Southwest: Fort Custer

[vintagefisher]

Just an alert for Sunday, May 20. Xterra triathlon going on at Custer.

Road or trail? I don't mind full parking lots but I don't want trail ride with racers.

Its a trail run and ride.. so both the red and green are going to be used I believe.....

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[xcrdr]

I would not begin to call it dangerous. It is a well crafted xc trail. Back in the day it was more technical in some ways. Custer is a trail that will stick in your mind. It has some sections that will have you grinning from ear to ear. Wait till you ride the banked turns, the trenches and some flow on Crazy Beaver and Amusment park. They have a great group of volunteers that keep it in awesome shape. I look forward to hearing your review.

[TenSpeed]

Custer. Is. Awesome.

That is all.

[Wingo]

Just an alert for Sunday, May 20. Xterra triathlon going on at Custer.

Road or trail? I don't mind full parking lots but I don't want trail ride with racers.

Its a trail run and ride.. so both the red and green are going to be used I believe.....

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

I believe blue will be used also.

http://www.eliteendeavors.com/races/XTERRAlastStand.htm

[xcrdr]

Thanks for the info

[reidabel]

I would not begin to call it dangerous. It is a well crafted xc trail. Back in the day it was more technical in some ways. Custer is a trail that will stick in your mind. It has some sections that will have you grinning from ear to ear. Wait till you ride the banked turns, the trenches and some flow on Crazy Beaver and Amusment park. They have a great group of volunteers that keep it in awesome shape. I look forward to hearing your review.

Okay, got out there yesterday morning, rode red and then green. I was a bit alarmed by the kiosk signs about ticks, but I was wearing jeans and went back to the car to put bug spray all over, particularly around the feet and ankles. I'm surprised it said to use long pants and pull the socks up over them! I guess they have to go over the top with these warnings just to cover themselves. What is the real risk for ticks out there? Do people get some on every ride?

red trail
I like the signage out there, very easy to follow on red. Got a few miles out in red and was thinking that this trail was way too easy when features started to show up. Fun stuff, I really enjoyed it and did, indeed, find my self grinning a few times. I stopped and took some pictures of some of them. I think I liked Granny's Garden the most.

green trail
I took a break after doing red and ended up asking three tail volunteers in the parking lot about green. They had just finished trimming it, I assume for the XTerra being held right now, so I lucked out and the trail was in excellent shape. As was red. They weren't conclusive on whether green was easier or harder than red, and I think they both are about the same in terms of difficulty and fun. I really enjoyed the side-to-side paths in the gullies, lots of nice flow there. Green had a lot of nice scenery, I stopped along the lake and took some pictures. There was a pretty young blonde-haired woman riding green and we kept passing each other as we stopped and restarted. I know she had blonde hair because she was riding with NO HELMET! But she didn't seem to be too concerned, and she took the bypass whenever she came through something tricky while I was taking pictures of it. I guess she wasn't taking too much risk - she made it to the parking lot shortly after me, so no problem.

There was a fair amount of sand here and there, but not a problem, and it just added to the experience. The only time I went off the bike was coming downhill around a sandy corner with my front wheel getting caught. Other than that, no difficulties riding anything. The big rock-armored downhill looked scary but rode easily.

So to conclude, I had a lot of fun at Ft Custer yesterday - a big THANK YOU to the trail volunteers who put the trails in such great shape. I will be back, hopefully often. I would say these trails are somewhere between Murray Lake and Torn Shirt in difficulty, but well ahead of both of them in terms of character and fun. I agree that these are well-crafted xc trails, that are not dangerous, but it all depends on your experience and riding level. For an experienced rider, these trails are great.

Can someone tell me the individual distances, for both the red and green trails? I think each one took me about 1:15, but like I said, I was stopping and taking pictures several times, so I'm guessing around 9 miles each.

[xcrdr]

So let me get this right. Pictures of the blonde or the trail features?
We arrived a little later than I thought we would, around12:20. In a new gray Chevy 4x4. I looked for you but didn't know what you drive.
I think for both trails I had around 17.6 miles.

My comliments to the trail crew there. I know with the trail separation it was a very difficult time for you. The new sections were fun and challenging and when I ride them I do think of the hard work and time involved. Your work is appreciated. Thank you so much.

[reidabel]

So let me get this right. Pictures of the blonde or the trail features?

Heh ... I had the camera ready to shoot an interesting log pile when she came up behind me, and I chose not to include her in the shot as she passed by ... never know when the wife is going to see your pictures and get testy!

We arrived a little later than I thought we would, around 12:20. In a new gray Chevy 4x4. I looked for you but didn't know what you drive.

Ah, I was on the green trail by then, and probably departed before you got back to the lot. There were a lot of vehicles and riders in the lot compared to the trails I usually ride. Never seen a dedicated changing room before! Too bad people wear their shoes into it and leave the floor all dirty. The lock doesn't line up right any more, either. Not that I'm complaining, of course ...

I think for both trails I had around 17.6 miles.

Thanks, about what I figured, then.

[reidabel]

Anybody have an answer to the tick question I asked above?

[vintagefisher]

i have rode around 200-300 miles out there this year with no bug spray and no ticks (at least that i am aware of) yet so you should be good.

[reidabel]

Thanks, that's going to save me some time, expense, and concern

I kind of figured they might go overboard on the warnings just to cover their assets. Next, they'll start putting signs up on stunts saying "not intended for mountain bikes - do not ride" ... and then will be completely blameless if somebody gets hurt riding one!

[brokenbones]

I kind of figured they might go overboard on the warnings just to cover their assets.

Actually, they're trying to protect your assets. Ticks in that area tested positive for Lyme's last year, so a little extra caution is well advised. We were at the Fort a couple of weekends ago and our dog came out full of ticks. My wife picked nearly a dozen of them off the dog while waiting for me to finish my ride. No need to panic, just check yourself over carefully after your ride.

[reidabel]

Thanks for the info ... that's good to know.

[reidabel]

Liked it so much, I'm bringing friends on Sunday ... with all this rain, though, I have to ask - how well do the red and green trails shed water? Do the gullies/trenches get puddles in the bottom? I realize there is more rain scheduled for today (Sat) but what would you expect red and green to be like on Sunday late morning? Thanks ...

[Static_Crash]

Forecast calls for a possible overnight shower, but plenty of sun during the day today and tomorrow. There will be some greasy spots and a few puddles here and there, but other than that the trails do a good job of shedding water. The rain has most likely improved trail conditions because it was getting pretty dry and sandy out there.