Miller's Meadows Trail Review

I was in Wichita and figured while I was in a new part of Kansas, I would see if there were any new bike trails I could try out. Off singletracks.com's website I found Miller's Meadows. This is a nice enough place and they've made a lot out of very little. This place offers about 5 or so miles of singletrack with about 70% through what little bit of tree cover is in the Wichita area. Over all, it is a fun little trail with only moderate difficulty. It has nice flow, however, and will reward you with increased difficulty the faster you attack it. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more too, had it not been 110 degrees outside.

From Trail Hooligan

Singletracks directions are pretty on the money, and you will find a nice parking lot just off the road. The exact location is:

Datum: World Geodetic System 1984,
Latitude: 37° 39' 0.7915" N, Longitude: 97° 10' 25.1494" W,
MGRS: 14S PG 61114 68576,
UTM: 14S 0661114 4168576
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=37.650220,-97.173653



The trailhead is right there and well marked. The local club regulates traffic by designating your direction of travel by the day of the week. Saturday was clockwise, so I started off with the full onslaught of the sun as I pedaled through the un-protected, un-shaded, first mile. Better to start this way and end in the shade though.



Again, this wasn't a bad bit of trail. It was a lot more fun once you got into the woods. There were corduroy bridges in some of the creek beds that added a fun dynamic even if they didn't up the difficulty. The trail also appeared to be regularly maintained. I'm not sure if I would make a special trip out of going there, but since I was in the area, it was nice to get back on the bike. The River Trails in Manhattan have been unrideable due to the rain we've been getting. I have no idea what the financial or engineering capabilities of the club that maintains Miller's Meadows are, but should they choose to, they could easily add structures like teeter-totters, moustache rides, and fat-skinny-fat bridges as side obstacles to the trail.



I also made some friends on the way back. They wanted attention and bug spray...not necessarily in that order.

Hemet Cams

I am very excited about the Contour GPS I have in the mail, so possibly, I could start recording and mapping out different trail systems I visit. The GPS feature looks pretty neat and should be helpful if someone (me?) actually starts a database where people can find trailheads. Currently, I rely on singletracks.com's Iphone app to find new trails, but it is only marginal at getting me to the actual trailhead.

Speaking of helmet cams, this video is amazing! Since I am completely inept at bunny hopping, I might have to learn this. Then again, my saddle skillz are pretty much on par with my bunny-hopping skillz, so this might take some time.



Take a look. All the current helmet cams seem to have their shortcomings, but they seem to hit the target closest to the mark...especially with their Connect View app. Expect a full review soon.

http://contour.com/camera/contour_gps

Water Crossing and Flooding

Water crossings, rivers, ponds, lakes and streams are some of my favorite trail features.  The biodiversity in these natural areas is often many times greater then the surrounding trail.  Whether you love these water crossings or not, they are generally unavoidable for hikers, bikers and trail riders alike. 

In the springtime, many rivers overflow and have very strong currents.  During this time of year, special care must be taken to ensure that water crossings done safely and that risk is minimized.  If you are unsure about the waterway, it is not worth the risk!  While it is typically safe to cross familiar waters in summer and fall, caution must be taken to cross the same rivers in springtime.  There are countless stories of people and animals drowning, so it's no secret great care should be when deciding to cross a waterway. 

Before deciding to cross a river, one should check the current level; which can often be decieving.  This can be done by dropping a stick into the water.  If you see the stick get drawn underneath the water, know that is likely where you could end up too.  Be sure to evaluate the speed of the stick as well.  Shallow depths are also favorable, although there are no guerentees that the bottom will not have drop-offs.  If you cannot swim, being able to touch the bottom may not be sufficient as you could easily be pulled downstream where the water is deeper.

Probably the best river crossings are areas where there are exposed rocks or sandbars.  These locations can keep you away from dangerous currents, and also can serve to allow you to regain footing should you fall into the water.  Fallen trees can work for this purpose too, however care must be taken to ensure that the tree is of sufficient strength. Be wary if the tree trunk is not wide, or if it appears rotted.

If you are from the south, you probably do not need to be reminded, be wary of poisonous snakes in and near the water.  Snakes like the Water Moccisin carries potentially lethal poison.

Check out this website for additional information on How to Ford a River

Headlines: Ticks Suck!

After some time outside last weekend, I saw what I thought was a zit on my knee. I went to scrape it off with my nail and it turns out that zit had legs and its mouth was already seated in my skin. Tick season (which appears to be all year) is here. Kansas has the lovely distinction of being the overlap zone of pretty much every tick species geographical area. Do yourself a favor and go buy Dirt Rag's latest issue (issue 155) and read their writeup.



