Poto: Olson Park/Ann Arbor Loop

[jwhitey]

I agree. There is something to be said for convenience.

[Bcar]

Overall, I like highland better (for now... ) but there are sections on the Local loop that are far harder than anything at highland or any other Southern MI trail. Olson is prob my least fav part of the trail, Its like ILRA Blue and Maybury doing the deed together
but at the end of the day, I like riding from my back door.

[ryanmcg]

Maybe we could change that! Didn't I hear some talk from you about maybe building some "stunts" out at Olson someday?

[Bcar]

Maybe we could change that! Didn't I hear some talk from you about maybe building some "stunts" out at Olson someday?

yep, thats true. poto chapter has some funds we could probably use if we come up with some good designs/plans. Im not a huge man-made-stunt guy so really havent put forth a ton of effort on this front. And Im so freaking busy this june/july/aug my only free non-riding trail time has been devoted to maintenance ;(

[scat silvurz]

The reason Olsen is off limits to stunts is that some silly XC jogger fellah got his size 13 stuck in one of the former features at Olsen. He sued, and everyone freaked out, therefore no stunts at Olsen.....

But, I did get a nice diving board ride there this saturday!

I really love the A2 local loop trails - you can easily dial in a 2 hour + ride or more if you wish, and the terrain is unlike anywhere in SE michigan. You sometimes think you're in another State entirely. I have a GPS map of this somewhere, but I really don't know where, but this map should show you what is in store for you if you tackle it. I didn't GPS track thru "the bluffs" trails however, but it's easy enough to find adjacent to the Main street/M14 area - trail access directly across the street from that Lotus company building/Lakeshore park rd. Caviat: the thing is, it's not really a marked trail, and unless someone shows you around, good luck finding all the little hidden trail entrances. Which is why it's so unique - not too many trails around here provide the biker with a true adventure setting - you never know on what, or where you'll end up!



Here's a closeup of Olsen park:

[ooksk91]

It's a good idea to have a bell as there are walkers who don't expect bikers on the trails. Especially on the Leslie Science center trails as there are many families with small kids doing the nature walk.

[Mikeyb64]

How do you get to the Ridge trail and Downhill? I've herd it is crazy hard. Is there a link to that map? Also has anyone mapped this in Strava?

[ryanmcg]

Caviat: [i]the thing is, it's not really a marked trail, and unless someone shows you around, good luck finding all the little hidden trail entrances.

Yeah... I had some trouble with that my first time out. I had Erick show me around, but I still don't think I could repeat everything that we did. As a result, I haven't really ridden it since then. Certain parts were also pretty overgrown, which made it tricky if you don't know the course. If there's another cleanup day, just hand me a weed eater and show me where to go. It might help me learn more of the routes too.

[daveat]

Yesterday we rode the downhill, climbed back up and rode the ridge trail, which is shown between 1-1.6 miles.

http://app.strava.com/rides/13504239

[Mikeyb64]

Yesterday we rode the downhill, climbed back up and rode the ridge trail, which is shown between 1-1.6 miles.

http://app.strava.com/rides/13504239

Thanks Dave! That's so much more helpful.

[raptorTC]

Mtbfree uploaded some videos of the DH and Ridge Trail from the A2 Enduro earlier this year if you wanna check them out here. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=109994&start=45
The ridge trail is definitely the more difficult of the two.

I'm a big local loop fan as well, even though Bluffs and I have a love/hate relationship most of the time. Its so nice to be able to just ride out the door and have them at our fingertips. I also like how easy it is to alter my course to make the distance/time suit how much time I have to ride/how the legs are feeling. If I'm short on time or tired I cut the loop off early and if the legs are feeling good and I have free time I can send it around for another loop.

The terrain is great too. I'm originally from Owosso and a 15 mile ride there usually got me around 100 ft of climbing. A similar 15 mile ride on the Local Loop usually nets me about 700 feet of climbing. Not even comparable.

[Mikeyb64]

Thanks for the link to the videos. Now I have to find this trail

[Bcar]

nice strava track! pretty close! There's also the skeletor slide (thats what I call it at least ) trail also near the ridge/DH, not an "official" trail at ALL, but for sure the hardest section of trail in SE MI, by a long shot.

If you ask 10 people how to ride the local loop, you'll get 15 different answers.

[jwhitey]

I think I've ridden most of the loop but I have not been to the DH/ridge area yet. Next time out I'll try to find it. I believe I came out on the road just north of it but didn't know where to go back in.

[raptorTC]

I went out after the rain we got this morning and the trail showed absolutely no signs of water ever touching it. Also, props to whoever moved those big logs out of the way on the bottom area of Bluffs.