Obligatory 2016 Year End Post

'Tis the season to post a year-end "Best Of" list or re-cap. Not to be left out, I've decided to follow the crowd and do the same. Mostly because I do enjoy taking a look back and thinking about my past full trip around the sun.

First off, I took LOTS of photos (Instagram)...

I didn't ride as much as I would have liked... I don't think I *could* ride as much as I would like, not with that pesky job getting in the way. But, looking back, I did have some great rides, and quality always trumps quantity.


My wife and I did some exploring in Florida, and what the trails lacked in elevation (one was literally 0 ft), they made up in twisty, turny fun.

My friends and I took a short, but super fun trip to Santa Cruz. We got to experience the Flow Trail and some other awesome trails, and I wouldn't turn down a chance to go back.

I had the pull of Kingdom Trails draw me north a couple of times, one for NEMBAFest with my brother, and another trip with two buddies, one of which experienced these trails for the first time.

The wife and I also rode trails and gravel roads in Maine, trails on Cape Cod, and we participated in some fun organized Gravel Rides in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Speaking of NH, I got to get my ass handed to me by my younger brother because I tell him how much I like climbing and he never disappoints.

And while those are some of the more noteworthy rides, I had plenty of fun just on my local networks, and I'm so grateful to live so close to so many miles of amazing trails. Maybe it's not quite like living in Santa Cruz or East Burke, but I've easily got more than a hundred miles of trails within an easy ride or drive from my door, and that's pretty awesome.

There's even a very small network of trails around the corner from me. Maybe 2-3 miles, depending on how you loop it together and if you don't mind hitting a paved section. It's fun to run, walk the dogs, and it can be used to string other small sections together to get longer and longer loops connected. These trails had become totally overgrown over the past couple of years, but some efforts had begun to get them in shape and I've spent some of my time grooming and pruning.

While it's great for me to have a trail run loop so close, I'm happy to say that I've seen a young kid (12ish) out there on his mountain bike, and I've seen other tire tracks too. Maybe these trails will get him hooked on mountain biking and next year I'll be complaining of how crowded this little local loop is.

Tune in next year to see.

For now, ride fast, ride often, and happy holidays!