It’s a well kept secret but there are actually two gnarly man-made mountain bike trails in Kewaunee, one located at Ryan Park and the other at Winter Park. In actual fact there are three, all created by the same organization, the third is somewhere out at the ATV park but I couldn’t find it.
The Winter Park trail is an absolute pig. You’d have to be nuts to want to ride this thing. The trail is wrapped around a Frolf course (Frisby/Golf??) and runs around the back of the Winter Park ski hills. I bumped into a guy out playing Frolf with his kid and he said he comes out here regularly and mine is the first bike he’s ever seen on the trails. I guess the trail isn’t very popular then. And I’m not all that surprised. It’s way too difficult to ride. You need to be a friggen mountain goat to get around it.
Kudos to the blokes who built this thing, there’s obviously a lot of time and work gone into it. But the degree of difficulty makes it attractive to the one percentile of hardcore MTBers, of which there can’t be that many around Kewaunee.
For example, a large part of the trail winds around the inside of a canyon where you’re riding a path maybe 10 inches wide with a 30′ sheer drop to the side of you. The path itself is muddy, rocky and full of roots. One slip and you’re toast. I didn’t even want to hang about long enough to get my camera out on the real tough bits.
Here’s one of the easier sections, which is actually pretty tough. You can’t really see how steep this thing is. You’re riding down these things then the next minute you’re trying to ride up them. It was f”n brutal and my cogs are still sore from the clattering they took.
The Ryan Park trail was a 10 minute drive over yonder and was a little better for my skill level. It was actually just as difficult it just wasn’t as high, so if you got into trouble you only fell 10 feet instead of 40.
One of the issues for me was the bars on the bike. I kept clattering trees with my 800mm wide risers. But the Fat bike soaks up all of the rough stuff with aplomb.
It was a good experience but I prefer the Peninsula Park single-track trails just ‘cos they’re a lot less technical, gnarly and ‘risky’ than either of the ones at Kewaunee. I may go back at some point and shoot some video. But for now, I’m done with it.
Technical trails are for the athletic young, no fear types. I hate technical trails for the little it is worth.
I hear ya.
Some people age with dignity, I’m wandering around the woods every weekend like Bart Simpson.
I soaked up this kinda stuff as a kid and I don’t understand why I can’t still do it. It must be the bike.
We always used to cut our bars down about an inch on each side.
Yeah I need to do that. They even print cut marks on the bars so DF’s like me don’t end up with one handle longer than the other.
Now I have to research what kind of saw to use, where to buy it, how to use it etc.
Or just leave ’em be….
http://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-29963-Stainless-Tubing-Cutter/dp/B001P81OK6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415022921&sr=8-2&keywords=tubing+cutter+ridgid
Looks like a corkscrew. I think I have a hacksaw somewhere.
I need to get a spacer cos I think the bearings are shot in the steering tube/headset. It clatters back and forth now when I’m going over the rough….too much play…
I told ya to get a spacer, but noooo.
my bad
Don’t use a hack saw. They are hard to cut straight with. Also, get some bar ends for climbing.
OK, I have the bar ends from the old bike. I never used em for climbing so I won’t bother puttin em on the fat bike as I’m not in the saddle for very long so don’t need the extra hand positions…
I also robbed a spacer off the old bike and that works ace.
Now I just need to chop the bars down. The grips cover the ends anyway so am gonna just hack at it.
yee ha….I’m a biker I’m a biker!
I measure the amount to cut off each end (removed of all grips and shifters and stem) then slide a shifter or brake to that point and mark all the way around with a sharpie. Then I use a good old hacksaw and get medieval on them, leaving a little space for wobble or bad eyesight angle, then I grind them down the rest of the way on a grindstone…perfect every time.
One of my pet peeves is the javelins they use for handlebars these days…we’re bike riders not friggin’ lorry drivers!! Although on a Fat Bike I’m not so sure…look big and clumsy to me.
I went the route of a bike for every occasion…can’t beat the ride on surfaces or over distances it was made to excel in and on but that’s also the ‘spensive way to go of course. Compromise is something ya do with the significant other, not with bikes though it’s fun to see what a cross bike can do on a hard core MTB trail once in a while.
Thanks for the tips on cutting the bars down. As it happens I’m still riding the bars uncut. I thought about the circumcision route for a while, and occasionally it comes back into my consciousness – usually when I clatter a tree, but I appreciate the added leverage and ability to keep that 4″ wide almost flat tire, on track.
At certain tire pressures there’s a strong tendency for the 4″ front tire to self-steer. It usually happens on flat, hard-packed surfaces – dirt or asphalt mostly, when running under 10psi. It’s a little unnerving at first. Basically you’re trying to maintain a straight line and the front wheel will just flick to the left or to the right. Having those wide bars helps correct the situation quickly. They also help on gnarly trails where roots and rocks abound.
But most likely I’m just too lazy to get out the saw and cut!