Adventures

2009 Memorial Trip - Denver CO

5/23/09 - Heil Ranch - We rode a 10 mile loop at Heil Ranch. This place has a great rocky technical start as you climb up the mountain.

Then you get a chance to take a little break for a couple of miles in the loop. We rode it clockwise. Great place just north of boulder.

5/24/09 - Hall Ranch - Today we did a loop at Hall Ranch. They've done some work here since we were here in 2005. We did a big loop

counterclockwise. They added a trail, the Picture Rock trail, that can connect this system to Heil Ranch if you want a epic ride. This place

has a little bit of everything; rocks, mud, twisty, and scenic (look out for the black big eared squirrels).

5/25/09 - Bolder Boulder 10k (48,000+ runners) - Gina and I ran in the Bolder Boulder 10k. What a crazy environment. This race

finishes in the Colorado University Stadium. You run a portion of the track and get to see yourself on the JumboTron. I hit this race pretty

hard. I wanted to run it at a 7:00 minute pace and just missed it with a finish of 44:21. I blew a tire and had to tie my shoe at the 6 mile point.

5/26/09 - Chatauqua Park - We hiked the (the Flatirons). This park is just off of Baseline Road in Boulder. It was a nice hike and a

break for our legs.

5/27/09 - We headed to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park today in search of a moose. We spent the

day going from 5600ft to 13,200ft, from sun to snow, and 40 degrees to 80 degrees. We drove across Trail Ridge Road, hiked some of the

Ute Trail and headed down into the west side of the park, for better moose viewing. The drive through Granby and Winter Park took forever

but was scenic.

5/28/09 - Bobcat Ridge - We rode our bikes at Bobcat Ridge. This was a great loop. of about 12 miles. We hit a new trail on the way

back down the mountain for a fast, rocky, technical in places descent.

5/29/09 - Walker Ranch - We rode our bikes here. This was just up the mountain from Boulder on Flagstaff Road. That has to be

one of the steepest paved roads in the Boulder area. I want to attack that on a road bike sometime. Walker ranch ended up being a very

scenic loop. We rode Clockwise. We ascended a short while and then were led into a multi-switchback sweet downhill. This took us down

into the canyon and to the river. From here you take a bridge across the river and have to hike a bike up, what seemed like a thousand steps

(not that bad but carrying a bike at 8000ft made for some tough work). From here you climb back up, hit another nice downhill, and end with

a moderate climb back to the parking lot.

5/30/09 - Betasso Canyon - Today we did a great 5.5 mile trail run on the Betasso Canyon Connector and Loop Trail.

We parked alongside 119 at the Betasson Connector Trail. This trail starts out as a very rocky and steep trail and then eases up a bit and

starts to switch back toward the top. At the top you join up with the Loop Trail. We ran counter clockwise for the 3.5 mile loop. Quite a bit

of rolling terrain, but the loop was runable.

2008 Christmas Trip - Asheville NC & Gatlinburg TN

Ran in:

Montreat NC just north of Black Mountain and 15 miles east of Asheville. This place is a must see. What a beautiful community. This is

home of Montreat College est. 1897. The scenery here is amazing. Old growth forest with houses and trails nestled throughout. When we

were here there was no-one around due to the Christmas holiday. I would have liked to do the Greybeard trails up to Greybeard mtn. had we

had enough time before nightfall. We ran around a couple of the trails and walked around the Convention Center and Lake.

Trace Ridge Trail - 8-9 mile loop with 1550ft of elevation gain/loss. I took along the Trails Illustrated Map #780. This is

billed as one of the best rides in Asheville on the Bike NC website and also check out the Hike NC website This was a 9 mile or so loop.

We hike/ran up Trace Ridge and came down on Spencer Branch to the intersection with the Fletcher Creek Trail and then took a left on

Fletcher Creek (we could have stayed straight on Spencer Branch but wasn't sure where it was going to come out. It ends up coming out at the

reservoir where we were headed anyway). At the road we took a right to check out the old reservoir (good place for a picture). From the

reservoir it was about a 1.25 mile run back to the car.

