Fifty Plus (50+) - The Insanity Trail

I went for another ride on Big Brown last night. Listened to BD and wore my bike shoes again, but adjusted the tension on the pedals a lot lighter in the parking lot before starting the ride. Went a way that I had gone before and then took a left going up what looked to be a decent hill. As soon as I got around the first bend, the decent little hill got considerably steeper. And the further I rode, the steeper it got. The trail changed from packed dirt with some exposed rocks to nothing but rocks. The rocks varied by where you were on the trail from large gravels to rocks the size of your head and larger, sitting on solid rock ledges. I lost headway three times on the way up and had to start again. Wow it is pretty bad when you are literally scared to stop for fear of dying when you try to start back on the bike again in that stuff. I had to walk one section of about 30 feet where it was absolutely impossible for the likes of me to get back on the bike and get it moving again. But I finally got to the top - it was about a 20 minute or so climb - sweat soaked and pounding heart and ragged lungs and all. At the top was Clark Cemetery, established 1861. I was a good candidate for it at the time. Up on top I thought I was in for a reward of a ridgetop ride for a while. It was a short while. In about a half mile the trail forked three ways.

The Boy Scouts had marked all three trails and there was a sign at the fork showing the layout and a brief description of the three options, how far for each and how difficult the trail was. I took the 3.2 mile option with easy terrain. And it was easy too. For about 100 yards. Then the trail started back down the mountain that I had just climbed. Honestly I was afraid to go back down what I had come up and wanted an easier way down. This was not it. This got steeper and steeper and slicker and slicker and the rocks just got bigger and bigger. There was no dirt at all on this trail, just green wet slick rock ledges and rocks the size of watermelons that were lying everywhere. This was well beyond my current ability on a mountain bike. I had to walk about 100 yards of the worst of it. In one place there was a series of four or five rock ledges that dropped about 20 feet in elevation in maybe 15 or 20 feet of horizontal distance. If I had tried to ride down that trail I would have fallen and I would have broken bones.

I finally got past the insane part and had a very nice rest of the ride back to the parking lot. Had to cross the same creek I fell in the first time out on Big Brown. There was no way to cross it on the bike as there was a washed out pedestrian/bike bridge with the approach still in place on the far side. So I walked it across and scrambled up the bank with it. Creek was about 2 feet deep and did it ever feel good. Perfectly clear cool little Ozarks stream.

It's no wonder I didn't see any bike tracks leaving the main trail heading up to Clark Cemetery. I have no doubt there are people in this world who can ride a trail like that. I don't honestly think it will ever be me. I'm not that insane. Still, it was fun, I'll keep exploring Busiek, but will skip that way since I now know what it is like.

Woah dude...............I think your limits are already much higher than mine......:eek:

Woah dude...............I think your limits are already much higher than mine......:eek:

I doubt that. I was in way over my head.

If I had seen that trail, I would have followed the wisdom of the Cowardly Lion, I would have turned back.

I thought the Boy Scouts took an oath to be honest.

There's no shame in living to see another day.

I feel better. I did a little searching and read some other reviews of this area. I am not alone in considering some parts of this place as impossible and not really what you would call fun on either climbing or descending. They blame it on horses tearing up the trails. I tend to think where it is steep, it's more along the lines of the torrential rains we have been having taking everything but the rocks on the trails. Likely bikes would have much the same effect over time.

A lot of it has to do with the trail design. If the downhill sections follow the fall line, erosion is inevitable and can make the trails impassible over time. Add a horse or two to the mix and it can get ugly in a hurry.

Its in the oath but indirectly:

Scout Oath (or Promise)

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.

The Scout Law says "A Scout tells the truth"

Nothing wrong with walking a bike over parts that are just plain dangerous. It shows wisdom.

From the description, I don't think I would try to ride it.

Remember that trail. Keep at it and riding skills will go up- You will learn to fall properly and those Head sized rocks will be your markers on where the trail actually is.

One thing about the area where I live is that we have Flints. The winter weather seems to make them grow. and a trail you did with ease one week suddenly has a Football sized flint right in the wrong place. Not just one but the only area I know where I do not trust the flints is on part of the South Downs way. Football sized and they are mobile. It is easier to climb that section of the trail than it is to ride down.

