If You Know - You Know

 In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy!

A scene from the start of the 2015 Gravel Worlds

In 2016 I was asked to attend the Iowa Bicycle Summit and their events director's meeting. It was the only time in the 15 years I was organizing gravel events that I had been asked to attend that meeting, which looking back on it now, seems like a gross oversight on the part of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, who organized this event. 

I still remember sitting there and hearing all the "horror stories" concerning how one should put on a cycling event. Of course, I was a very non-traditional promoter, and much of the trappings of "normal cycling events" was not part of what I did or ever wanted to do. 

But the thing that struck me was how big events get bogged down in details that most event attendees never grasp. You will hear people gripe about an event after they have ridden in one, perhaps, and maybe even you have done this, but the "other side" has a LOT of headaches and thankless minutiae to wade through that, frankly, I don't think many of the complainers would ever face up to wading through. 

It's a long story, and I haven't got the time, nor the space, to detail it all out here, but suffice it to say that I have experienced these things and I have heard from other event directors about these things. If you know - you know. It's a really hard thing to express to those who have never put on an event before in the cycling realm. 

That said, if you have read these pages over the years, you probably have somewhat of an idea of what I mean. I'll leave it at that. It is definitely something that has influenced the blog.

The Blackborow DS on Marky-Mark Trail.

I noted also that in 2016 we had some of the best snow we've ever had for fat biking. I thought 2011 was really good, but then for the next four years it was always that "sugar-snow". You know the type - Snow that is granular and will never set up to support flotation by fat bike tires. 

Well, we hadn't really had any snow for fat biking during the Winter of 2015-2016 until the beginning of February. Then we had about two perfect weeks before the weather turned mild and I started going out to ride gravel more and more. We may have had a few weeks here and there since that time where fat biking was decent, but this snow was perfect. 

I feel like fat biking has been so hit and miss around here the last five years or so that the desire for many to try it has waned quite a bit. Many fat bike races see no snow here anymore, and if they do get some, it is wet and muddy along with that. 

It has caused fat biking content here on the blog to be a rare thing, at least on snow, so until that changes, I really think that my fat bikes are kind of a luxury item, and not so much a necessity. Maybe I should convert the Ti Muk into a 29"er full rigid MTB with a Rohloff hub. 

I'd probably get more out of the bike from doing that than I am now!

Chasing Colors

Monday was the first "real" taste of Fall weather here. This past weekend we went from the 90's to it being 40°F when I stepped out the door to ride on Monday morning. The brisk Northwest wind made it really feel like the seasons had changed. 

It is about this time of year when I get that feeling that I need to do my "pilgrimage" ride. The ride through the Green Belt which I do every year to mark three things in my life. 

One is the recognition of my introduction to mountain bikes. The Green Belt is where I learned to off-road and it is where I took my first mountain bike to ride it in the late 1980's. 

The second reason I feel the need to do this ride is to enjoy the peak Fall colors. I don't always hit on the perfect time, but I try! I also very much enjoy riding single track in the Fall, so that tracks for me as well.

Finally, I use this ride to assess the condition of the Marky-Mark Trail, a single track connector trail I helped put in the Green Belt with an assist from another friend named Mark. While I did the bulk of the work, I didn't do all of it. Still, I consider this trail to be my work up until this day, 27 years after it was put in. The once or twice a year check is done just to make sure the trail is passable and still there. (Sometimes I do a Spring checkup on Marky-Mark also)

The colors weren't too impressive in the Green Belt until I started coming up on the maple grove.

A little better color here.

This year the maples are popping but everything else is kind of muted. I think the drier latter half of Summer and all of Fall has had a poor effect on some trees and therefore the colors have been negatively affected. Just a guess on my part there, but many trees have dried up leaves and they just are not getting much beyond a pale yellow or brown for color this Fall. 

A monster branch which probably blew down over the weekend.