Hiking or running in either direction to make a loop would be fine.

Biking - I'd prefer to go counter clockwise and end by going down Trace Ridge. The top of the Spencer Branch trail

is hike-a-bike whether you are going up or down. The last 1/3-1/2 mile gains 400ft of elevation and is full of

stairs/waterbars. The Trace Ridge Trail looses elevation more gradually but has some steeps that would be a blast

going down.

Smokemont Loop Trail to Chasteen Creek Cascades (Hiking Only)- 6.5 mile loop with 1660ft of elevation

gain/loss. This was on the way from Asheville to Gatlinburg off of 441N at the Smokemont Campground. We parked at the exit of the

campgound in front of the gate where there is an old bridge over the creek. The first 3 miles, of the 4.9 mile Smokemont Loop Trail starts

with a pretty good climb. From here the trail drops just as fast as it rose. After you cross the log bridge the trail splits where you will want to

head to the right on the Bradley Fork Trail. You will be on this for .5 miles to the intersection with the Chasteen Creek Trail. From here you

will want to head to the left for .7 miles on the trail to view the Chasteen Creek Cascades. This trail (a rocky old road) gently climbs. At the

.7 mile mark there will be a trail heading off to the left. There is a hitching area for horses and at the back there is a small trail that continues to

the cascades. Once you've had your fill of cascading water you will want to head back down to the Smokemont Campground (1.9 miles from

the cascades; .7 miles on the Chasteen Creek Trail and 1.2 miles on the Bradley Fork Trail).

2008 4th of July Trip - Harrisburg PA

Biked at:

Southern Traverse - outside of Staunton VA - 34 mile IMBA Epic Ride on the Shenendoah Mtn. Trail. This was an interesting ride.

It was a 4 mile climb to the Shenandoah Trail. Once on the trail I was surprised at how well it was taken care of considering how off the

beaten path it was. There were two sections of rock gardens surrounded by stinging nettle (be careful not to touch). Once you hit the

clearing at the Jerkemtight Road option you have an almost all downhill ride to the next road that intersects the Shenandoah trail (great

downhill that would be great in a group ride. I'm sure there would be countless hoots and hollers. We hit the road at mile 20, took a left

onto the dirt road, and then started the 12 mile slog back to the car. It seemed like we would never get back to the car.

Visit the Susquehanna Area Mountain Bike Association (SAMBA) for info on the following places.

Swatara State Park - Nicely groomed trails. A good 6.5-7 mile ride. Not too challenging. It would be a fast mtb. xc course. Similar to

Explore Park.

Weiser State Park - Rocky single track, jeep roads, and snowmobile trails. Would be a good place to ride if you had a suggested route.

Reminded me of the Dragon's back minus the lung busting climbs.

Govenor Dick - We ran and biked here. These are some rocky trails. Trail 15 is one crazy ride. Lots of big rocks to maneuver over.

I really like the ride on trail 15. It was pretty technical. Lots of black raspberries here for a mid ride snack!

Michaux - Supposed to have some of the toughest trails in the east. Lots of rocks here. Reminded me of the Glenwood Horse Trail near

Roanoke. We stopped by the Pine Grove Furnace Park office to get some maps and recommendations. We ended up riding off of Ridge

Road. We also had some old race maps from http://www.racemichaux.com I would suggest getting a local to give you a suggested route.

We spent a lot of time looking at our map. This place was loaded with blueberries. They were everywhere. Nice treat.

Rocky Ridge County Park - For a county park this place has it all from beginner to advanced trail. Lots of fun.

2007 4th of July Trip - Asheville, Greenville SC, Atlanta, and Chatanooga

Kitsuma - If you are headed to Asheville, I would hit this trail on the way. It is in Ridgecrest just outside of Asheville. This is one crazy trail.

It has 12+ rideable switchbacks in the first 1.25 miles. This leads into some ridge riding and then a nice fast downhill into a park. In the

back of the park there is an old abandoned road leading back up to the top of the mountain and where you parked. Got directions from

the trail reviews on www.mtbr.com

Dupont State Forest - South of Asheville between Brevard and Hendersonville. I took the info off the IMBA epic rides link. We hooked

up with some locals for a great ride.