Also, make sure you remove ticks properly should you get bitten. Grabbing the tick and squeezing to pull it off will make the tick puke into your bite wound. Likewise if you use the old remedy of burning the tick off with a match or lighter. It used to be thought that the heat would cause the tick to unlatch voluntarily, but this method also causes the tick to puke into the wound. Grab the tick as close to the skin as possible and gently pull up. Make sure you spray the wound with a disinfectant immediately.

Riding Horses in the Dark

As bikehooligan mentioned, horses have pretty good natural night vision.  The high-intensity light from a flashlight is blinding and actually worsens their vision.   The serious endurance folks generally rely on their horses to take them through their courses at night. You can train the horse to stay on the trail; trouble arises when there is a split and you, the navigator misses it!  So.. most poeple let the horse's eyes do the work and turn on their headlamps when they need to make a navigation decision.  My recomendation though, is that hat if you go this route... wear kneepads!  You're bound to get your knee bonked!

Trail Update!

It is amazing weather today. I got to get out and check out the local singletrack. It did not disappoint. I could tell one of the local clubs had done some trail work. Debris and deadfall had been cleared and some paths had been blocked or re-routed to control erosion. I cant take any credit for this work. I've helped out before though. It is fun and rewarding to actually contribute to trail maintenance. Anyway, I loaded up the bike after a good chain waxing.



...and made my way to the trail. It was an gorgeous day, the photos dont even do justice. Fortunately, these trails drain well and there was no evidence of the rain earlier in the week.





This is my favorite part of the trail. The tabletop is shaped just right and impossible to hit wrong. Just sail on over!



The trail was also full of dernt-der-dernt-ers. I try not to pay them too much mind even if they are in the way. It is nice that they are able to get out and enjoy the outdoors too. I give a friendly greeting and pass on by and they look like they think I'm crazy for going the speed I do. I figure if I'm friendly, maybe they might actually take up the sport instead of just the trail.

Speaking of the trail, referring back to the rules, remember both bikes and horses yield to hikers? Why? On a horse or a bike, you certainly aren't in danger of being passed by a hiker, so why do you have to yield? It is because hikers are the most clueless and the least aware of their surroundings. Seriously. If people decide to walk on a trail, they seem to universally check their brain at the trailhead. So I roll up on a couple and slow down behind them so I don't startle them. If the prawls on my White Ind. freehub aren't grating enough to announce my presence, I give the polite "Coming up on your left!" ...no response... ** cough ** "Coming up on your left!" So between the "rrrrrrrrrrrrrr" of my freewheel, the "squeek, creak, squeek" of my bottom bracket, and my polite announcement (twice), they finally notice me and jump out of their shorts in surprise like someone blew an airhorn in their ears. Really?? Wow. Oh, and they both jumped to their left after I said that was the side I was going to pass them on. Sigh....

I can't see!

The burden of adult-hood sometimes monopolizes your time in such a manner that there just isn't enough time in the day to hit the trails. What to do? Ride in the dark! Here are some methods for night riding on the bike. Perhaps Horsehooligan can elaborate later on night horse riding strategies, but for the mean time, consider these to be bike specific. Remember, horses have eyeballs that don't appreciate high intensity light. Bikes on the other hand don't seem to care.

I've chose to buck up and go with a dual light setup. I have a Light and Motion Stella 300 on my handlebars and a Stella 150 mounted on my helmet. The 300 mounts easy enough but you will need to put some thought into the battery placement.



Riding with this though, you quickly find out how rarely your handlebars and your head point in the same direction. Any turn on the trail quickly leaves you in the dark. The solution for this was the Stella 150.



This is set up for easy helmet mounting and it goes together quite easily thanks to the hook and loop fastening. The battery clings on nicely in the back and helps to balance the weight on your head, preventing helmet shifting.





Together, these lights put out a lot of brightness. 450 lumens to be precise. You can adjust them to point wherever, but I prefer the barmount light to point just ahead of the front tire so I know what I'm immediately rolling up on. My headlight, however, I have pointing directly ahead of my line of vision. Here I have the trail ahead of my tire lighted up as well as the next turn when I'm looking ahead on the trail. Works out pretty good.



There are other ways to skin the cat. If there was a hot product for 2010, it might have been the light; it appears this corner of the market experienced amazing growth and development. There are lots of brands at all different price points. Do your homework and give it a try!