Everyone has their own reasons why they love a long weekend, for us long weekends mean we get and extra day for outdoor adventure fun! You might think we head straight for the campground for the first long weekend of summer, but the crowds, traffic and general craziness usually keeps us closer to home – this year was no exception. On Saturday we headed to Northumberland Forest to go mountain biking. Dan is an avid mountain biker, as in he goes out at least 1 or 2 times a week all year. Yes even in winter he bikes with his fat bike. Hayden joins him on some of the easier trails in the area and is becoming quite the biker as well. I ride my road bike regularly, however it has been over 10 years since I have been on the trails and I wasn’t sure if I was excited or nervous about heading back into the woods. To make sure things went smoothly Dan did a great of job tuning up my mountain bike – which has been sitting in our garage for a very long time – and getting it ready to roll like new. He even upgraded my old rim brakes to disc – which he assures me is much better!
With all of our gear tuned and packed, we loaded the car and we were off first thing in the morning. Once we arrived at the parking lot, we offloaded our gear and changed into our biking shoes and long socks to keep the bugs (like ticks) and poison ivy off our body as much as possible.
Off we go 
He’s ready 
Stylin’ right?
This wasn’t my first time on this trail, but it has been many years. I was really impressed with how much the county had improved these trails since I lost rode them. There is a huge sign at the entrance marking all the trails and at each intersection there are signs with numbers for if you need to call for help. Everything is extremely well maintained and marked, not to mention how many new trails have been added. They also provided trail maps – FREE I might add – as well as a portable bathroom at the entrance. All of this, combined with the network of trails for ATVs, skiing, and horseback riding, makes me wonder why more communities aren’t able to provide these kinds of facilities.
Trail Time!
The plan was to take the Green B Loop, which is listed as 10 km. There are also a few exit points along the way if we needed to bail for some reason (i.e. if I couldn’t handle riding anymore). Hayden was a little nervous about what to expect, but Dan has taken him on even longer and more technical rides before so Dan knew he could make it. The only part we warned Hayden about is a section called the Hog’s Back. It’s a fairly long steady climb with some switchbacks. Neither Hayden nor I made it very far up that one on our bikes (I may have walked a few other hills as well, LOL).
Family photo (by Dan)
The remainder of this ride is B-E-A-utiful! Winding through forest regrowth areas with many downhill and flowy sections. We had a great ride but I was happy to see the parking lot come into view as I know not only myself, but Hayden was getting tired. There were no major issues and I am looking forward to getting back out on the trails this summer with these two by my side. I have definitely missed it.
Tired boy 
Happy feet in my Keens after the ride 
Happy times
If you have found some great mountain biking trails in your area, please share as we are always looking for new and exciting places to go.
Always great to read about your family outings….lots of memories. <3
Well written! May we place this in the Editorial section of our site?
https://www.northumberlandtourism.com/en/reviews/editorial.aspx
Hello, thanks so much for reading! Can you send me an email at SuesOutdoorCrew@gmail.com so we can discuss 🙂