I came across a branch which had busted off an old ,maple about 25feet up in the air and which had fallen across the trail. We had major gusty winds Sunday, so I am betting that this was felled by a nasty gust then. The tree it came off of had already been damaged previously, and by the looks of it, the tree wasn't well internally. I am no tree doctor, but I have slept in a Holiday Inn before! (IYKYK)

I bet that branch made a mighty crashing noise when it came down from the approximately 25feet high place on the tree where it broke off. Glad I was nowhere near when it did come down! 

The West end of Marky-Mark is looking swell here.

As is the East end of Marky-Mark!

Marky-Mark isn't the name I gave this bit of trail that might be what? A half a mile long, maybe? I don't know, as I've never measured it that I recall. Anyway, I did not name it. Another former resident of the area did that, and I have come to use that name as it fits the trail well, I think. 

I found the trail in remarkably great condition. I moved one small blow-down and there is another that is no big deal, but too big to move on my own. There is also one other place where a dead fall is hanging about ten feet above the trail that should be taken down. A half an hour and a saw would do wonders to clear that up. There are a few tiny branches that could use some trimming back, but honestly, I was surprised at how good everything looked! 

Fall colors on the shores of Green Belt Lake.

I ended up making a partial lap around the Green Belt Lake and then heading home. I may have to throw the axe and a nipper in the Big Dummy and go see about taking down that dead fall and doing a bit of clean-up in Marky-Mark, but I also have to get on some review work before it really gets cold and riding in the country is difficult or impossible. 

More soon....

Test Riding The Loaded Gryphon

This year isn't panning out like I'd hoped it might. Better than '22, but not by much. Anyway, one of the things I hoped to have already done by now was to use the Gryphon as a touring/bikepacking overnighter rig. I had all the gear lined up and ready to go fror weeks. But one thing or another came up and well....

Now its the second week of October. 

So, before things get away from me this year, I decided a test ride was better than having everything just sitting around ready to go. And with rain in the forecast for the latter part of the week, Tuesday seemed like a last ditch time to get out and wrangle a fully loaded bike through some tight single track. 

The weather was perfect. 50's, low 60's, Sunny, not much wind, and dry. I hit up the single track in the Green Belt because I had to get home and do some house work before the Sun went down. (Like I said, it's always been something!) But I carved out a couple hours to just cruise around. 

As I said, the bike was loaded with everything I needed for a sub24 overnighter. So this was going to be a proof of concept ride. If this set-up could handle some adventure riding, it surely could handle gravel, and that would be proof enough for me.

A little cruise around the Green Belt lake.

Beauty shot.

It was amazing how well this set up handled sand. Deep sand at that. I found that my years of fat biking in deep snow have paid off in spades when it comes to sand riding. The other thing was that with all the front end weight the steering was heavier and that's a good thing in looser terrain. It acts kind of like a steering damper effect. 

The weight and the big, poofy tires at slightly less than 20psi each were super-damped and felt like a full suspension bike in terms of ride feel. The steel frame is great here as it is stiff enough, but still forgiving and if you mind how you ride the bike, it can be a big asset, 

Some Marky-Mark action

I ended up having to do some clearing on Marky-Mark. I had a big branch to maneuver off the trail at one point. I smacked my shin and drew some blood, but I got the job done. After 27 years the trail is still there and I am still healthy and able to clear it. Blessed I am. 

And the test ride? Successful. The Gryphon is great as a loaded touring machine. I hear that some riders want to "avoid the hassle with a front derailleur". I don't know how I'd get along without having one. Really. A friction front derailleur is about as dead reliable as it gets. I've no idea what these people are afraid of, but as for me, give me a front derailleur every time.

The Inbred Returns

Escape Route: Alleys

You saw Saturday that I received a Wilde Bicycle Co. X Country Bar to test out. Well, you cannot do that testing without putting it on a bicycle. That seems obvious, but here at G-Ted Laboratories the choice of which bike to install it on is not quite as an obvious choice as you might think. 

After a little bit of thought the choice became clear. I resurrected the OG Inbred, again, after it had set in my spare repair stand for what? A year plus some? I think I tore it down sometime in 2021? 