Not a believer in wide tyres on MTB's but Drop in pressure down to just above snakebites- and sensible riding- and you will wonder what the problem is- this time next year. I use 1.8 tyres at 50 psi in summer and winter and they work for me. Wheras a heavier rider would have to use 2.1's.

Remember that trail. Keep at it and riding skills will go up.
I dunno. It's tough to improve with a broken collarbone.

I looked up Busiek on mountainbikereview.com and it confirmed what I suspected: trails going straight down the fall-line and plowed under by horses.

I suspect you could find better in your area.

I went for another ride on Big Brown last night. Listened to BD and wore my bike shoes again, but adjusted the tension on the pedals a lot lighter in the parking lot before starting the ride. Went a way that I had gone before and then took a left going up what looked to be a decent hill. As soon as I got around the first bend, the decent little hill got considerably steeper. And the further I rode, the steeper it got. The trail changed from packed dirt with some exposed rocks to nothing but rocks. The rocks varied by where you were on the trail from large gravels to rocks the size of your head and larger, sitting on solid rock ledges. I lost headway three times on the way up and had to start again. Wow it is pretty bad when you are literally scared to stop for fear of dying when you try to start back on the bike again in that stuff. I had to walk one section of about 30 feet where it was absolutely impossible for the likes of me to get back on the bike and get it moving again. But I finally got to the top - it was about a 20 minute or so climb - sweat soaked and pounding heart and ragged lungs and all. At the top was Clark Cemetery, established 1861. I was a good candidate for it at the time. Up on top I thought I was in for a reward of a ridgetop ride for a while. It was a short while. In about a half mile the trail forked three ways.

The Boy Scouts had marked all three trails and there was a sign at the fork showing the layout and a brief description of the three options, how far for each and how difficult the trail was. I took the 3.2 mile option with easy terrain. And it was easy too. For about 100 yards. Then the trail started back down the mountain that I had just climbed. Honestly I was afraid to go back down what I had come up and wanted an easier way down. This was not it. This got steeper and steeper and slicker and slicker and the rocks just got bigger and bigger. There was no dirt at all on this trail, just green wet slick rock ledges and rocks the size of watermelons that were lying everywhere. This was well beyond my current ability on a mountain bike. I had to walk about 100 yards of the worst of it. In one place there was a series of four or five rock ledges that dropped about 20 feet in elevation in maybe 15 or 20 feet of horizontal distance. If I had tried to ride down that trail I would have fallen and I would have broken bones.

I finally got past the insane part and had a very nice rest of the ride back to the parking lot. Had to cross the same creek I fell in the first time out on Big Brown. There was no way to cross it on the bike as there was a washed out pedestrian/bike bridge with the approach still in place on the far side. So I walked it across and scrambled up the bank with it. Creek was about 2 feet deep and did it ever feel good. Perfectly clear cool little Ozarks stream.

It's no wonder I didn't see any bike tracks leaving the main trail heading up to Clark Cemetery. I have no doubt there are people in this world who can ride a trail like that. I don't honestly think it will ever be me. I'm not that insane. Still, it was fun, I'll keep exploring Busiek, but will skip that way since I now know what it is like.
At times like during that descent it's helpful to repeat a mantra to remain calm. Mine is "Oh, ****! Oh, ****!..."

I dunno. It's tough to improve with a broken collarbone.

I looked up Busiek on mountainbikereview.com and it confirmed what I suspected: trails going straight down the fall-line and plowed under by horses.

I suspect you could find better in your area.

I think I need to shop around a little bit too. Sac River trails get better reviews. I was afraid I was just too big of a sissy to ever be a real MTB rider, and that might be right. But Busiek does not seem to be the place to find that out, at least the up and down horse trail parts. There are still a lot of really pretty trails there that are in the creek bottoms where it is not insane.

Too bad that it is not Nirvana. It's a five mile drive from the house to the parking lot. My property backs up to within about 50 feet of the Busiek property line with the creek that I fall into and cross now and then running down the back of my place. But it is too rough between my house and Busiek to ever consider riding a bike that way. Bluffs, if you know what I mean.