Friday, April 23, 2010

Addison Oaks...well, that was fun, what's next?

I've finished moving back to my parents', which means I'm now a lot closer to a lot more trails. Today I explored Addison Oaks and had a good time. It was a fun, fast trail. That's how I like them—fast and sweepy, not too technical. Had some decent climbs, but not as many as I was expecting, given the hilly nature of the Oakland County dirt roads that surround the park. I'd get a better hill workout just by riding to the park, but that's a fair trade-off for having a trail like this so close.

Oh, and I think it's worth noting given my track record on new trails—I didn't wipe once, not even close! I'm getting better at this mountain biking thing, I think.

I loved how fast and sweepy this trail was!

The first of several caution signs...that means fun, right?

Right!

Could've done with less of these between the fast sweepies, though...

Actually, it would've been a lot more fun if the rock gardens were more spread out and less in number. I liked having two big rock gardens on Burchfield's main loop that I could bypass if I wished (or tackle if I was feeling spry!), but I didn't have that liberty at Addison Oaks, and there were a lot more of them...I wasn't counting, but seemed like eight or nine at least.

Post-ride picnic to end the day.

All in all, I had a good time today. I think next time I'll throw in a ride to Bald Mountain, too, because Addison Oaks (while fun, and quick) was not very challenging. I do need to bone up on my technical skills a bit, so I'm making that a goal for this year. I am also considering taking part in the Becoming an Outdoors Woman Mountain Bike Symposium this June at Stoney Creek. Does it sound worth it?

Oh, and in case you were looking for my pictures from Yankee Springs, click here to view them on Picasa.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Justin Clark said...

BOW is great, but if you don't want to wait to learn how to take on rock gardens let me know I can help you out some. BY the Bald MTN has some really fast down hills that have lots of rocks and roots followed by sand at the bottom. So a crash or two may be in order. If you want we can hit it up sometime soon. I love Bald MTN!

April 27, 2010 at 9:46 AM  
Blogger utabintarbo said...

What he said re: BOW

As far as the rock gardens at Addison go... once you get used to them, you will find a "line" that allows you to take them with no real loss of speed. At least most of them, that is. I went from averaging ~6MPH to ~9MPH over the course of last yr., and I am old and fat. You will find speed out there in time.

April 29, 2010 at 3:15 PM  

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