Paris Mountain - Greenville SC - This is a pretty decent park just north of Greenville. Started at the mtn. and then rode all the trails.

Dahlonega - North of Atlanta GA - I took the info off the IMBA epic rides link. We hit this place after a hard rain. The terrain held up

pretty well wet, but the overcast skies took a lot of the end of the day riding away. We'd like to get back here for some more riding.

Bottom Creek - Different trails that gradually increase in difficulty. Nice easy riding. Well maintained park.

Carter Lake - Nice 5-6 mile loop. This loop is part of a local mtn. bike race. It was a really fast and loop with some short steeps.

Tanasi - Ocoee Whitewater Center outside of Chatanooga TN. I took the info off the IMBA epic rides link. This is a network of 3 single

track loops joined together by jeep roads. Fun ride. We saw a black bear from about 15 feet away (we waved, took a picture, and were

on our way). Ran into a couple at the parking lot that ran into two bears eating blackberries. One was laying on it's back sprawled out

pulling the berries down toward it's mouth and the other was laying down on it's stomach.

Racoon Mountain - Chatanooga TN - Man were we tired by the time we got here. This is a gem. There has been a ton of work done

around this reservoir. Lots of great rolling single track. 1000's of hours have been put into this area. They are constantly adding trail here.

Highly recommended. This place has been mentioned quite a few times on the IMBA site and in their quarterly publications.

2006 4th of July Trip - Ohio and West Virginia

Visit www.spokejunkies.com for more information on these places. This site has a lot of information on Ohio, West Virginia, and Michigan trails. This site is what started my desire to make a site with Roanoke area trail information.

Mountwood - Parkersburg WV - this is a nice park with 15 miles of trail of intermediate trail. They have an interesting trials area with ladder

bridges and a teeter totter. I wasn't brave enough to try it all, but I played around for a little while.

Lake Hope - This place could have used some trail work. There was a lot of new growth that smacked us in the face. Once we got out on

some of the more well used trails, things were better. I enjoyed the ride. It was similar to the cove.

Alum Creek Phase I and II - This place was located just north of Columbus OH. I really enjoyed this trail. It was very well planned out.

Throughout the ride there were places where the trail split, with an advanced option one way and an easy option the other. There were a

bunch of ladder bridges and log climbs. Not much elevation gain either. Easy on the aerobic system unless you ride it super fast.

Vulture's Knob - THIS PLACE IS A MUST. There aren't many places that are as unique as Vulture's Knob. Recently I tried to visit their

webpage and nothing came up. I can't imagine that this placed has closed. I'd do a search or talk to a local before I made an attempt to

go here. Check out some of the reviews on www.mtbr.com or do a Google search. Also there are a few www.youtube.com videos of the

park. You have to see it to believe it. FUN, FUN, FUN. Great place for taking pictures. I do give a poison ivy alert!

Mohican State Park - One of the only places I've ridden in OH with real climbs. This area has some nice trails that travel through old

growth forest. As of 2006 they were working on some new trail in the area. Locals talked about a potential 30+ miles.

West Branch - This is one of my favorite places to ride. There are a couple different types of terrain in this park. One section hugs the lake

and meanders back and forth around the water and in out of coves. Then there are the moderate and advanced trails. These trails require

some real skill. There are tons of rocks in this area and they will keep you on your toes. You have to have balance and the ability to put

your bike where you want it. There are logs to ride and some small planks to ride across. If your in the area, you have to stop by this

place. It is well mapped and marked.

Tomlinson Run State Park - We got to this place and it was raining hard, so we decided to run instead of bike. The park had a nice

selection of trails and from what I remember it had some hills.

Cooper's Rock State Park - Guess what, when we got to this park it was raining like crazy. The trails held up really well to the rain even

when they started to look like creek beds. Man the water was flowing. We liked this park even with the rain. Lots of rocks though. I

thought it was a really scenic park. Lots of cascading creeks and boulders that made us feel really small.