Come and help build a new trail at Castlewood Sat. 12/02/06


Yes, you read it right. GORC has designed a new trail at Castlewood, and we need your help in building it. This one is going to be called the "Rollercoaster", and it's in the northeastern corner of the park, off of the Grotpeter. If you like the last GORC-built trail at CW, the "3%, or Love Trail", then come on out and help, because it will be more of the same. Meet at 9 am on Sat. December 2, at the Ranger Station. Visit the GORC Forum for more details.

"...it played in Peoria"




Kirby and I went up to Peoria for a tour of Farmdale Reservoir, site of the 2007 Midwest Mountain Bike Festival. We weren't quite sure what to expect since every time the PAMBA gang comes down to STL, they're all on big-hit bikes. So it was a pleasant surprise to discover that in addition to the stunts and jumps, Farmdale has miles and miles of XC trails. Think of all the 6 or so miles of the skinny, fun stuff at SIUE, multiply that by 3 to 5 times, and you've got Farmdale. We're not sure how much singletrack there is, but we rode the whole afternoon until nearly dark, and they told us we had probably only hit about half of the trails. If you go, make sure to ride Schroll's. It was definitely the favorite for both of us. There's an area to play around on North Shore stuff, a Mountain Cross course, a downhill run, and a jump area, so no matter how you like to ride, there's something for everyone. There are also 3 other trail systems in Peoria, so there's plenty of riding to make it a weekend destination.

The "Mound"



Yesterday, I did something that I'd never done in all of the years of riding at Lost Valley: I climbed up on top of the "Mound". It looks quite a bit different from up on top as you can see the unexpected shape, as well as how big it actually is. You can also see pretty far in all directions.

First Sunday Ride- Change of Venue 11/05


Steve has moved the ride from Greensfelder to Chubb this month. As usual, it starts at high noon. See the message board for more details.