Blankets Creek 10/31/2009

Blankets Creek lived up to the hype in spite of the rain and with good fortune we had "someone" to motivate the rest of us who were a little apprehensive about getting soaked.  All said and done Blankets Creek is the best trail I've ridden to date as it allowed for consistent momentum as we rode the Dwelling Loop.  Dwelling Loop follows the shoreline of Lake Alatoona with consecutive rolling hills which resulted in good speed and lots of variation.  As the trail turns back there is a good uphill trail that eventually transitions into a really nice downhill with a series of turns.    The trail banged us up a bit, and I became acquainted with a big Oak Tree, face first, during the downhill.  Needless to say we all probably need to get our bikes tuned up after this ride.  All in all it was a great ride and we will definately be back to ride the rest of the trails.

Big Creek Park - 10/25/2009

Lisa and I rode the Greenway from Alpharetta to Roswell then rode some of the Big Creek Trails before heading back....  It turned out to be a beautiful day and perfect for a ride!

Blankets Creek Mountain Bike Trails

Blankets Creek Mountain Bike Trails are located just off of Sixes Road in Woodstock, GA and just east of Lake Allatoona.  The US Army Corp of Engineers, Cherokee County Recreation Authority, and the Southern Off Road Bike Association collaborated to develop and provide 13.6 miles of mountain bike trails.

Central Park (Georgia) Mountain Bike Trail - 10-10-2009

The weather held and we had six riders at Central Park this Saturday.  The trail was muddy in a few spots, but overall conditions were not bad.  The trail is not very technical, but fun never-the-less.  Lots of root and small elevations type obstacles to keep you on your toes.  A few downhills with curves that test your ability to maintain control (at speed), the trail also transitions between treed and open areas so you might want to bring some sunglasses on bright days..

Finding the Right Hydration System

Time to benefit from the lessons-learned at Big Creek Park on 10/3 by finding the right hydration system. The options range from various bottle/cage configurations to hydration backpack systems. The hydration back system seems to be the way to go based on the following:

1) Capacity - Bladder containers hold up to 2 liters of fluid.
2) Accessibility - Convenient drinking tube so you can safely drink and ride
3) Portability - These are backpacks, so they fit on your back and are relatively compact. Depending on what you choose, it may have zipper pockets to safely secure keys, wallet, and maybe your camera.



Camelbak seems to have the market cornered and offer a wide variety of solutions.  Looking at the Fairfax Hydration Pack (above) and it's on sale at REI.



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Big Creek Park - 10/3/2009

So it begins, the weeks of rain that culminated into a 100 year flood have finally subsided, allowing for our first mountain bike adventure.
Early morning start and planning our route
On the trail....and getting a little breather...
Checking out the RAMBO event before hitting the trail one more time.
Getting ready to head home after a fun day of trail riding. Link to some additional comments from that day __________________________________________________