Mid-Summer Greensfelder Report

by Matt "I might live close by but I don't ride GF as much as you think" Hayes

I haven't ridden Greensfelder for a couple of months so I figured I'd better get out there and check it out before it rains. With work not pushing me into the late-evening hours today and the weather being as sweet as it is I had to go. Plus, I wanted to check out the maintenance and reroute progress.

Breckenridge is coming fast and the SS Worlds in Durango are not too far away now so my lack of dirt riding needed to come to an end. This past weekend at Brown County was a good start but I hope to ride trails every weekend now. I managed to ride 16 miles (2,356 ft) using my secret loop formula that whips you into shape for the Colorado mountains. The gnarly trails are used for the downhills and the sustained climbs are get you out of the valley. There's two absolute death walls thrown in to remind you that all of Colorado is not fun and games (and there's a long way to go at GF.)

The 16 miler utilizes the "usable" equestrian trails that aren't too heinous (what the hell is the Mustang trail - a mud logging toboggan or an ATV course?????) and include the DeClue and Dogwood bike-friendly trails. Only a minimal amount of trails are ridden twice except to set you up for the next lollipop. You could add another 8+ miles riding DeClue and Dogwood backwards.

Remember, Greensfelder is like a Colorado trail; until the dry summer heat arrives, all bets are off. The season of peak trail conditions is short so make sure you get out here soon. Ride here often and all other trails will be cake. Promise.

I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story. Click the pics for full-size.

Overlook - pretty impressive terrain only 30 minutes outside St. Louis. So much potential, not enough volunteers.

There is a trail here and is best used going down. Dirt is optional. Not Dogwood or DeClue. Prepares you for...

The cascade rocky downhill - looks like Chubb only less users and more consequences. However, this is kid play compared to the Staircase O'Death.

The new Eagle Valley is a fast crushed limestone KATY with climbs. Bring your 'cross bike come winter.

Like a road, it features signage reminding you that wiping out on your hybrid will stain your Ambercrombie shorts

Old Greenrock is a fall-line disaster. It looks steep here so you know it's completely jacked in person. Super-rutted. A portion of this trail is used temporarily to get to the new expansion we've been working on.

A couple of trees are down on Declue paralleling the rollercoaster.

Ron, leader of the GF maintenance crew, has done a great job getting water off the trail. Here you can see the long Dogwood climb back to the car (going CCW) is rerouted to get out of the swampy seep.

GORC has requested these postings for years and they are finally up kindly reminding trail users to respect the park and trails.

The outhouse at the roundhouse couldn't take any more abuse and disintegrated into a pile of mulch. Full organic free-range mulch, now available at Whole Foods.

Look for Greensfelder to get better in the coming years and I personally hope to see you at the workdays this fall.