Single Track Sunday
Place: Middle Run Valley Park, DE
Ridden: January 2015
Video- click on video to play
The bathroom is finished so now it is time to get back on the bike!
Middle Run Valley Natural Area is a 850 acre park owned and maintained by New Castle County, Delaware. Located within residential neighborhoods, the park consists of forests, fields, streams, and ponds. It borders two portions of White Clay Creek State Park; Possum Hill area on the northwest and Judge Morris Estate on the southeast. In addition, William Redd Park can be accessed from the east side. On this day we only rode Middle Run, White Clay was closed due to hunting.
Middle Run has about 15 miles of trails. White Clay has about 20. Many of these trails loop around onto each other; thus to ride all the trails one would have to back track/ride the same trails twice. The trails are fast and flowy, with only a few rocks and roots present. There are a few moderate climbs, but noting sustained for more than a few minutes. In addition to the trail system, White Clay also has a small skills park. Bridges, skinnies, logs, and small rock gardens are there to practice. But in general, throughout the trails many logovers, skinnies, and bridges are scattered about to practice. So all in all these trails are a good place to go fast, have fun, work on turning skills, and practice riding skinnies.
The day we were there added an entirely new challenge to the day- ice. Recent rains and the packing down of snow earlier in the week made for icy patches. One minute the trail would be dry and clear, the next minute one is laying on the ground wondering how they got there. The ice also had many components to it- there was grippy ice that had a little traction, hidden ice that you didn't know was there until you are sliding around, and slippy ice that developed when it started to get warm and the ice had a thin layer of water over it. These conditions had us slipping and sliding around, laughing and cursing, and at time walking (or trying to walk, even walking was tough on the ice). But by the end of the day we were all happy to be out on the bikes, had fun with the challenging conditions, and got in a decent ride.
Middle Run and White Clay are fun places to ride, we definitely recommend them. They make for a fun day, even when icy!
Middle Run has about 15 miles of trails. White Clay has about 20. Many of these trails loop around onto each other; thus to ride all the trails one would have to back track/ride the same trails twice. The trails are fast and flowy, with only a few rocks and roots present. There are a few moderate climbs, but noting sustained for more than a few minutes. In addition to the trail system, White Clay also has a small skills park. Bridges, skinnies, logs, and small rock gardens are there to practice. But in general, throughout the trails many logovers, skinnies, and bridges are scattered about to practice. So all in all these trails are a good place to go fast, have fun, work on turning skills, and practice riding skinnies.