My first Chicago ride report...
Ok.. so I've not been around here much. Truth is, I get precious little time in front of the computer any more, and when I do, it's work work work... I think i'm getting averse to sitting down at the computer.. Who'da thunk it...
Anyway, I've had the chance now to settle in a little bit, and i've got a couple rides under my belt. (yes, sadly, only a couple.... :( )
I got up to Kettle Morain in Wisconsin a few weeks ago with Ross. This was a pretty decent trail. Long fast singletrack. There was some nice technical stuff thrown in on a supplemental loop that we hit off a connecting trail. Overall, I'd rate it about a B-.. Not bad, but hard to justify the 1.5 hour drive (without traffic)..
More recently I've been to the Palos Forest preserve in Willow Springs, IL.. For my MI homies, the best comparison I can draw would be to Stony or Bloomer. Mostly that Palos is a system of separate loops connected by two track or other singletrack connector trails. There's also a fair amount of legal and bandit trails.
The terrain is fairly similar to Stony too.. I think most of the trail at Stony flows much better, but there are some sections that are pretty fun. Gravity Cavity is a short, mile or so section that's pretty straight, and runs mostly downhill. There's a fair amount of root drops and fun little features built into the trail, but as far as speed, it's not terribly steep, and you have to watch out for riders in the other direction.. >:( "Out and Back" is a nice little 1-2 mile out and back with some really nice 2-3 foot log piles and decent flow. But, again, lookout for other riders...
There's plenty of mileage to be had, so I won't lack for training miles. But speed an climbs are going to be lacking.. gonna have to find some back road hills somewhere..
Well, that's it for now.. I'm pooped... It sucks being out of shape...
Anyway, I've had the chance now to settle in a little bit, and i've got a couple rides under my belt. (yes, sadly, only a couple.... :( )
I got up to Kettle Morain in Wisconsin a few weeks ago with Ross. This was a pretty decent trail. Long fast singletrack. There was some nice technical stuff thrown in on a supplemental loop that we hit off a connecting trail. Overall, I'd rate it about a B-.. Not bad, but hard to justify the 1.5 hour drive (without traffic)..
More recently I've been to the Palos Forest preserve in Willow Springs, IL.. For my MI homies, the best comparison I can draw would be to Stony or Bloomer. Mostly that Palos is a system of separate loops connected by two track or other singletrack connector trails. There's also a fair amount of legal and bandit trails.
The terrain is fairly similar to Stony too.. I think most of the trail at Stony flows much better, but there are some sections that are pretty fun. Gravity Cavity is a short, mile or so section that's pretty straight, and runs mostly downhill. There's a fair amount of root drops and fun little features built into the trail, but as far as speed, it's not terribly steep, and you have to watch out for riders in the other direction.. >:( "Out and Back" is a nice little 1-2 mile out and back with some really nice 2-3 foot log piles and decent flow. But, again, lookout for other riders...
There's plenty of mileage to be had, so I won't lack for training miles. But speed an climbs are going to be lacking.. gonna have to find some back road hills somewhere..
Well, that's it for now.. I'm pooped... It sucks being out of shape...
Labels: training
1 Comments:
Hey...saw your post about 9 mile. E-mail me at daniellemustoatyahoodotcom when you get the chance!
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