At any rate, I had to do a bit of work to get it up and going. Back last time the Inbred was up and running it was set up with a drop bar and a dropper post. I had a 2 X 10 gear set up, which ironically had been straight-up pulled off my old Fargo Gen 2 bike and slapped onto the Inbred. That set up was originally put together in 2015! 

I had some head scratching time, thinking over how I wanted to accomplish the build with the X Country Bar. I had a flat bar on the Inbred already in an aborted attempt to resurrect it earlier and that had the front derailleur being operated by a SRAM TT shifter mounted to a Paul Components Thumbie. I had the other TT shifter as a bar end shifter and the other Paul Thumbie mount sitting in a bin. So, with the bike having a Shimano rear derailleur it presented a choice. Pull all the other stuff with the exception of the Shimano rear derailleur, and go Shimano, or use the SRAM stuff, find a SRAM 10spd rear derailleur, and use those Paul mounts which might be pretty cool with the X Country Bar.

The "maiden voyage" was in the Green Belt

Moderate to severe drought conditions all Summer have decimated Black Hawk Creek

Trouble was that I could not find a 10 speed SRAM derailleur that I thought I had. I asked N.Y. Roll if he had one and he did not, but he asked a mutual friend, Joe, if he had one. Joe didn't realize I was asking for an MTB rear derailleur and proffered up two road SRAM ten speed rear derailleurs. Bummer! 

But eventually I did find my errant 10 speed rear mech so the plan came back into focus. Saturday evening I slapped everything together. Now, yes- These are some tired old drive train parts, but if this sticks, meaning that "if I like the way it all shakes out", I will upgrade those bits then. At this point, everything is functional and works perfectly. 

The Inbred emerges from the shadows to live again!

History Time: The On One Inbred I have here has been around as long as this blog has been around. I found out that On One was trying to establish a US distribution partner in 2005. However; the partners didn't come to terms and a small amount of On One product was being off-loaded at pretty cheap prices. One of the things the rep had, who often visited the shop where I worked, was a list of things on close-out. On One Inbred frame and forks were listed but they did not have 20" frames, only 18's. I took a chance on the 18" frame and fork.

I built it up originally as a single speed. Because I used 180mm cranks the saddle to bar height wasn't too ridiculous. I rode the bike in the very first DK200 in 2006. Then I rode it as part of a team at a 12 hour event in Boone Iowa. My only 12/24hr MTB experience. Our team, all single speeders, won our category. Then the Inbred kind of fell out of favor as "the" bike as I got other bikes and time went on. 

By 2009 I had sold the bike to a co-worker named Craig. He rode it in that year's GTDRI. Then he gave it to his brother who rode it in Colorado and Kansas amongst other places. His brother eventually returned the bike to him. Then one day, my old co-worker, Craig, had remembered that I had asked for dibs on repurchasing this frame. He dropped the bike off at unawares to me. I found the bike, partially assembled, on my workbench in 2016, seven years after parting with it! 

Thick carpet of leaves here on the Green Belt trail.

It'll be awhile before we reach peak Fall colors, if we ever do.

So, after that the Inbred kind of was in various states of assemblage and although I ended up with the fork, it was broken. Fortunately I had an On One Carbon SuperLight fork to take the steel fork's place. So, that went on the bike, it went through that drop bar phase, and now we have it back again in a flat bar set up as a 2 X 10 geared, SRAM bike. 

Marky-Mark trail. True single track experience.

So, the final build here is the aforementioned SRAM TT shifters on Paul Components Thumbie mounts, a SRAM x9 rear derailleur, a SRAM front derailleur, a 10 speed cassette 11 - 36T, the 2X Origin 8 crankset with a 44T X 29T combination, and that turns a SRAM PC-950 9 speed chain (not a typo). The brakes are Avid BB-7's pulled by Deore levers. I used a Cane Creek Thudbuster post because my Redshift Sports ShockStop seat post wasn't long enough. (Darn it!) That is topped off by an older WTB Laser V saddle. The Wilde bar, of course, and Salsa lock-on grips. The wheels are WTB Team i23 laced to American Classic hubs. Those are set up with tubeless Hutchinson Kraken tires. 

