This past weekend I rode at the SORBA CSRA Bike Fest at Clarks Hill Lake in east-central Georgia and the weather was absolutely perfect. This was my first time riding the Bartram Trail / West Dam and at the end of the day I clocked more than 22 miles in the saddle across the fast, flowy singletrack. SORBA CSRA is busy working on extending this section of the Bartram Trail to connect to other area trails and it won’t be long before you can string together 40+ miles of singletrack in a single ride.

Anyway, it turns out it’s hunting season which means mountain bikers need to take extra precautions to stay safe on the trail. Bike Fest organizers did a good job spreading the word so I stopped to buy a $2 hunter safety vest on my way to the trail that day. I learned a few more tips about biking during hunting season that I thought I’d share here.

• Avoid riding during dawn and dusk hours. It turns out this is prime hunting time, especially during deer season, plus the low light conditions make it difficult to make out colors and shapes in the forest. If you think you might be caught on the trail in the early evening, bring a light or two to make yourself more visible. The best time of day to ride during hunting season is mid-day.
• Wear orange and/or bright colors. You can pick up a cheap orange safety vest at most outdoor shops and it’s well worth the investment. Avoid wearing camo patterns on your clothes, Camelbak, etc.
• Don’t be afraid to make a little noise. Hunters may not like to hear this but making noise with a bell or even your voice will let them know you’re not an animal. Several years ago I was riding with some friends and after beating everyone to the top of a climb I started yelling to let them know I was first. Little did I know there was a hunter in a tree stand not 20 yards away and he was pissed I had scared his deer. He fired his gun into the air to scare me and it worked. Hey, at least he knew I wasn’t a deer and he wasn’t aiming the gun at me
• Check for closures with local land managers. Some trails are closed to bikers at certain times to minimize conflicts with hunters. Make sure you know when those times are and observe them.
• Be alert. Sure, hunters need to look out for us but it’s a good idea to look for them as well. Be particularly alert around forest clearings and look for orange hunters’ vests wherever you are. If you see a hunter, give a wave and make eye contact if you can.

This poor guy didn’t survive his encounter with a hunter

Be careful riding this fall, particularly if you ride in areas shared with hunters. And watch out for those leaves on the trail too - those things can be slippery and they usually hide the nastiest rocks and roots

Singletracks member Outdoornut clued me in to the latest issue of IMBA Trail News where they talk about the 5 newest IMBA Epic trails added this year. Here’s a summary from east to west.

photo posted by rodrodriguez2003

Pinhoti Trail (North Georgia). The Pinhoti Trail is sorta like Kokopelli’s younger, forested brother with 100 miles of point-to-point singletrack linking some of the best riding spots in north Georgia. If you like technical riding with a decent amount of climbing, Pinhoti is your man.

photo posted by Outdoornut

Spruce Knob (Seneca, WV). Outdoornut gives Spruce Knob 5-stars and it’s easy to see why from the photos. The main 15-mile loop is comprised of technically demanding rocky and rooty singletrack set amid pristine scenery. IMBA helped get this area removed from the 2009 Wild Monongahela Act which would have prohibited mountain bikes in the area so ride it now and enjoy!

photo posted by copperhippie

Copper Harbor Trails (Copper Harbor, MI). This is actually the second trail in Michigan to receive IMBA Epic status and from what we’ve read here on singletracks the trail is “Totally AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”. Extensive wood bridges make this trail both sustainable AND fun to ride.

photo posted by dauw

Curt Gowdy State Park (Cheyenne, WY). We’re pretty stoked to see Rowdy Gowdy got the Epic nod after just a few years on the scene. The trails at Curt Gowdy have something for everyone and feature scenery that’s tough to beat.

photo posted by bstill30

Plains of Abraham (Mt. St. Helens, WA). Singletracks members may know this one as Smith Creek Epic but now that it’s an IMBA Epic I suppose it’s time to get prim and proper with the trail description. This is rugged, beautiful terrain and if you plan to tackle this one you may want to consider bstill30’s advice and pack “energy bars, warm clothes, and a flashlight for good measure.” Awesome.

