Holy Crap! That is SICK!

The vision begins to take shape (photo stitched by Hannah Dreissigacker)

The vision begins to take shape (photo stitched by Hannah Dreissigacker)

In general, I keep the personal out of my blog posts, communications and other work here at the Outdoor Center, but this is just way too cool to hide my excitement. The GRP and Jeremy have been hard at work the past several weeks on the singletrack trails at the Center and Hosmer Point. There's been some raking, pruning - general buffing out - plus more ambitious projects like a teeter-totter, and a new pump track at Hosmer Point.But one other trail projects has been the beginning of bridges. One long term weak point of the Center's singletrack are several wet sections,  sections that have traditionally been dealt with via puncheon or corduroy trail work. Functional, but not really fun.

Armed with inspiration from trail work done by the folks at Kingdom Trails, Cady's Falls, Grafton and elsewhere, the GRP trail crew started bridging work on our trails. Regular trail users will note that more bridges are cropping up on the trail network, including the nifty little number that these pictures were shot from.

NOICE! (photo stitched by Hannah Dreissigacker)

NOICE! (photo stitched by Hannah Dreissigacker)

But it was a happy accident of topography, botany, forestry skills and creativity that put two perfectly curved cedars at the point on the trail that needed a bridge. After the trees were found, it was only a matter of time before the ever creative chainsaw artists of the GRP created this pièce de résistance, the wave.

Now, I'm going to hurry up and finish this post so I can go ride, but you really have to come on out and try it - and the rest of the ever-developing system - yourself. Find the wave on the red trail as you leave from the Touring Center.

Day memberships for riding the Center's singletrack are available in the front office for $5/day OR annual members ride for free! No bike? Rent a Cannondale from us. Just get out and check out all the trail work done to this point, and keep checking back as we work on a pump track and skills park for the Center later this summer. Happy riding!