back to survival trail

Taking advantage of the dry (and pleasantly cool) weather we've been having of late, Polly, Erich and I decided to visit our old happy hunting grounds - Survival Trail. So named because the trail system was once a part of the 55km Survival Race course. Which was last run back in the mid-90's...the time of grunge, raves and whatnot...but I digress!

The first part of the trail system is a nice, rolling run thru several villages on tarmac. It's a great warm-up, considering the next bit is a brutal climb with several turns that really sap your momentum. Had to stop at the midway point (a designated "rest stop" by the way), to catch my breath. A minute or so of cardiovascular management, and I push off for the second half of the climb. I used to clean this non-stop. Granted, that was on a geared bike. Singlespeeding gives you the perfect excuse to take a break hehe. Here I am attempting a rutted climb. Didn’t get too far before the ruts got me. Grrr. Gotta go back and hit this again.



Survival Trail may be a bit shorter than other places we’ve ridden, but what it does is cram a whole lot of different terrain into that 16km or so stretch. Dirt road climbs, sweeping downhills, river crossings, forested singletrack, and even hike-a-bike sections. Over here Mother Nature gets her way, as a previously ridable section has now been eroded into a viscious mudpit (see pic below). Definitely a portage section. At least our upper bodies got a workout hefting our bicycles!



At the final rest-stop, we decided to head back the way we came, effectively doubling our mileage. This also meant climbing back up the hills we bombed down. Hey, I’ve gotten this far! Admittedly I had to walk up one switchback, keeping in mind that there was another grinding climb at the other end of the ride. It all worked out pretty well. Since we were going with the flow (of erosion), the ruts were actually ridable. Polly and Erich had a blast with their rigs. I had fun too, but at a much more sedate pace hehe

We finished the ride, and I was really stoked. This trail was probably the acid test for the SS, and I think it did pretty well! Can’t wait to head back.