I've never seen this pond, along Marky-Mark, totally dry.

"True" single track. Again, on Marky-Mark.

The big test ride was going to be a two-pronged goal for me. First, I wanted to see how far along the Fall colors were. Second, I needed to do my bi-annual inspection of Marky-Mark, the trail I helped to install in 1996 in the Green Belt. It is essentially a cut-off trail which bridges the two forks of the Green Belt Trail along Ridgeway Avenue. 

A sandy section of trail on the Green Belt Lake loop.

A little clearer look at the Inbred.

The Green Belt is in a pretty highly stressed state. The usual lush green strip along the Black Hawk Creek has been stunted and browned to a crisp in several areas. The creek itself is about as low as I've ever seen it before and I've been going through this area since the mid-1980's. 

I checked out Marky-Mark last Spring and it needed a lot of work. Two or three dead-falls were too big to ride over and were in need of removal. I don't have that sort of tool,or tools necessary to accomplish a removal of a tree like that, so when I went through Sunday morning I was not hopeful that it would be clear. 

The Green Belt Lake is alarmingly low as well.

The other bit of "true" single track in the Green Belt is this cut-off from the lake to the main trail.

Surprisingly, Marky-Mark was 100% rideable! I was a bit surprised, but pleased, by that. Obviously someone else has taken some "ownership" in the bit of trail. Whatever the case may be, the trail is all there and in outstanding shape, given the dry, hot weather we've had. 

The bike and the handle bar? Yes, they did well. I was pretty pleased with the successful initial test ride. Of course, I'll have to put more time in, and some gravel and dirt miles to come, before I can say anything more about this handle bar.

Fall Views: Tree Wrasslin'

Minimal tree color along the dike on Black Hawk Creek here.

 I mentioned in the Monday post that I had feared that I missed 'peak color' time for this Fall. Well, I was a bit off on that, apparently, and so I was wrong. It isn't quite to the peak yet. I found this out on my ride Tuesday along Black Hawk Creek in the Green Belt. 

I have hit that time of the year when I will have a lot more time off from work. I knew this was coming- it does every year in this business. So, I am not complaining, I'm just telling you how it is for me when Fall comes into its zenith and Winter is not far off. 

So, I was able to scoot out for a short jaunt into the Green Belt along Black Hawk Creek to see if the colors had popped and do my traditional 'pilgrimage ride'. The ride I try to do every Fall to remember my roots in mountain biking and to enjoy the Fall colors, be that what they may. See, the Green Belt was where I first rode a mountain bike in the late 80's and it is where I learned a lot of handling skills. 

Typically I would choose a single speed to do this ride because there usually are enough sticks and branches out there that a derailleur equipped bike runs the risk of having that dangly bit whacked off and it causing even more carnage. So, a single speed device generally is immune to such damage and chaos. But this time I took my Ti Muk 2, and it has gears, but they are hidden inside that big, German made hub, and cannot be harmed by the pitfalls of Fall riding. Plus, it is a fat bike, so really, it just crushes anything like a stick in its path with no problem. 

Work being done on the Fletcher Avenue crossing of the Black Hawk Creek.

There are some pretty places in the Green Belt if you know where to look.

The ride would be done as sort of a convoluted loop, thanks to my connector trail named "Marky-Mark". This provided me an excuse to see the condition of this trail. It generally is pretty low maintenance, and maybe some of that was by design, but I often think about how fortunate I was to lay this out, mostly by chance, along a line that just ended up being really sustainable. 

The angle of the light at this time of year makes riding in this area a real challenge from a sight perspective.

The 'money shot'. Most of the color was packed down into one corner as of this post.

Marky-Mark was clear as far as the tread of the trail went, but there were four dead-falls across it at certain points. One of which I was able to clear off myself. The others will require a saw. The wood is pretty dried out, and the sizes of the trunks are not all that big. It should not take much, but I'll have to source a trail saw and get back out there to clear that off sometime here soon. 

