South Ridge Wilderness Trails

06/12/2026

Hordes of mosquitoes 🦟, raven fledgling, mangled derailleur, riders down - what an eventful evening. Can’t wait to do it again in the Fall.

06/09/2026

Shredders will be on Thursday afternoon. Last session until the Fall. See ya there.

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06/09/2026

Anyone interested in one more Shredders session before we finish up? I can do any day this week. The weekend may be tough. I think Tuesday works better for some, but I know that's short notice.

06/07/2026

This has got to be the best save I’ve ever seen. There’s so much happening here I feel like I need to add some context. First, this was his first ever Shredders ride. The video shows him hitting the “big” gap jumps - big as in an 11 footer followed by a 10 footer. Most kids don’t attempt that until their second season - and as you’re about to find out, for good reason. You can’t tell how big the second gap is from the footage, but I added a clip at the end to show it from another angle. What’s impressive is that after he got bucked, and overshot the first jump, he somehow managed to stay upright and cleared the 10 footer while seated, and with no feet on the pedals. Actually, the plan was to only hit the first gap, but at that point he had no choice but to ride it out. And after surviving two near misses, he puts both his feet up on the top tube and casually rolls to a stop. Someone find this kid a sponsor.
Footnote: after watching the video I went out and measured the distance he jumped off the first gap and it was 22’. 🫣

06/05/2026

The Shredders session tomorrow will be at 2:00p.m. Bring your fly dope. 🤪

06/05/2026

Looks like the weather is sun and cloud tomorrow, so good to go for the Shredders ride if that's good with everyone. Comment here your preferred time so we can finalize. Black flies are out, so bug spray advised.

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06/02/2026

Thought I’d share a wildlife encounter I had today, and some thoughts. At the risk of being anthropomorphic, I can’t help but believe that the moose in the video may be a bit lonely. Here’s why. About 15 years ago I had an interesting encounter with a moose. It walked right up to me and my dog Luna. When it started to approach, I told Luna to sit, and as the moose got closer and closer, I kept reinforcing the command. Now understand, I wasn’t moving a muscel. Luna on the other hand was quivering uncontrollably. And the closer the moose got, the worse she quivered. By the time the moose was almost within arms reach, Luna couldn’t contain herself any more and made a jump, then struck a defensive posture, followed by some barking. The moose just wheeled around, took a few steps, looked at us some more and slowly went on its way. And that’s when I came up with this theory. It was the spring of the year, right around the time that moose are getting ready to give birth, and, more importantly, in this case, when the previous year’s calves are driven off by their mothers. I think that that encounter happened just after this one was driven off. I think it was looking to bond, form a new pack. I imagine it must be a traumatic and confusing time.
The moose in the video below didn’t get that close, but here’s the thing. I had just fallen over on my bike. I couldn’t get uncliped and landed in a creek and got completely covered in mud and water. I let a slew of curses out of me, followed by some laughter. In other words, I was causing some commotion. It was then that I heard the moose coming towards me, up the hill. A normal reaction would be to go in the opposite direction, or a least stay put, but this moose made a point to come in my direction. About 3 weeks ago I saw a large moose with last years calf, and I remember thinking she’ll be putting the run to him soon. I’m thinking it was today.
Disclaimer: I don’t encourage close encounters with moose under any circumstances.

06/01/2026

If there's enough interest I'll run a Shreder's session at the Ridge this week and next. Typical age range is middle school, but younger riders are welcome if accompanied by a parent or older sibling. This would be a one day per week, two weeks max event. Permission forms would be picked up at Cabot Education Centre or at South Ridge just prior to the session. Just make sure you have your child's health card number. I have helmets available to lend out, but no bikes. I'm flexible as far as scheduling goes. If you're interested, please leave a comment with your preferred day and time.