Trail: Surprises

Today was the first bike ride on my growing trail. I did it, not simply to test it out, but because I was tired of lugging the cutting tools on my back and in my hands.

I believe the term used to describe my trail for biking is “technical” — meaning it’s stinking hard. On about six or seven turns there are trees too close to the inside of the turn. They gotta go. A couple of low-hanging limbs are just too close to the rider’s head. There are several patches entirely too loose and sandy, needing some crushed sticks to firm it up. I suppose none of that was really a surprise.

What was a surprise was the hidden game trail I stumbled upon while struggling to extend the trail. I had expected to make about 5-10 yards per hour. Today I spent the first hour getting some 10 yards, then — poof. The foliage thinned out. There was a sort of game animal trail running along my predicted path. The second hour I added almost a hundred yards.

I also added a very preliminary type of cut to escape my trail out to the big road bed just to the east. That way I can jog the trail right close to the current stopping point and then finish the route another way. And it appears the next hundred yards or so will be fairly easy.

Notice the term “easy” is relative. There are still plenty of thorn vines, and I tend to simply pull them from the ground whole. There’s an advantage to being a big husky fellow. It’s also makes it easier to remove big chunks of dead fall without much struggle.

Still, I need to take the time to trim back the trail just a bit for biking.