I tried moving those other trees, but they were just too long, too embedded into the duff around the area they were in, and I ended up having to let that go for now. But I tried moving each one. Tree wrasslin' should be a sport. It's a pretty much 'full-body' exercise action, and it would make for some comical viewing, I think. 

The new fishing pier at the Green Belt lake.

The best color tree I saw on the whole ride was like three blocks from where I live!

On the way back home I circled around part of the Green Belt lake and saw the new pier that had been installed recently. Call me a grump, a progress-hater, if you will, but it burns me up to see stuff like this being installed on this small water impoundment. They even put in a paved path going from the parking lot up to it. What once was a place uninhibited by man-made structure is now stained, in my view. Besides, I don't think a pier was at all necessary. 

And that pavement to it? A certain precursor to having a path paved around this small lake. Bah! Why do we think pavement is an improvement? I don't know where that came from. This small lake has a dirt path around it that is about as easy to walk on as you could ask for with zero maintenance. Even some small amount of thoughtful maintenance as it is now would make it so a wheel chair could easily go around the entire body of water. On dirt, yes. No, it would suck in the rain, but honestly, who would use it in inclement weather anyway? Likely no one, just as with our current paved trails. There just is no good reason to do the pavement out there. 

But I'm the odd one out in that way of thinking, I am sure.

Fall Views: Tree Wrasslin'

Minimal tree color along the dike on Black Hawk Creek here.

 I mentioned in the Monday post that I had feared that I missed 'peak color' time for this Fall. Well, I was a bit off on that, apparently, and so I was wrong. It isn't quite to the peak yet. I found this out on my ride Tuesday along Black Hawk Creek in the Green Belt. 

I have hit that time of the year when I will have a lot more time off from work. I knew this was coming- it does every year in this business. So, I am not complaining, I'm just telling you how it is for me when Fall comes into its zenith and Winter is not far off. 

So, I was able to scoot out for a short jaunt into the Green Belt along Black Hawk Creek to see if the colors had popped and do my traditional 'pilgrimage ride'. The ride I try to do every Fall to remember my roots in mountain biking and to enjoy the Fall colors, be that what they may. See, the Green Belt was where I first rode a mountain bike in the late 80's and it is where I learned a lot of handling skills. 

Typically I would choose a single speed to do this ride because there usually are enough sticks and branches out there that a derailleur equipped bike runs the risk of having that dangly bit whacked off and it causing even more carnage. So, a single speed device generally is immune to such damage and chaos. But this time I took my Ti Muk 2, and it has gears, but they are hidden inside that big, German made hub, and cannot be harmed by the pitfalls of Fall riding. Plus, it is a fat bike, so really, it just crushes anything like a stick in its path with no problem. 

Work being done on the Fletcher Avenue crossing of the Black Hawk Creek.

There are some pretty places in the Green Belt if you know where to look.

The ride would be done as sort of a convoluted loop, thanks to my connector trail named "Marky-Mark". This provided me an excuse to see the condition of this trail. It generally is pretty low maintenance, and maybe some of that was by design, but I often think about how fortunate I was to lay this out, mostly by chance, along a line that just ended up being really sustainable. 

The angle of the light at this time of year makes riding in this area a real challenge from a sight perspective.

The 'money shot'. Most of the color was packed down into one corner as of this post.

Marky-Mark was clear as far as the tread of the trail went, but there were four dead-falls across it at certain points. One of which I was able to clear off myself. The others will require a saw. The wood is pretty dried out, and the sizes of the trunks are not all that big. It should not take much, but I'll have to source a trail saw and get back out there to clear that off sometime here soon. 

I tried moving those other trees, but they were just too long, too embedded into the duff around the area they were in, and I ended up having to let that go for now. But I tried moving each one. Tree wrasslin' should be a sport. It's a pretty much 'full-body' exercise action, and it would make for some comical viewing, I think. 

The new fishing pier at the Green Belt lake.

The best color tree I saw on the whole ride was like three blocks from where I live!

