Single Track

To continue to establish the breadth of topics that we will attempt to cover within this blog, today’s post is all about single track. All of us who contribute to this blog are avid bicyclists, especially the off-road type and although it has been more difficult since leaving college, we enjoy getting together to ride occasionally. Unfortunately, the current Monroe County laws prohibit off-road cycling in any of the County parks, however the Genesee Regional Off-Road Cyclists (GROC) are working hard at petitioning the policy-makers into respecting the rights of this growing user group.

My Ride

Actually, it is due to this difficulty of finding proper locations to fulfill this off-road riding urge that I have taken to reading and learning about the sport that I love so much. When I moved to this city I was able to encounter my first true experience with single track. Prior to joining the metropolitan landscape as a “city-dweller” my only experiences with off-road riding consisted of mountainous hiking trails, littered with massive jaw-jarring root sections and nose-diving runoff ditches, and on the other end of the spectrum, wide, flat gravel trails that once supported the expansive rail-road infrastructure. Hardly exciting in any case, but I didn’t know any better.

Single track riding, I have discovered, has become for many a way of life. Much as activities such as rock climbing, white water kayaking, or back-country snowmobiling can, single track riding is the essence of pure euphoria for most Mountain Bikers.

When the snow finally melts, the spring rains run their course and the narrow dirt trails finally drain of all their retained moisture, all that is left is a small, hard packed, dusty trail. But that is enough. The rolling contours of a well-designed single track trail, the tight corridor cut through the dense wilderness, and the communion with nature experienced from the saddle of an iron steed.

For those who follow a more logical path, Single Track is exactly as the name suggests: a narrow path that moves with the contours of the wilderness, designed for single-file use, wide enough only for a single hiker or biker to travel at a time. These sort of trails bring the rider, or hiker closer to nature, enveloping them in a tunnel of green that is impossible with larger ATV trails or fire roads.

I have come to enjoy, even crave the thrill of carving around the sharp turns and negotiating the challenging technical areas of the trail. With a group or solo, the experience is compelling for those aware enough to recognize it.

As a closing, here is a video of one of the great memories from our college riding experiences for your enjoyment and our reflection. It is good to remember to always wear your helmet because the laws of probability will eventually catch up with you.