Road Closed

I took out Tank, on a few hours of riding in the hills south of Ned. The trails are nowhere near being clear of snow up here but there are so many great dirt roads that can be linked with paved roads in between, so I decided to try and link up a big figure 8 that I rode part of last year.

The dirt road above is behind the local state park and is one of the premiere rides in the area in my opinion. It takes a long paved road to get there but on a Saturday morning this is nearly absent of any cars except for the State Park Patroller.

Luckily said State Park Patroller didn't care (or notice) that I hopped the metal barrier to ride the currently Closed road that goes through the park. It's seasonally closed (snow), but I had maybe 100ft total of snow navigation at the very top; it was all rideable on bike. It felt like I was poaching singletrack road. I have never said this before but road riding is actually pretty fun (when there are no cars on the road). No worries about getting brushed, yelled at, honked at, or hit, you can swerve on such steep sections as the one in the above picture, and you can ride in the opposite lane if you just so wish. Imagine a world with just paths, and no cars...

I visited one such town in Nicaragua on the Mosquito Coast almost 18 years ago while hitchhiking around with a buddy. You have to get there by boat and there are no cars allowed (or couldn't get there?) on the beach town's roads. It was the most unbelievably peaceful town I've ever been to and I do think it had a lot to do with the absence of automobiles and the corresponding increased pace of life they bring. I know, I know, I drive. They definitely have their place in this world because "we've" made it so, but damn...how nice it was to ride a road knowing that I would not run into any cars.