Happy trails for you

Don’t let the adjective throw you off track. You can really get cranked up on mountain biking – even here in the flatlands. Although a Mount Rainier would be handy, all you need is a good mountain bike.
Really.
Oh, yeah, and a couple well designed and maintained single tracks, too.
Of course, back in the late 1980s and early ’90s all of us fat tire geeks had to sneak onto horse and hiking trails to get our thrills and bruises.
Back then we had to absorb a lot of dirty looks and words from our equestrian and hiking friends. But it taught us good manners in yielding the right of way, a practice that most good mountain bikers abide by today now that the hikers are utilizing the trails that have been built especially for our knobby tires.
It was our mantra that we all could get along with just a little common-sense courtesy. And, by golly, it’s working – and has been at such terrific and well-used tracks, as say, Landahl Park in Eastern Jackson County.
In case you haven’t discovered trail riding, or are thinking about investing in a mountain bike, Landahl Park is one of the best places in the Midwest for the sport. Its 15 miles of interconnecting loops of single (and some double) track and growing – thanks to a receptive and well-managed Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department.
But just like it is for golfers, hunters and anglers, variety and a change of scenery is always a good thing.
To that end, the local members of the Earth Riders Trails Association (ERTA) have once again done all us mountain bikers a huge favor by doing all the hard leg (and hand) work in creating another area trail gem. It’s a 2 1/2-mile single-track in Stocksdale Park and the Walnut Woods Conservation Area in Liberty.
Some of it snakes through open meadows, but the majority of the fun winds through varied wooded terrain. And, of course, it is open to hikers as well.
And like Landahl, one of the best aspects of this new trail is that it was built for mountain bikers BY mountain bikers.
Good trails, be for hiking or bikes, just don’t happen by cutting down trees and clearing brush. It’s hard, dedicated labor with specific environmental and safety techniques put into play.
And, again, like the Landahl success story, it took a chemistry of good partnership between the private and governmental sectors to make it turn out so well. ERTA is the common denominator for both Landahl and Liberty. The membership, with its proven “track record” in Eastern Jackson County, convinced the Liberty city government and the Missouri Department of Conservation to allow it to design, build and maintain this new, premier trail on its land.
Now, everybody is extremely happy with the results – if not the aching quadriceps and forearms.
“It came together in a perfect partnership,” said Clay Lozier of the ERTA and a Liberty resident. “I had always felt the area would be a tremendous place for a mountain bike trail because the terrain is so interesting … a lot of elevation changes. It’s beautiful back in there.
“But I give a lot of the credit to the Missouri Department of Conservation and the willingness of Liberty officials. It’s been a great partnership.”
Clay won’t go so far as to describe the new Liberty trail as “technical” or more suited to the advanced rider. But having put my 10-year-old Stumpjumper to the test on the new trail, I’d have to say it was a somewhat more challenging track than most beginners would be comfortable with. I think the average mountain biker will like it very much, and clearly it was carved into the Clay County hillside specifically with fat tire devotees in mind with its up-and-down climbs.
ERTA and the Conservation Department are proud of the trail and have informally set down several guidelines if you plan to ride it. The most important of which, perhaps, is to stay off it if it is raining to avoid creating ruts that would lead to erosion. Other considerations.
• Ride on open trails only; avoid trespassing on private land without permission.
• Leave no trace; pack out what you packed in.
• Control your bicycle; obey speed regulations.
• Always yield the trail; don’t startle others; a friendly greeting or a bell is considerate.
• Never scare animals; use special care when passing horses.
• Plan ahead; know your equipment.
Most of the trail was constructed on the Walnut Woods Conservation Area. And although the Conservation Department is in the business of fish, forest and wildlife resources and management, it takes all outdoor recreation seriously – both consumptive and non-consumptive.
It meant cutting down some selective trees, but the Conservation Department was not only ready to let that happen on its land, but provide the expertise as well.
“Our lands are also open for outdoor recreation,” said Helene Miller, a Conservation Department urban forester who worked closely with ERTA on this project. “People obviously hunt and fish a lot, but mountain biking and hiking are also important forms of recreation.  And we do have some other facilities around the state (for mountain biking). We were glad to add a mountain biking and hiking trail here at Walnut Woods.”
And it will be ERTA volunteers, not state or Liberty employees, who will be responsible for keeping the trail well-maintained. But according to Clay that will be an easy sell to the membership considering their devotion – sometimes addiction – to their sport.   
“It combines an adrenaline rush if you’re looking for that sort of thing, which I am,” Lozier said, “with a chance to be in a pretty location out in the woods. It’s also a good fitness activity.”
And, of course, the mere construction of such a track is a pretty good fitness activity as well.
“It was hard physical labor. It’s done by hand – entirely.”
But, in the end, worth it. Even Helene Miller, a long-time road cyclist, is thinking about investing in a mountain bike. And for Clay, he believes he’s been paid back for his investment of time and energy tenfold.
“I have strangers that come up to me and say, ‘Hey, you’re Clay Lozier aren’t you? I just want to tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done with that trail.’”
“That’s gotta feel good?” I ask.
“It does.”
Mountains? Who needs ’em when you’ve got a good mountain bike trails here in the “flat” lands.

For more on the new Stocksdale/Walnut Woods Trail visit the Web site at http://stocksdalewalnutwoods.blogspot.com/ for more information and directions.