On the way back home I circled around part of the Green Belt lake and saw the new pier that had been installed recently. Call me a grump, a progress-hater, if you will, but it burns me up to see stuff like this being installed on this small water impoundment. They even put in a paved path going from the parking lot up to it. What once was a place uninhibited by man-made structure is now stained, in my view. Besides, I don't think a pier was at all necessary. 

And that pavement to it? A certain precursor to having a path paved around this small lake. Bah! Why do we think pavement is an improvement? I don't know where that came from. This small lake has a dirt path around it that is about as easy to walk on as you could ask for with zero maintenance. Even some small amount of thoughtful maintenance as it is now would make it so a wheel chair could easily go around the entire body of water. On dirt, yes. No, it would suck in the rain, but honestly, who would use it in inclement weather anyway? Likely no one, just as with our current paved trails. There just is no good reason to do the pavement out there. 

But I'm the odd one out in that way of thinking, I am sure.

Winter Views: Dog Trail

Sergent Road Trail-I'm the only fat bike rider here? 

 It's been a while since I've been out on the gravel. It's going to be a while longer.... Not going out when it's been so cold and with the ice in places? Hmm..... Maybe this week when it warms up. Stay tuned on that. Anyway...

It was 21°F when I went out Sunday morning for a check of Marky-Mark, the trail connector I put in along Ridgeway Avenue back in 1997. I'm still amazed that this bit of single track has survived the last 24 years. It's amazing that this trail hasn't been sanitized, changed significantly, or that it hasn't been eliminated due to urban sprawl/development. Everytime I check on Marky-Mark these things blow me away. 

I fully expect someday to go out there and find that the City has decided that trail needs to be 10 feet wide like the rest of the trails out there or to find that it has been closed off for development. So, I always go out there with some degree of anxiety about that. Of course, then there is the more likely situation that the trail just gets neglected and blow-downs screw it up and no one cares to clear it up. 

I left on the Ti Muk 2 this time because the snow cover has evaporated and been smashed down to the point that it is barely necessary to even use a fat bike in places. Well, with the exception of Sergeant Road Trail between University Avenue and Fletcher. No one but myself has ridden a fat bike through there. Amazing! I suppose that having the new tunnel not finished and that end all blocked off scares people away, but I still think that's odd. Well, it made for a post-hole-free ride through there. 

After that section I hit up the dike along Black Hawk Creek. It was okay riding since the snow machines had laid down some decent tracks on top. Then it was a dive down the dike and on into the Green Belt. That was when the riding got way easier. The trail was beaten in so smooth and fast that I could have used a mountain bike with 2.5" tires and been just fine.

An XC skier heads off down the trail. I ran across a lot of trail users Sunday in the Green Belt.

Lots of foot traffic made for a rough trail, but it was fast.

I started coming across people using the trail. First it was an XC skier, then a fellow fat biker. Then it was walkers with dogs. Apparently a light wind and reasonable temperatures were bringing out the recreational folk. Like me! Ha! 

Well, it was a fairly typical ride out to Marky-Mark and I was amazed to find it was not only there yet, but that it was getting traffic! This always gets me excited since, well, you know, I was the one that put this in and now others were enjoying it. They have absolutely no reason whatsoever to know that I had anything at all to do with that, so it isn't about the notoriety for me. In fact, unless you read this blog you wouldn't know about Marky-Mark Trail at all. 

Black Hawk Creek looking rather 'post-card-like' this past weekend.

I put this bench cut in almost a quarter century ago. It's amazing that it is still around!

So, Marky-Mark was in good shape, and I noted that someone had cut out a dead-fall near the East end and that they had taken out the old 'log-teepee' that had been there for quite a few years. Hmm.....Well, the main theme of the trail still hasn't been messed with and it is obvious someone- or many people- are 'taking ownership' and responsibility for this trail. So, that's encouraging as well, since I cannot solely keep that thing going. 