Last month I wrote about a somewhat disappointing MTB trail recon trip to middle Georgia and I actually got a lot of sympathy (though that wasn’t my intent at all). The fact is I love riding new and unfamiliar trails and even the stinkers give me satisfaction since I get to check another MTB trail off my list.

Yesterday morning the weather was cool and dry so I snuck out to scope the newly constructed trails at Harbins Park in rural Gwinnett County about 35 miles east of Atlanta. The reviews I read on singletracks gave conflicting information and I really wasn’t sure if there were 4 miles or 11 miles of trail and whether there was even any singletrack at all. This time I packed info on a “backup trail” nearby just in case Harbins Park was a dud.

Harbins Park is only about 4 miles down the road from Tribble Mill (and 8 miles from Ft. Yargo as the crow flies) but the two trail systems couldn’t be any more different. For one thing, all the mountain bike trails in Harbins Park are purpose-built for biking and are single-use meaning you won’t run into any hikers or equestrians on the trails (they have their own dirt). The loops closest to the parking lot feature fairly wide trails with sharp, twisting turns being the only real “technical trail features” (TTFs).

All the trails were cut using machines so they’re a couple feet wide right now but over time will become more narrow as vegetation fills back in. From what I could tell there wasn’t a lot of hand work done on the trails after the machines came through and there are several rough spots where things aren’t quite smoothed out yet.

Most of the main, large loop is solid beginner territory but I pressed on to the far loop marked with a dashed line on park maps. I wasn’t sure if this meant the trails were still under construction or what but they ended up being some of the best I’ve ridden in a while. To enter this section you have to ride over some large rocks piled up on the side of the paved path which seems like a good way to weed out the newbs - kinda like the “you must be this tall to ride the ride” signs at Six Flags. If you fall on the rocks, you’re not ready

The back section features much steeper climbs and some short downhill runs with jumps and bermed turns - an unexpected surprise for sure! In fact the entire back loop is really just a miles-long pump track through the woods and has incredible flow - I felt like I could ride around and around for hours. There’s even a super steep granite downhill that transitions into a bermed turn and for about 100 yards you feel like you’re riding somewhere in Utah.

The park facilities are top notch with restrooms, a bike wash area, and great maps and signage throughout. In fact I think I may have found the nicest MTB Trail sign anywhere in the world - and there are two of these in the main parking lot! There’s also a paved multi-use trail that intersects the mountain bike trails in a couple places making it easy to skip ahead or take a shortcut after a long day.

Harbins Park is a county park and the trails were built with the help of the Gwinnett Area Trail Riders (GATR). This place is a great example of how sustainable trails can be built with all MTB skill levels in mind and how destination trails can potentially benefit the local economy. I know I’ll be back soon - and next time I’m bringing my friends!

When mudhunny and I started singletracks back in 1998, our mission was simple: to help mountain bikers find the best trails. Eleven years later it’s still our focus and to make sure that happens we personally ride and report on as many new trails as we can.

Last week I put together a list of 5 unfamiliar trails in middle Georgia that I found on a local MTB club’s website and decided to see what was up. The Google Map I built said the round trip would be close to 300 miles and 8 hours of driving but that’s a small price to pay for riding 5 different trail systems in a single day. At 8am on Wednesday I was off…

I hit the first trail of the day, Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center, just before 9am and found the parking area empty (no surprise). This trail has an unusual permitting system I hadn’t seen before that involves filling out a permit to take with you and depositing a carbon copy in a locked bin. The “trail” turned out to be horseshoe-pocked doubletrack that was wildly overgrown with high grass but it was well marked and probably not a bad choice for beginning riders.

Heading to the next trail, my Google Map directed me onto some crazy dirt roads and after several miles I was pretty sure I’d see the Dukes of Hazzard coming around the bend at any moment. At intersections I rarely saw signs with the name of the road I was turning onto, only signs for the road I was turning off - sort of a “guess and check” method of navigation. I finally emerged onto a paved highway and made my way to Bartram Forest in Milledgeville.

