Finally...A Fleeting Opportunity

With all of the rain we have had so far this past spring and summer there have been limited opportunities to ride the single track trails here in the Twin Cities. The ground is so saturated that even brief showers have kept trails from opening. When they do open it seems that it rarely is longer than a day or two before we get rain and once again they close. After last weekends storms most trails were closed all week.

 

I was able to do a couple of easy road rides during the week and finally heard that the Elm Creek trails were opening late Thursday morning. After hearing this I knew what I would be doing Friday morning. In hind site, probably should have changed my Thursday plans to get out and ride.

 

It was great to get out on the single speed and enjoy the flow of some primo single track. I absolutely love the flow and feel of the Elm Creek trails and feel that they were very well designed. They are not the most challenging trails in the Twin Cities, but when they are in your backyard you enjoy them as much as possible.

 

 

 "Welcome to Grizzland"

The MORC section of the trail is the most challenging and is lovingly referred to as "Grizzland".
It's named after C.J., a local rider who has spent countless hours working and maintaining the trail. His nickname "Griz" comes from the fact that he is the only person any of us know that survived an attack by a grizzly bear. It happened years ago while on an elk hunting trip out west. It's quite the survival story.

My plan for this morning was to get out and ride the trails once again. However, a steady rain moved in over night and once again the trails are closed so they can dry out. Opportunities to ride the single track have been fleeting. This has been a very disturbing pattern for many local mountain bikers. The situation has forced many of them to hit the roads and paved trails just to get miles in, including myself.