Then it was a fast ride back. I came across several couples with dogs. I always am a bit amused that people take their dogs on the Green Belt Trail because there is a huge dog park at the trail head where they are supposed to be taking their dogs. Some people were fine with other trail users, but there is always that one couple, or person with a dog(s) that has a stern look, or an attitude about you being out there on a bicycle. Uh......excuse me? But there is dog park right over there. You know that, right? And don't get me started on the ones with their dog off the leash. Anyway.....

It was a great ride out. A necessary 'mind-wipe' after the events of the past week. Glad I got out and rode, and even happier to see that Marky-Mark not only survives, but that it thrives.

Winter Views: Dog Trail

Sergent Road Trail-I'm the only fat bike rider here? 

 It's been a while since I've been out on the gravel. It's going to be a while longer.... Not going out when it's been so cold and with the ice in places? Hmm..... Maybe this week when it warms up. Stay tuned on that. Anyway...

It was 21°F when I went out Sunday morning for a check of Marky-Mark, the trail connector I put in along Ridgeway Avenue back in 1997. I'm still amazed that this bit of single track has survived the last 24 years. It's amazing that this trail hasn't been sanitized, changed significantly, or that it hasn't been eliminated due to urban sprawl/development. Everytime I check on Marky-Mark these things blow me away. 

I fully expect someday to go out there and find that the City has decided that trail needs to be 10 feet wide like the rest of the trails out there or to find that it has been closed off for development. So, I always go out there with some degree of anxiety about that. Of course, then there is the more likely situation that the trail just gets neglected and blow-downs screw it up and no one cares to clear it up. 

I left on the Ti Muk 2 this time because the snow cover has evaporated and been smashed down to the point that it is barely necessary to even use a fat bike in places. Well, with the exception of Sergeant Road Trail between University Avenue and Fletcher. No one but myself has ridden a fat bike through there. Amazing! I suppose that having the new tunnel not finished and that end all blocked off scares people away, but I still think that's odd. Well, it made for a post-hole-free ride through there. 

After that section I hit up the dike along Black Hawk Creek. It was okay riding since the snow machines had laid down some decent tracks on top. Then it was a dive down the dike and on into the Green Belt. That was when the riding got way easier. The trail was beaten in so smooth and fast that I could have used a mountain bike with 2.5" tires and been just fine.

An XC skier heads off down the trail. I ran across a lot of trail users Sunday in the Green Belt.

Lots of foot traffic made for a rough trail, but it was fast.

I started coming across people using the trail. First it was an XC skier, then a fellow fat biker. Then it was walkers with dogs. Apparently a light wind and reasonable temperatures were bringing out the recreational folk. Like me! Ha! 

Well, it was a fairly typical ride out to Marky-Mark and I was amazed to find it was not only there yet, but that it was getting traffic! This always gets me excited since, well, you know, I was the one that put this in and now others were enjoying it. They have absolutely no reason whatsoever to know that I had anything at all to do with that, so it isn't about the notoriety for me. In fact, unless you read this blog you wouldn't know about Marky-Mark Trail at all. 

Black Hawk Creek looking rather 'post-card-like' this past weekend.

I put this bench cut in almost a quarter century ago. It's amazing that it is still around!

So, Marky-Mark was in good shape, and I noted that someone had cut out a dead-fall near the East end and that they had taken out the old 'log-teepee' that had been there for quite a few years. Hmm.....Well, the main theme of the trail still hasn't been messed with and it is obvious someone- or many people- are 'taking ownership' and responsibility for this trail. So, that's encouraging as well, since I cannot solely keep that thing going. 

Then it was a fast ride back. I came across several couples with dogs. I always am a bit amused that people take their dogs on the Green Belt Trail because there is a huge dog park at the trail head where they are supposed to be taking their dogs. Some people were fine with other trail users, but there is always that one couple, or person with a dog(s) that has a stern look, or an attitude about you being out there on a bicycle. Uh......excuse me? But there is dog park right over there. You know that, right? And don't get me started on the ones with their dog off the leash. Anyway.....

It was a great ride out. A necessary 'mind-wipe' after the events of the past week. Glad I got out and rode, and even happier to see that Marky-Mark not only survives, but that it thrives.