My daughter had a club volleyball tournament in Appleton last week, so I thought I'd head up early on Saturday and ride the single track and meet my wife a daughter before the first game...
In preparation, I called Tigerton and asked about the trail. I was told they classify it as an extreme challenge - rocks, mud, hills, woods - you name it they said they had it. I was also told the trail was new and wasn't "burned in" It was $10 for the day and there are camping options which I didn't utilize. First, my bike - 2019 FE 450 with some mods:
- Vortex ECU, de-smogged, mx air box, FMF exhaust
- DOT passable knobbies
- Scotts steering damper
- Rekluse clutch
- 4.5 gallon IMS tank
- and a few other small things
I was told to cross the bridge and look for the brown markers. I found it and generally the trail is difficult to follow. They've attempted to mark it well with pink ribbon and paint, but it's extremely tight and winding and I spent a fair amount of time stopping to look around to find which direction it headed - I suspect this will be much less of an issue once there is a trail to follow. About two miles into the eight mile trail I was gassed and stopped to watch three jeeps get pulled out of the road legal 4WD trails that seemed impassible for all I watched that tried to get through. Another 1/2 mile into the ride, I tried to keep my bike upright while making a not-so-tight turn with my arms that were reduced to rubber and while doing everything to keep the bike upright, I felt my right hamstring snap. I sat next to a tree and contemplated lifting my bike up before someone saw me...which I did. I rested some more and tried to ride only to ask one of the jeep drivers about getting on a quick and easy trail back to the parking lot.
After having time to reflect, my bike performed as well as I could have expected, but I didn't. It was partially my lack of skills for this type of ride and maybe some related to my bike not being well-suited for this type of trail. I may go back, but it will be with different expectations...and maybe a different bike or knowing that I need to be in better shape.
As Forest Gump says, that's all I have to say about that.