Time: 1:10
Distance: 7.67 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Good
Weather: Cloudy, raining and cool
Distance: 7.67 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Good
Weather: Cloudy, raining and cool
Easy evening run around the Meadow View loop at Elk Meadow. Added on a nice a social trail bit around Troublesome Gulch.
I stopped in a few place to replace large rocks put in place earlier this month by trail crews to keep people from riding around waterbars. Someone, presumably mountain bikers, had dug up and moved the rocks to make the trail easier to navigate (and more likely to erode, as a result).
This is a pet peeve of mine. I mean, who stops riding long enough to dig up and move a hundred-pound rock? I used to mountain bike a lot. Rocks were what made mountain biking fun...a challenge. If I wanted to ride on a totally smooth trail (I never did), I'd go to the Highline Canal or one of Boulder's paved bike paths. What's more, my eight and nine year old kids have been able to ride the full trail for a couple of years...with the rocks and waterbars in place! And, I know it's not elementary school-aged kids moving these rocks. So, who could it be? Obviously someone with a bit of extra trail time on their hands...and someone who has never built a foot of trail themselves. Man, I feel better now.
Back to the run...
Finished the run in yet another late-summer thunderstorm, this one with raindrops big enough to make me wonder if I was being pelted by hail.
Ended up back at the house dripping wet and happy to feel so strong following yesterday's 27-miler.
Funny, I noticed the same thing; I think it was at Elk Meadow last summer. I remember thinking "Why would they make it easier for bikers to go fast?"
ReplyDeleteIt would be very un-cool if it were bikers just going out and doing it.
But, that’s why I almost always run in Boulder now; to minimize trail time with bikes. Got tired of yelling at bad/ignorant riders.
Yeah, not only are the bikers (presumably) digging up the rocks put in place to keep people from riding around waterbars, but the JeffCo Open Space trail crews these past two summers have been taking out tons (literally) of rocks. This results in a smoother surface and, no doubt, faster biking speeds (heck, my running PR for the Meadow View loop improved by several minutes after the rocks came out). With all the problems Open Space is reporting at Apex w/ hiker/biker conflicts, why would they want to make trails faster? Word is that the same thing has been going on at Mt. Falcon. I need to formally inquire what their reasoning is. One of these days...
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