Chomping at the bit? Go urban.
February 25th, 2008 by NoahI know Guitar Ted has ants in his pants to tear up some dirt. I’ve been missing out on my beloved singletrack since late November. Ever since then, it seems the great plains dirt remains in a soupy, grimy state that not only sucks for riding, but is easily damaged and eroded by people who insist on riding on the muddy trails.
Lately, Ive been riding a lot of urban stuff. Bridges that are under construction, stairways, big concrete drops, narrow passageways between buildings, and the like. It definitely doesn’t have the same feel as winding through the woods on rooty, rocky dirt, but you use a lot of the same skills to navigate blighted alleyways, keep your bike rubber-side down on big descents, and trudging through muddy, rutty road construction where land erosion is not a concern.
I’ve even found some good places far out from Kansas City’s urban core to play around. Living among skyscrapers is not a prerequisite for urban riding. Anywhere you can find some oddball terrain to play on can be fair game, just don’t damage any property, give pedestrians and playing children a wide berth, and respect people. Many parks and other public places have an abundance of places where you can have fun practicing your handling skills on a mountain bike. Give it a shot if you’re stuck inside with the winter blahs!
As for me, I’m bouncing around the streets of KC, but I’m really tired of the clay soup on my favorite trails. I can’t wait for things to dry up.
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I feel your pain. I’m even in a smaller “urban” area here in Sedalia but there are some good spots.
The skate park isn’t bad either. I can’t/don’t take my Rockhopper on all the ramps but there are some good challenging sections that are ridable.
Maybe we need to band together and build an indoor skills park in Lee’s Summit or something.
you are lucky you can do some urban riding, here in Reno, if you are not riding on a a piece of asphalt that has a name/number, you are breaking the law.
I guess technically it is breaking the law here too, under many circumstances. In Sedalia at least the police force is pretty lax about this kind of stuff as long as you aren’t damaging property or endangering someone else.
A lot of people ride their bikes on the sidewalks here anyway and I’m pretty sure much of the police force thinks thats what you are supposed to do.
I just got a set of all weather michellin street tires for my cross country! Soooo nice on the street. Even in heavy rain!
Don’t know about your neck of the woods, but In Florida, tresspassing on a construction site is a felony.
I feel your pain. All the trails in Fruita are swamps this year. Maybe in a month or so they’ll dry out. I guess I’ll just have to keep making the drive to Moab. . .
Hey #1, are you talking about Sedalia, MIssouri? I grew up back that way.
Yep I sure am. Good ol Sedalia, MO.
I’m living in Lethbridge Alberta where it’s sooooo flat. I’ve been finding urban routes in different areas that I time trial on for fun, dodging cars, garbage and the occasional bum isn’t the same. but I as well really miss the mountains and trees. Thankfully from flat urban it’s only 2 hours to Fernie B.C a mountain bikers mecca in the rockies where I have scorched many a brake pad. Ride what you find!