First mountain bike riding in years

Last Updated on June 20, 2021 by FAB Jim The Cyclist

I had a great day yesterday.  For the first time in probably over 20 years I went and road some mountain bike trails.  I went to the Silver Lake mountain bike trails in Kenosha county WI with a friend and spent about 2 hours riding around.  The weather was great, and the trails were nice.  Stuck to the easy trails as it’s been 20 years after-all.  We rode the snowflake, the pines, and the yeti when we were able to find it.  Somehow that dang yeti proved elusive and we somehow road past it like 3 times before we finally figured out where it was.  Go figure, the yeti was hard to find. 

Here is a nice trail map:

Silver-Lake-Mountain-Bike-Trails-Map (kenoshacounty.org)

Lots of cars there and we saw a lot of other riders, I’m guessing it’s kind of a big deal.  Lots of plates from IL as it’s right on the border.  A lot more civilized than my mountain biking days in the 90s when we just went out onto some trails and tried to do anything that looked challenging.  Everyone we ran into seemed friendly, but I guess when you are riding you are happy so that makes people friendly.  Also, for all the cars there the trails never seemed crowded at all.  Lots of different trails out there to spread out on.    

My 2010 Raleigh Talus 3.0 was a great ride for the easy trails.  I think we kept up a pretty decent pace on them, but it’s hard to judge since I don’t know what a fast pace is.  Next time I want to hit these same trails and try to go a bit faster and then find a new one and see how the bike holds out.  Hopefully, I get out there several times this summer, but there never seems to be enough time to do all the riding I want.  If you have been thinking about getting back out there, it was a blast and nice and scenic.  A great change from all the usually paved riding I do.  Next time I’m bringing a cooler and a few more snacks to stay a little longer.