Switchgrass IMBA Epic Wilson Lake

Warning there are biting flies!
This is one of the most scenic rides yet! My wife even enjoyed the video!!
The humidity of Kentucky and Tennessee was behind us, as was the flat lands of southern Kansas. We had almost given up hope of seeing anything else. That is until we turned north on 232 towards Wilson Lake.

The vista became much more aesthetically pleasing. Rolling hills that opened up to reveal the man made lake, that is ocean blue due to the high salt content from it's source river, aptly named Saline and flows towards Salina.

This trail epitomizes What an IMBA Epic should be. It has stacked loops, so that you can bail out and make virtually any length loop you want. There is a easy loop as well as a kids loop.

All are very well marked. All though it took me a while to figure out that the Lettered signs signified decision points. Dashed lined arrow pointed to the short cut and the solid lined arrow sent you along the full loop.

There are 3 main loops, Golden, Marina and Hell's Creek.

Day one it was very hot, near 100 degrees and I was trying to follow a GPS file from the race on May 5th. I missed a turn on the prologue and ended up missing some of the golden trail.

Every one I spoke too was there for the first time. While popular it is over 2 hours away from Kansas City.

One rider said he was not used to so many rocks. I thought to myself "What Rocks?" I must have missed something. I went back and did the Golden loop.

It was getting hot so I skipped the Hell's Creek section.
I came back the next day to overcast skies and steady degree temps. As I was driving the next day, I wanted to keep it short. But at just half an hour I needed more, so I banged out the whole course in 2 an a quarter hours. It was good to be on the Single Speed again, it had been a while.