Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Thinking About Biking The Newly Re-Opened River Legacy Mountain Bike Trail With The Queen Of Wink

Last night I saw a lot of mountain bikers in the mountain bike parking lot at River Legacy Park. When I was done biking I drove through that lot and saw that the chain closing the trail was now open.

I knew the River Rats had worked on the trail on Saturday, but the description of the amount of damage and the amount of water remaining, led me to think it'd be a long time before the River Legacy Park Mountain Bike Trail re-opened.

Well. As I so often am. I was wrong.

I checked out the DORBA (Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association) website this morning and saw the River Legacy Trail is open. For the most part.

The EKG and Fun Town sections are still under a lot of water. I do not bike either of those parts of the trail, due to it being too extreme and beyond the mountain biking skills that I currently possess or want to possess. The names of some of the challenges in Fun Town give you a clue as to why I avoid them, names like Granny's Heart Attack, Lost Lunch Gulch and Ball Breaker.

I'd been warned on the DORBA River Legacy page to look for big holes on the Prairie Loop. The big holes did not bother me, but I did not like how the vegetation has gone virile due to all the water. This seems like prime ground for critters like Copperhead snakes, which I have seen at River Legacy previously.

I was surprised by how dried out the trails were, for the most part. There were a few slightly tacky parts, but nothing so tacky that mud stuck to my wheels. In one spot water was still over the trail, but a short bypass takes you around it. There are currently big ponds were none existed before, and the existing ponds are filled to the max, at times coming to the edge of the trail.

Overall, I was surprised at what good shape the trail is in and that it is back usable so soon after being under so much water.

The Queen of Wink is going biking with me.

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