My youngest brother goes to school in Milledgeville and he actually told me a little about the trails at Bartram Forest but when I got there all I could find was miles and miles of doubletrack. Like Charlie Elliot, much of the doubletrack was overgrown and I was starting to get frustrated until I found it: singletrack! It turns out I went the wrong direction initially and totally missed the singletrack right beside the trailhead. The singletrack was tight and fast but unfortunately way too short. Then again, I suppose you take what you can get in this area.

By now it was lunch time so I ate a sandwich in the car as I drove to the next trail: The Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge. I was looking forward to this trail the most because I saw pictures online and it looked pretty good plus I had read there were 12+ miles of trail. I strolled into the visitor’s center and asked the ranger which trails were open to bikes to which he replied, “None of them.” Ok, but what about the gravel roads? Only if they are open to cars. Yuck.

I’m a professional, though, so I grabbed a map and headed out on the gravel. I didn’t see a single car on my 13 mile loop but I did see some turkey and deer along the way. At this point it was getting VERY hot (mid-90s) and halfway around the loop I was ready for it to be over. To be fair, though, I’d say the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge is a good place to get MTB training rides in on the miles and miles of gravel roads.

After the hot ride I debated skipping the next trail and heading home but after pumping the AC in the car a bit I was refreshed and ready for the Camp Thunder trails. As a Boy Scout I stayed at Camp Thunder several times and though I knew nothing about the bike trails, I remember having a blast canoeing on the Flint River nearby. Anyway, to make a long story short, upon arrival a staff member informed me that the trails had been closed to the general public for a year and a half. Nice. I’ll never trust a mountain biking website again

Trail #4 was a bust which left just trail #5 before my epic trip came to an end. I didn’t have high hopes for the Kiwanis Fairgrounds Trail in Griffin since the woman I spoke with at Camp Thunder said there was nothing there as far as she knew. The trail was sorta on my way home anyway so I soldiered on. It turns out the directions I printed were perfect and I found this short trail gem tucked between the National Guard Armory, the fairgrounds, and the city airport. The trails were twisty, tight, and fun - the perfect capstone to my adventure. My only complaint is the trails were waaay too short - probably less than a mile - but like I said, you take what you can get.

I’m addicted to exploring new MTB trails and no matter how many bad trails I ride there are always a few cool discoveries that make it all worthwhile. Get out and ride some new trails this summer, then share your reviews here on singletracks - think of it as a public service!

The International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) announced yesterday that the 2010 IMBA World Summit will be held in Augusta, GA May 5-8. Augusta may seem like an odd choice, especially to mountain bikers in the western US, but the area is quickly becoming the model for building sustainable trails in cooperation with state and federal land managers. There’s already an IMBA Epic trail system in the area (FATS) and there are plans to add even more singletrack to the region in the next few years.

I’m actually not too surprised that Augusta is being recognized as a world-class mountain biking destination. In fact, the second article I ever wrote for singletracks in September, 2001 was titled “Hidden Gems Found in Augusta, GA” where I made the claim that the area was already a southeastern MTB mecca. Sure, I may be a little biased since I started mountain biking in Augusta in the mid-1990s (my first real trail ride was at the Stevens Creek Trail) but it’s tough to argue with miles of singletrack spread across nearly a dozen unique trailheads.

Want to see what the hype is about? Check out this list of Augusta area MTB trails… See you at the World Summit!

Another damp weekend training ride in north Georgia.

I’m less than 2 weeks away from my first metric dirty century in Sumter National Forest and this weekend I had my toughest training ride yet. For those who don’t know a metric century is 100 kilometers or 62.2 miles and my plan has been to gradually increase my long weekend rides until I get close to 60 miles or about 5 hours on the bike. One week ago I rode 60 miles but that was on a road bike riding a flat course (and it took just over 3 hours).

