Mountain Bike
Trails According to Casey
>>Louisiana<<
*This site is
currently under construction, so please bear with me...*
When
the subject of mountain biking comes up, it's not likely that your mind
goes straight to Louisiana, and I never considered that I'd ever add a
Louisiana page to my trail descriptions... but alas, here I go.
Every year since we moved back to Texas I've tried to get back into the
habit of riding, but with a new growing family, long work hours, etc,
life has a way of crushing my best intentions, and it always seems to
happen around the Holidays; shorter days, colder temps, busy weekends,
traveling to see familly, etc... the next thing I know, it's May, and I
think to myself, "self, maybe we should get back on the bike", then the
cycle starts all over again.
This year I managed to make it through the summer with a somewhat
regular riding schedule, entering fall with a full head of steam, even
commuting to work a couple of days a week, then it happens; the time
changes and I lose daylight, then comes a busy week of whatever
followed by spending a few days at my grandmother's followed by another
busy weekend that takes me straight into the Thanksgiving holidays that
usually spells the end of my riding phase.
This year though, this year is going to be different. It's been more
that 2 weeks since I last rode, and I'm not going to let this happen;
I'm taking the bike to the inlaws in Shreveport Louisiana. I will find
somewhere to ride, even if it's just on concrete. I began looking for
trails in the Shreveport area - surely there's a park or something...
Do you know how hard it is to find trail info in Louisiana? Well, I
guess you can imagine. Finding the names of a couple of trails wasn't
that difficult, but there was very little in the way of up-to-date
descriptions. I dug up what I could and located them, here's what I
found.
Eddie B. Jones Park (AKA "The Monkey Trail")
Location: SW of Shreveport, near Spring Ridge
Rider level: intermediate
Miles: about 10 (maybe more)
Fee: No
I decided to check this one out first, as it seemed to be the
local
favorite, and appeared to be the most "technical". I didn't know much
about it, other than it's in a park southwest of Shreveport - park
hours? Fees? We'll find ou the hard way... I set out thanksgiving
morning to get in a cold (40 deg) ride before the big lunch. When I
arrived, two of my questions were quickly answered - no fee, and it
does have hours: open Thursday thru Monday 'til 5, closed Tues/Wed,
and... holidays... that would explain the closed gates... Well, in my
mature age and being a dad now, I'm typically no longer one to
disregard the rules, but... I came all this way, and if I'm going to
ride this trail, it's now. I parked near the church and hid my telling
bike rack in the CR-V behind the dark tint.
The main trail head is deep inside the park, but as I made way in on
the park road, I came to a point where the trail crossed the road... I
took a right and was almost immediately introduced to a nice little
jump and a twisting, winding trail. Things were interesting for some
time, as the leaf-covered path quickly climbed, twisted and fell
through the forest. The repeted, rythmic up, down, left right patterns
proved entertaining for some time and I enjoyed the fact that I found
myself airborne on several occasions, but after a while I found myself
longing for some nice, long downhils or some faster, more "hammerable"
sections, and I got tired of picking broad leaves from my brakes (it is
November, after all).
Overall it was great fun - much better than I expected from La, but
once I reached the end, I was ready to be done with it, although I
still had a bit of energy to spare.
From what I read, the trail is about 10 miles long, however, telling
signs suggested that changes have been made since the 3-year-old
description I found was written. The trail seemed longer, but it's busy
nature may have contributed to this illusion. There were also many
signs of a recent race; the trail was littered with paper cups and
several water bottles, and I was guided by various collored ribbons at
critical turns and potential dangers.
There was really nothing "technical" about the trail, other than some
roots and tight hairpins, so beginners in good shape will enjoy, but
that shouldn't keep advanced riders from visiting, as at speed, the
trails flow well and the advanced rider will find their rubber leaving
the ground on a regular basis.
How to get there: From
Shreveport, go south on Mansfield Rd to 525, aka
"Colquitt Rd" (just south of Bert Kouns), then right, continue on 525
to 169 at Spring Ridge; left, then after about a mile, another left on
789. About 3 miles down 789 watch for a church on the right; just past
it is the park entrance.
