Muddin'

<===Things got a bit messy out there!

One thing about riding in the Green Belt is that if it's muddy, you really can't hurt anything by riding in it. Those trails get so flooded so often that the constant deposit/erosion factor far outweighs any damage one measly bicycle could ever think of doing.

Not that you should ride out here when it is muddy, because if you do you can do incalculable damage to your bicycle if you are not careful.




<===That Dissent 2.5 tire is a great mud tire. It floats!

Since I am intimately familiar with this trail, having been on it often through the years, I understand how things can go. I only use it during times like this for tire testing. So it was that I rode the WTB Dissent 2.5"er to find out how it dealt with the sticky, gooey river bottom silt that lines Black Hawk Creek's bottoms.






<====I found a great bike camping spot in the midst of these Red Cedars by accident.

I found out that the Dissent/Gordo combination was excellent in mud and sand out there. Lots of floatation. But not enough to "float" me across the water that cut my forward progress off not far from Meyer's Lake. I ended up hike-a-biking through the scrub until I came across this awesome bike camping spot. I will have to remember that area when it comes time to test out some camping gear and sort out a good bike packing set up. The site was really well hidden, although there was evidence that I am not the only one aware of the place, as I found a fire ring with the remnants of a not too ancient fire still visible.



<===Tooth sharpening evidence.

Once I got out of that area, I found my way to the lake trail, which is usually high and dry. It was, but I did find some evidence of beaver activity. Beavers have come and gone in the Green Belt before, and now it seems that they are back again.

I finished out the ride on the bike path and wended my way back to my home. It wasn't a fast ride, so I ended up being out two hours! In dry conditions, I can do a similar loop in under an hour easily. Not so fast today! Mud and wet ground will do that to you, not to mention the bushwhacking I had to do in spots.

I got some time in on a new hydration pack and some fancy-schmancy bottles I received for testing too, but that will come in another post. Stay tuned............