Saturday I got an early start outside Dahlonega, GA where I tackled the Canada Creek loop, Winding Stairs, and Camp Wahsega Rd. After 5+ hours I covered 48 miles and nearly 5,000 feet of climbing which is about 4,200 feet more than I’ll probably climb in the Sumter Metric Century. The hardest part of the ride was probably the middle - miles 20 to 30 - mainly because I felt like I had gone so far already but still had so far to go. I was surprised that the mental challenge of riding long distance was nearly as difficult as the physical challenge of pushing the pedals mile after mile. At any rate, I survived and I feel good about the race on May 16.

Throughout my training I’ve been using the Polar CS600X cycling computer and even though I’ve been using it for more than a month I probably still haven’t used half the functions. Polar is known for heart rate monitors and cycling computers but the CS600X ups the ante with an optional GPS pod, cadence and power sensors, and wireless data transfer to your PC. I’ve been stuffing the GPS pod into my back jersey pocket where it seems to get a great signal every time - impressive stuff, especially given that even handlebar mounted units often lose reception in the woods.

The Polar CS600X comes with ProTrainer 5 software which lets you view amazing detail about your workouts in an easy to use calendar interface. You can plot heart rate, speed, elevation, time, etc. and even view the data overlaid on a map of your ride (thanks to the GPS). The CS600X even lets you view basic charts and graphs while you’re on the bike which is great for monitoring heart rate and elevation trends mid-workout.

Look for a detailed review of the Polar CS600X later this month after I put it through its paces during the Sumter Metric Century May 16!

It seems like everyone is running marathons these days. Oprah did it. Diddy did it. Heck, even I did it a few years back. Today’s marathon is yesterday’s 10K and it seems like pretty much anyone can run 26.2 miles with a little training.

The cycling equivalent of a marathon, the “century,” is a 100-mile road ride that requires nearly as much training and way more time on the road. Still, I’m pretty sure if Oprah had a road bike she’d ride a century too.

The dirty century (100 miles off road on a mountain bike), however, is still uncharted territory for most athletes. According to one article I read the dirty century is the fastest growing segment of mountain bike racing and it seems like new events are popping up all over the country. Most dirty century races include thousands of feet of climbing plus dozens of miles of singletrack and dirty century alums will tell you the more singletrack on the course, the bigger the challenge. Most dirty century race courses include around 50% singletrack (give or take) with the rest of the mileage on forest roads or even paved roads. Even if you average 12 mph for the entire ride, a dirty century will still take 8 hours, 20 minutes to complete!

I had hoped to do my first dirty century in 2009 on the trails in the Sumter National Forest outside Augusta, GA but plans for the race were scaled back to a metric century instead (100 kilometers instead of 100 miles). Sixty-two miles on a mountain bike is still a pretty serious distance and I’m looking forward to increasing my personal distance record of 42-ish miles set on the singletrack at Santos last spring. If the metric century goes well perhaps I’ll train through the summer to tackle the Fool’s Gold 100 - a real dirty century - in August.

In a follow-up post I’ll talk about my training plans for the Sumter (Metric) Dirty Century and I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Just so ya know my goal for the race is to beat Oprah’s marathon time

Dirty Spokes Productions is hosting a mountain bike endurance race series this year in Georgia with four 6 and/or 12 hour events to choose from. To be eligible for the points series you need to race in 2 out of 3 events PLUS the finale at Unicoi State Park in the north Georgia mountains just outside Helen.

The first 6-hour race will be held at Heritage Park near Athens on March 14. On May 2 there will be 6- and 12-hour races at Fort Yargo State Park (one of my favorites) and on July 11 there will be 6- and 12-hour races at Tribble Mill near Lawrenceville. The series finale at Unicoi State Park will be a double points race Family-Feud style making this the race to watch!

You can register individually or as a team for the Dirty Spokes mountain bike races using Active.com and there’s a ton of info at DirtySpokes.com to get you stoked (plus they host trail runs as well - super hot). Start your training now to be ready for Heritage Park in less than 2 months!