Flat Rockin'

My good friend Jesse was in town last week and he decided we should go to Flat Rock park over in Columbus and ride Saturday. Actually, the original plan was to go to Tsali because another friend of a friend needed a lift that direction and it was a good excuse to ride. But, the f-o-a-f found another ride and gas is expensive, so we opted to sleep in and drive less. Flat rock has been recommended by several people, but I hadn't ridden it yet, so off we go.

The trail starts in a state forestry run park on the edge of Columbus. The slick rock and creek at the front entrance are reminiscent of Indian Springs State park near Jackson, and it seems pretty well maintained, if a little aged. We found the trail head and I followed Jesse out on the trail. Which is to say, we rode around the pic-nic tables for a while. When you're used to riding deep in the woods, it's a little strange to be hauling ass through an open, well groomed area passed tables and parking lots and not getting yelled at. the trail cuts back and forth for a good while offering some steady though not steep climbs and some long woo-who downhills. Some of the ruts offer a fun chance to catch air. The trail then cuts through a couple miles of wooded area similar to the Children's home trails and emerges back into the open. Ride a little further and you come to a little slick rock and a lovely short downhill to a two foot rock step-up going up a climb. You have to commit to speed and loft the front wheel to get up it. At the last second, you think "What the hell??!! I'll never make that!!!" If you're going fast enough to make it, by that point there's no way to bail. Interesting catch 22. I made it up with no drama, but still had to stop and let my adrenal gland crawl back into it's normal spot. The final 2 miles or so are screaming fun flat and REALLY tight twisties. It's santos FL meets Sarah's Slalom at Thomson. It was so fun we did it twice! There are also some nice deep woops and one long culvert that you can play BMX on if you feel skippy. They're fun, but we somehow couldn't find the legendary Big Woop, so I can't verify it's size or woopiness. We did get in a little over 14 miles of rippin' fun, averaging almost 9mph, which ain't bad on a fat tire bike.

I'd definitely suggest making the drive to do flat rock. There's enough trail to get soundly lost, which always exciting. And if you don't have a good enough time, you can always stop at Lane Packing for peach ice cream on the way back.