Trail Riding

We'll get to the rest of the ETR eventually, but I wanted to get this posted first. I've always loved mountain biking. Maybe here in Michigan it shouldn't be called that, given the lack of mountains, but the MMBA has worked with many of the local parks to develop some really fun and challenging trails. I've been anxious to give them a try.

Friday night we ran down to REI in Detroit and got Quinn set up with a geared mountain bike in the form of Scott Scale Jr 20. We used our REI Dividend and a gift-card my mom gave Cindy and I for our anniversary to help offset the cost. Quinn was nothing short of ecstatic. I'm not sure he deserves it, the lucky kid.

Saturday morning I dusted off the other mountain bikes (those that needed it) and put some gnarly tires on those those wearing street shoes. After lunch, while Cindy was at work, the kids and I packed up the bikes and headed north to Sleepy Hollow State Park for some trail riding. The idea had been to follow the bicycling trails in the park around the 10-mile loop that circles Lake Ovid. I would run and they would ride. As you might have guessed it didn't quite work out as expected.

Sleepy Hollow's trails are very well marked, and there are designated bicycle trails and equestrian trails. Maps and signs are located at all critical intersections, making it really nice trail system. However, most of the park's visitors spend their time lounging about the swimming beach, and apparently don't do much riding. Although there are periodically foot races, triathlons, and off-road bicycle races at the park, some of the trails don't see much use and are quite overgrown. Others are under water.

It was a really hot and muggy day with the temperature reaching about 90 F. The mosquitoes were loving it. And loving us. In this first picture, we are on the trail, it's just a little hard are to tell. In the middle of all that grass is a muddy rut.



You can see that many of the trails were mowed this year. In some places the riding and running was really nice. Here Quinn is making use of those low gears. Not low enough, by the way, a significant complaint I have about all the available 20-inch kids bikes.



Did I mention that some of the trails were under water? We negotiated our way around several large, buggy swamps, but this was the end of the trail for us. We'd pushed ahead for more than an hour, but it wasn't all that much fun. I must say, the kids were doing their very best to keep their spirits up. Quinn's lifted by the new bicycle; Abbey's lifted perhaps only by her desire to make sure my day was a success. She's very thoughtful, you know.



After that last swamp, we backtracked to a little abandoned two-rut road that's used only by horses now. We buzzed down it to reach the road that runs through the park, and logged a couple miles of road and took some pictures on the dam before we called it a day.



Surprisingly, the kids were ready for another go of it next morning. This time we brought Cindy along. I was keeping my fingers crossed for a better experience.

The trails in the Riverbend Natural Area and Burchfield Park are adjacent to the Grand River. They parks are very close to Lansing and get more use and more maintenance than those of Sleepy Hollow.





The trail system comprises a smooth easy loop with a bunch of twisting challenging routes woven around around it. We rode the easy 'blue' loops first, and then tested out some of the more difficult routes - 'purple' and a little of a 'red'. We found nothing we couldn't ride. It was difficult to take photos in the forest because the dense canopy of trees blocked so much light.

Here we took a break at some benches along the trail. It was hot, but the shade was pleasant. There were plenty of mosquitoes, but they were tolerable.



Near the end of our ride, the trail was smooth and rolling and fun, so I opened up my lungs and blasted way ahead stopping when I found this sunny spot for some family photos. I found a nice spot where we had the pleasure of climbing this sandy little hill. Although it doesn't look very steep in the photos, from bottom the hill it looked like it would be a challenge. Quinn went first and powered his way up.



Then it was Abbey's turn -- another successful ascent.



And Cindy brought up the rear on her old 1997 Scott Boulder. Tange steel frame and Rock Shox Indy C. It's a really good-looking bicycle and has been serving as her commuter recently. I'm sure it enjoyed the day.



Here's the van, bristling with a bunch of bikes. Quinn's fits in the back. We had a great time and everyone's looking forward to doing it again.