Mountain/Trail Bikes & Places To Go.

Hey.

Like to get muddy and slip-slide your way through the bush? Then bike trails are the greatest thing since road hockey.

It's a drag taking a camera on most of these dangerous expeditions, but sometimes you find one that's easy enough and won't cost you a new camera because you cracked the one you had when you flipped over the bars and rolled down a slope.

I found one of these easy tracks today. It's one that is just under construction called the Carrick Tract Bike Trail and in a bush that features lots of steep hills and dicey corners between medium sized trees. The location is near Wingham in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.

Here's some pics that I took this afternoon. You can see it starts out nice and easy with a big double track. That's just there to sucker you into taking your camera, thinking it's gonna be a snap.

Here's my first stop... a nice little fresh water creek that I saw Brook trout in as soon as I came up to it. They saw me and hid before I could snap a shot off.

The trail narrowed considerably and started going into switchbacks up and down steep hills.

Took a break after about 2 miles because the trail managers had kindly stuck a bench there for me.

This flower is a Trillium. They carpet the forest floor around here every spring. It's also the Provincial flower and can net you a sizable fine if you take a plant out with you.

This is what I found after about 5 miles and I thought, geez, maybe I should see if I can find my way back.

So, that was the Carrick Tract. It was a nice soft trail, not too many stumps or roots, no serious dumps, lotsa swamp, some bugs but, gladly, no bears to make me feel like I'm trespassing.

Feel free to add on if you're into this stuff. Next trail I take, I'll bring my camera again.

Oh man, that reminded me of the biking I used to do in my teens out on Vancouver Island. GREAT fun. The trees were a little bigger though.

Wish I had the time for it now. Did you go on your own? I've found that this is the best way to REALLY enjoy nature. No interuptions, just you and life.

I was all by myself. The gnarlier trails are something my wife prefers to stay away from. She has a hybrid (no front shocks) which really can't take the roots and stumps. I take her out on easier trails, like old railroad beds which can be nice. Always an easy grade and solid ground. When the trains went the way of the dodo around here, a lot of the beds were kept up for bikes, hikers and snowmobiles. Some of the bridges are spectacular.

We were on Okanagan Mountain in British Columbia which was the best mountain trail in Canada until a forest fire burned all the brdges down.

I love heading out by myself. Then I can take whichever route I want and go as fast as I want.

I don't like a mud stripe on my back, though, so I prefer the tires covered.

Are there any other biking enthuiasts out there in BTSland?

I'd sure like to see what you're up to...

I used to be a fanatic but now I'm to busy trying to keep my business afloat as the high gas prices are about to cause me to slip into the Red.

Still I find the odd moment to take the old Diamondback down to the Rio Grande for some riding along the ditch and in the bosque [cottonwood riparian forest.]


We have some spectacular high desert trails here in New Mexico.