I rode in Allaire State Park Sunday. I ran into a guy, well not literally ran into, though it was close, who said he was liking trail riding more and road riding less. I'm beginning to think the same way. Too many crazies on the road, but the equestrians, runners and hikers on the trails are all courteous.
I was not prepared for the "wildness" of the trails; wild to me anyway. There were uphills that I walked, though I took most of them, downhills that I looked at with trepidation and thought to myself "well, you can't be a wuss all your life" and took them. There were root steps, logs, tree branches, gravel, hard packed dirt, and the ubiquitous sand.
I rode about 1 hour 47 mins. and about 8 miles. The problem is, I got lost! I was riding the "blue" trail, and realized "oh crap, I have to find my way out". I didn't come out of the trails the way I went in... God only knows how I got out and back out onto the road. Of course as Murphy's Law would have it, I turned the wrong way on Herbertsville Road and went too far in the opposite direction of where I was parked on Hospital Road. So I turned around and rode back to where my truck was, cursing and swearing all the way.
I stopped at the camping office and got a trail map. The employee looked at me and said "south trails?" I said yeah; maybe the fact that I was drenched and hobbling tipped him off? He handed me a map that said "South Trails" and said I'd never get lost again.
Good ride.
I was not prepared for the "wildness" of the trails; wild to me anyway. There were uphills that I walked, though I took most of them, downhills that I looked at with trepidation and thought to myself "well, you can't be a wuss all your life" and took them. There were root steps, logs, tree branches, gravel, hard packed dirt, and the ubiquitous sand.
I rode about 1 hour 47 mins. and about 8 miles. The problem is, I got lost! I was riding the "blue" trail, and realized "oh crap, I have to find my way out". I didn't come out of the trails the way I went in... God only knows how I got out and back out onto the road. Of course as Murphy's Law would have it, I turned the wrong way on Herbertsville Road and went too far in the opposite direction of where I was parked on Hospital Road. So I turned around and rode back to where my truck was, cursing and swearing all the way.
I stopped at the camping office and got a trail map. The employee looked at me and said "south trails?" I said yeah; maybe the fact that I was drenched and hobbling tipped him off? He handed me a map that said "South Trails" and said I'd never get lost again.
Good ride.