We're talking 30-some miles of trail with 50-some miles of dirt road and highway between. It will be worth it though, I can guarantee that too. Who's in?

It's Tuesday

It's Tuesday, the light is charging, I'll be at the newly paved Corby South Parking lot around 6:30 PM.

See you all there!

NEW MAP!!!

Check out the map of Honey Creek. Went and hiked most of the "A" loop on Sunday with the dogs and my daughter. Not the best mountain biking, but it is still challenging to ride. Can't complain about any form of trails.

Note that if you want to go ride these trails, bikes and horses are not allowed during the winter months, as the hunters kind of invade this area. October 15 is the last day to ride at Honey Creek.

There is about 20 miles of trails in this conservation area, maybe 30. It is a very well maintained area, and is beautiful. I like to ride out there on gravel roads. It is a ride with some of the best gravel hills, dirt shacks by the side of the road, wild packs of dogs, and even a couple of hollars along the way. With the "B" loop, the ride is about a 70 mile day.

Also, if you come back over Monkey Mountain you are in for a helluva climb. I broke a single speed frame climbing the hill that goes over Monkey Mountain. Still made it home, but twisted on it so hard a weld just popped.

With the dirt on the way there, the whole experience is a great ride! Check out the Map.

Saturday AM Ride

Had a great group ride this morning.

Rusty showed up early and took the Chainsaw to a couple of downers in south corby. Trail's all clear.

I showed up a little later and we rode (this is Rusty riding with his chainsaw) over to the North side and hacked out a couple more downers. Trail's all clear.

When we got back to the parking lot Randy was there and Brad was just showing up. We joked around for a bit then realized Spellman was out riding too and called him over.

It was a good ride. Everybody is in pretty good shape and the group held together nicely. It was a really nice ride, and I am looking forward to more of the same in the upcoming months.

We also did a lot of talking about what the new-new girl scout camp trails will look like. Sounds like everyone is getting geared up to get those chain saws spinnin and shovels chucking. Can't wait to have some more trails to ride. We're going to have to cut the next round real wide to minimize maintenance, as all the mileage is getting tough to keep up with as it is. Still, it's worth it though.

Total Ride was a South Corby lap, North Corby lap, Over to the GS Trail (out and back on that trail), North Corby backwards, South Corby backwards.

Dark Rid'n

Rusty and I hit the Corby trails in the dark last night. Good trails, decent lights, good times.

Looking forward to some good dark rid'n this winter.

Tuesday Ride

Met up with Rusty and was introduced to Jason for the first time last night. Weather was great, although there was a couple trees down at Corby. Rusty said he was going to get that chainsaw running this weekend.

Mud was pretty much under control, and even though it got pretty dark and we didn't have lights, the trails were still negotiable.

Made it home without getting run over, and made the decision that next time I will have a good light kick'n so the cars mistake me for a alien spaceship instead of a target.

Twilight Riding

It's Tuesday, and time for some twilight riding. We're talking one of the last evening rides where there is any light at all. So bring a light, and lets do a couple laps at Corby!