Feeling the Flow

Yesterday I decided to spend several hours at Murphy-Hanrehan Park riding the singletrack. When I started my ride the temps were in the lower 80's and when I got back to the car after nearly three hours of riding it was 92. The dew points were once again approaching the tropical 70 degree mark, but thank God not the 79 degrees we saw earlier in the week.My original plan was to get up at 5 a.m. and be on the road by 6 to avoid traffic. The traffic here in the Twin Cities has been awful as of late and Murphy is at the total opposite end of the cities from where we live which means a drive of nearly 40 miles in one direction. But the riding is well worth the driving. Because of the heat I made sure I was well stocked with fluids and nutrition. Better safe then sorry. Unfortunately, I didn't get that early start and didn't get on the trails until nearly 11 a.m.
The trails at Murphy are amazing! It's not a tight and highly technical track. There are some technical features throughout that you can challenge yourself with if you so choose and there are also some rocky and rooty areas where a bit of caution may be advised.

This is one of the rock sections where slower is not always better. Pick your line and go.

Even when riding the singletrack I always keep my eyes out for interesting photos. I happened across this single lone columbine along one section of the trail and of course had to stop.
It's easy to let yourself relax and go on some parts of the trail, but you always have to be aware of corners and what is beyond where you can't see. My friend Bob's advice to me two years ago was..."You need to keep your head up and look through each corner." He was right and it works.
Doing this allows you to really get into and feel the flow of the trail.
The wooden stairs are always fun providing you don't fall off and do a face plant. If you don't want the challenge you can take the trail to the left as you come around the corner.
The trail starts and finishes in an open prairie area, but the track itself also transitions from forest to open grass in several areas. It's a beautiful place for riding singletrack. We are very fortunate here in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to have so many riding options available to us.
Next on my list is some urban riding, but first a trip up north for several days of forest roads.