by: Matt Simerson
IP: 3.22.42.189
Saturday 23 Nov 24

The Cadillac area rides:

Tour-de-Lake: There is a nice easy trail around the lake. It's all paved and the loop is about 7 miles. It's good for sightseeing and socializing. It's a 1 on the rating scale.

Rails-to-Trails (aka. White Pine Trail): A gentle two track trail that runs from just off Sunnyside drive to Grand Rapids. There's no real hills and the trail is made of hard pack and loose gravel. I've only ridden to Tustin and back so I don't really know just what the trail is like below Tustin. It's conveniently located so that I can get out of work at 5:00 p.m. and get dressed, ride to the trail, and ride to Tustin and back before dark. It rates a 1.2 or possibly a 1.5 on the scale.

Cadillac pathways: They are conveniently located just East of Cadillac. The trail is a very easy ride with only a couple small hills. When I'm in a hurry, I can ride to the trail, ride the full loop and be home and in the shower in under an hour.

North Country Trail: If you're into gorgeous scenery and a technical ride, you can travel 26 miles West to the North Country Trail. The Seaton creek side has been closed to Mountain bikers this year. It's a crying shame because it's the most scenic and technical ride in the Cadillac area. The trail gets an 8 for technical and a 10 for scenery. The other side of the Manistee river has a much less technical and far more ugly trail. It's still a nice ride though.

Every year the Cadillac mountain bikers team up for trail maintenance days. The leading cause of trail decay is erosion but the HOHA's still think that all biking activity should be banned on 'their' trails :-(

VASA: It's located a few miles north (about 40) in Traverse City. It's a nice well maintained course that makes for a nice easy ride and a technical section that rate's about a 6.

Shuss Mountain: It's further North yet but it's a heck of a ride. It's a mountain bike trail through and over and down the faces and back sides of the ski slopes. It's very technical (water hazards, buckets, big hills, lots of sand, mud, logs, etc...) and is an all around killer ride. I rode it a few times last year before and during the JEEP sponsored NORBA nationals race. It rates a high nine. If you ride hard, it'll wear out you and your trusty steed.

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