Bodcau
Location: NE of Shreveport, at the Bodcau Wildlife Management Area near
Bellevue
Rider level: intermediate
Miles: 7 (maybe more)
Fee: No
Bodcau was next on my list. Again, I found little info on the
trail,
and the older descriptions said that there are about 7 miles of trails,
but that more were being added... that was a couple of years ago. After
riding the trails, and I'm pretty sure I covered everything, I'd say
they are still at about 7 miles.
The only trail descriptions I found suggested that this is an out-and
back ride with a couple of loops stuck to it, and that it's best to
ride with someone that knows the trail... I found differently. The
trail was actually well marked, and I never rode the same trail more
that once in any direction. The system is basically one main loop with
several outer loops tangent to each other and the main loop. I found
that (riding clockwise) if you take a left at each intersection, you
should cover everything.
I set out on "Black Friday" to ride Bodcau, expecting to be in the
company of other riders enjoying their day off... but was surprised to
find empty parking areas, in fact, I never encountered another rider.
I started with the bridge on the left side of the trail head area (this
is the only trail I saw at first, as I was expecting an out and back
ride). The trail was completely covered with leaves and was difficult
to follow, in fact I blew several corners and even totally lost the
trail at one point... but other than having to really focus on the path
ahead, this proved to be a fun ride. There are some tight, twisting,
winding, ups and downs like the Monkey trail, but there are also some
pretty nice climbs and down hills, where trees wizzed by as I reached
warp speeds in short distances (watch those hair-pins though!). Climbs
were short and not too steep (I never left the middle chain-ring) and
require a bit more effort than the Monkey trail, however, the
descending rewards were also greater. The ride was over before I knew
it, and left me wanting more. I actually started the ride over again to
do the loops west of the road again (the trail crosses The Dam road),
but then decided maybe I'd use this extra time and energy to explore
the "Stoner" trails in the Shreveport city limits.
How to get there: (the simple route) From Shreveport, go west
on I-20
about 10 miles to the Haughton/ Filmore exit. Go north on Hwy 157 to
Bellevue, then take a right on the Bodcau Dam road (there will be a
store on the left). Take the Dam rd about 2-3 miles until you see the
dam, then note a road to the left that goes into the camping area (at
this point you might have noticed bicycle crossing signs), the
trailhead is down the hill on the left. It appears that some might park
along the road in front of the trailhead, but I parked in the area in a
corner of the intersection. For a more direct route (but probably no
less time), take Hwy 79/80 from Loop 220, (Bossier City, north of
I-20), then turn left on Bellevue Rd to 157, then left to Bodcau Dam Rd.
So, you ask, "I'm only going to have time for one ride while I'm in the
area, which is better, Monkey or Bodcau?" Hmm, that's a tough one, but
I'd have to go with Bodcau. It's a better mix IMHO, and the multiple
loops provide opportunity for customizing your ride for more (or less)
mileage. They are both fun though.
Stoner MTB Park
Location: Shreveport
Rider level: beginner+
Miles: Who knows
Fee: No
I really had no intentions of riding these trails as I just
couldn't
find much on them other than it's a network of color coded trails in
the city. Knowing Shreveport like I do, I couldn't imagine they'd be
better than the other two trails previously covered... and I was right.
BUT, I was surprized that they are better than I expected, and worth a
mention, especially due to their convenience.
After my ride at Bodcau I decided I had time and energy for for more,
so I made my way to Stoner Ave to find this local trail network. The
main trailhead is marked with "No ATVs" etc signs, and begins to follow
the river. I began by hugging the outermost part of the property for a
while, then dove in in search for more excitement. At speed the trail
flows well, but without hills higher than a few feet, speed is atained
the hard way; pedaling! The trails aren't boring, and even throw in a
few fun sections and surprises, but I couldn't help noticing that, for
the most part, the builders skirted the potentially entertaining topo
and land features instead of making the most of it. Nevertheless, all
things considered, it's worth mentioning. I covered 4 or 5 miles and
called it a day, for fear that my inlaws might think I was avoiding
them...
How to get there: The trails are at the end of Stoner Ave, east
of
Clyde Fant Memorial Pkwy.Stoner ends into a boat launch area; take a
right and go to the end of the parking lot where you'll find the "No
ATV etc" signs I previously mentioned.
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