Hey everyone!
I've just moved back to town after a long time living elsewhere. I'm stoked to see so much Mtb activity here! When I last lived in Iowa, there was just Sugarbottom in Iowa City, so to have 4 trails within riding distance from where I live is great! I've been back for a week and have managed to ride Sylvan- (it's like a giant pump track; fun) and Sunderbruch. I've moved back from the Philadelphia area, where I was active with PIMBA & JORBA (South Jersey). My home trails were at Valley Forge & Wissahickon Park inside the city, but we were fortunate to have well over 20 trails available within 60 minutes of Philly.

I'm impressed with the level of maintenance on the trails- y'all have put a lot of work into them! If I had one complaint it's that they might be a little too well maintained, but I can get over that.

I'm curious are there regular group rides? Are night rides allowed at any of the parks? What is the bike shop scene in the Qc's? when I was a bmx-riding teen in the early 80's, there was pretty much just Jerry & Sparky's and Bike & Hike. What else is out there? Who gives the best support to the mtb community? how long does the riding season usually last? In Philly & South Jersey they'd pretty much ride all year round as long as the snows weren't too deep. last question: what tires are best for the area soils? I'm used to riding in sandy, loamy, rocky soil (think sylvan, with more tree roots and rock gardens) and I've found that the tires that were great there, aren't so good in the sticky midwest mud...

I look forward to meeting people out on the trails,

Lance