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Pumpin' it up this evening. Probably going to hit some dirt tomorrow.
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I left the range for a bit, but still felt at home on two wheels.
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Cincinnati

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Newport, KY

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Barnegat Light, NJ

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Damascus, VA

It had been quite a few years since I traveled East of CO. It was good to visit with a bunch of my old USAF comrades and get a few miles in on two wheels.
 
I had backpacked the Iron Mountain Loop near Mount Rogers about 30 years ago and had always wanted to return. I sent that pic from Iron Mountain Trail to my friend who had made that trip with me. I'll return to Damascus in the Spring again soon, but bring suspension in order to cover more ground next time. The Damascus Brewery has great beer and a really cool owner, Andy. The vibe there in Damascus is the antithesis of Appalachian Creepy, which West Virginia has an excess of.
 
Went out to pick up a bike today and figured a ride in that neighborhood was in order. Fitting trail names and quick work with the right weapon for the job. The recent rain made the dirt nothing less than perfect, rippin.
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The trail ratings appear to be set to avoid getting sued by inept mountain bikers who get in over their heads. The black is really blue and blue really green. Meh, fun is fun and this place has a full day of ripping available. I did a serpentine climb from the first parking area to the high point and retraced back to the lot. Learning the trails on the way up made for a ridiculously fun descent.
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Definitely worth a stop when passing through.
 
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Another Velosolutions Pump Track going in on the Northern Front Range.

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I ran into an acquaintance at the one in boulder yesterday who is also a Longmont resident. We were kind of wondering what our local bicycle advocacy group has been doing to accommodate the MTB/BMX/Dirt cyclists in Longmont and he told me of this:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/L...557032bc5e2ed3!8m2!3d40.156705!4d-105.0952142
Three reviews, two with one star and another with three.

This review was informative in that it mentioned the next burg to the North is all-in on doing something significant: https://goo.gl/maps/JQK21SF1KfcZpVes5

This will be most Significant:
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Another Velosolutions Pump Track going in on the Northern Front Range.

View attachment 175211

I ran into an acquaintance at the one in boulder yesterday who is also a Longmont resident. We were kind of wondering what our local bicycle advocacy group has been doing to accommodate the MTB/BMX/Dirt cyclists in Longmont and he told me of this:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/L...557032bc5e2ed3!8m2!3d40.156705!4d-105.0952142
Three reviews, two with one star and another with three.

This review was informative in that it mentioned the next burg to the North is all-in on doing something significant: https://goo.gl/maps/JQK21SF1KfcZpVes5

This will be most Significant:
View attachment 175212
Lucky!
 
Interesting... What are "skills trails"? Being separated from the flow trail and jump lines, could this mean old school tech stuff? Tight twisty, rocks n roots? I'd love to see this stuff getting made in parks
 
Richardson Park is going to be the Jimi Jam. It'll be about half the distance of the other good muni bike parks around and super easy to get to from where I live.
Interesting... What are "skills trails"? Being separated from the flow trail and jump lines, could this mean old school tech stuff? Tight twisty, rocks n roots? I'd love to see this stuff getting made in parks
What is in Longmont (sold as a skills trail) is not technical to me on my red Mesa Runner town bike. I went over to see a while ago and it's just as the reviewer said. Maybe 25 years ago those would have been slightly significant but now it's just plain sad, especially on its own with plenty of room nearby to have done more. Berthoud's plan has the skills trail, but I'd wager it's going to be mainly ridden by toddlers and other entry level riders for a short period of their riding lives. With most everything leaning towards flow anymore, it's a largely outdated concept.

In case anyone reading this wonders why I am not doing (or have tried to do) something about the situation where I live, I have. When one has been involved in MTB (and other cycling disciplines) advocacy at varying levels for close to 30 years and gets ignored, frustrating is an understatement. I've reached the point of amusement and would rather be entertained than frustrated. It takes less energy that can be better used from behind a set of handlebars.
 
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