- Trailhead: Hopkins Hill parking lot; entered trail across the street going West instead of the usual Easterly heading from this lot- Riders: OMMB
- Distance: about 9 miles (GPS tracked 8.3 but I found the section it missed and added it up with Google Earth, cool sheet)
- Temp: 70 and dropping
- Weather: some rain, but mostly cool and dry
- Weather: some rain, but mostly cool and dry
- Trail Conditions: nasty root infested rocky hilly trails
- Technical Level: (see Trail Conditions)
- Wildlife: heard some big stuff, but I'm sure I was at the top of the food chain (well...pretty sure)
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: all good, played it safe while solo (with a low battery on the cell)
Notes: I felt I needed a good ass-kickin in order to build up mileage so I figured I'd spend a couple hours at BR. I successfully kicked the crap out of myself, a little too well. The direction I traveled leads to where I call "Big River Middle" but it's more like "Middle South". The trails and topography in that area are simply...nasty. LOTS of climbing. I've been caught here in the past, but on much shorter rides. I knew I was screwed about 30 minutes in but stuck with it. Ended up finding a relatively remote cemetery with no RI Historical marker (it could have been hidden). The waypoint is marked on the tracks shown. I dropped onto a tar road for a bit on the southern most portion of the ride, but even that was all uphill (must be a geographical oddity, all paths lead up). Jumped back onto single track near some familiar woods near the gun club. On my route North, I did manage to find some new (to me) single-track that was manageable and actually pretty nice. One section followed the border of a pond/swamp with lots of animal and bird activity (again, heard but not seen).
Tidbits:
1) I did manage to obtain my goal of finding a new loop that connects BR West and East areas, just a bit too rough for most of us. It took most of the targeted 2 hours.
2) Just sold the '99 Joshua F3 to a friend of Patrick's, who will surely take good care of the old workhorse (I'm told there will be a reincarnation)!
1) I did manage to obtain my goal of finding a new loop that connects BR West and East areas, just a bit too rough for most of us. It took most of the targeted 2 hours.
2) Just sold the '99 Joshua F3 to a friend of Patrick's, who will surely take good care of the old workhorse (I'm told there will be a reincarnation)!
Click on...Google Earth Track...for Google Earth file.
+-+9+mi+-+8+June+10.jpg)
Happy Trails,
OMMB
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