Westbound ups and downs

August 18, 2016

Good evening to you.  I trust you’ve been engaged.  As have I, beautiful one, as have I.  I went west, young man.  Here is some of the hype I read and fervently believed before I set forth to “see the elephant.”

from Trails.comhttps://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=BGM019-061

Fort Robinson is 3 miles west of Crawford in Sioux and Dawes Counties. An 18-mile trail network has been designated for mountain bike use in the Smiley Canyon-Soldier Creek area of Fort Robinson Park. It contains a series of three routes that descend over 600' along four-wheel-drive tracks from the ridge tops, through rugged canyons, to the soldier Creek valley below. An outer perimeter of roads and trails leads back to the upper ridge. Biking one of the descending trails with a return up one of the outer perimeter routes will result in a ride of from 6 to 12 miles, depending upon the combination chosen. With a mixture of open, grassy terrain, rocky ridges, and ample deadfalls from an old forest fire, there is a nice variety of challenges throughout the area, providing a moderate to difficult riding experience.

Here is what I experienced. 

a) “They” tried to keep me out of the Smiley Canyon-Soldier Creek area with warnings that a wiser man might have heeded.

b)  I rode around and eventually decided to head inwards and downwards via some of the aforely-mentioned four-wheel-drive tracks. 

c) I found some nice rocky descents.  

The ascents were not so nice as I am not used to activity that exceeds the moderate variety.  I huffed, puffed, and walked a lot.

d)  I eventually made it to what I determined after-the-fact was my de facto destination.

So that was that.  Next time I head that way, I intend to try bicycling in a different location, one Chad-Ron Statepark.  Here is some alluring hyper-bola (from Singletracks.com):

The topography here may make you forget you're in Nebraska. Some of the hills are dramatic and there are bluffs and canyons everywhere. Get a trail map at the park HQ and look for the big loop you can do around the NW quadrant of the park. One of the rangers is an avid biker, so you're in luck if she's manning the desk. I did the loop counterclockwise, but it may be just as good clockwise. There are a couple drawbacks. The entrances to the trail from the road don't match the map well, so you may spend some time looking. The northeast end of the loop is simply mowed prairie grass, even when it's in the pines, so it's not that interesting. Also, the sand hills are subject to rapid erosion, and the worst of the grades have no waterbars or armoring, so they are deply rutted. However, the western edge of the loop is very good. This trail is worth a stop if you're in the area--unless you're continuing on to the Black Hills, less than two hours away--save you're energy for the excellent singletrack there.

So that is something to look forward to, with a powerful telescope.  After venturing ever-so-slightly out of my comfort zone I was happy to be back in Umoha for some of my typical bicycling.  A bit sweaty yet, but I feel the impending coolness beckoningly lurking around the bend. 

Did you hear that Price Point closed?  That is kind of sad to me because I bought a ton of stuff from them over the years, including my disposable/reusable lightweight/packable plastic rain jacket that I have been carrying around a lot lately.  

But I guess there are other places to buy bicycle stuff, right?

What are your bicycling plans these days?  What?  I can’t hear you.  Please speak directly into the microphone.  Oh!  Corporate Cycling Challenge, eh?  That should be a hoot!  I may be there if I can talk my dad into it. am not planning on attending, but if you go please let me know how it is.

Hey, let’s get together at the next event and reminisce a little.  Power to the people!