illinois

Saw Wee Kee Park is teaming with dirt mounds. Once upon a time, the park was a strip mine, and piles or rows of mined earth were deposited around the property. That has turned out to be an exceptional gift for mountain bikers - most of the trails course around and over the lumpy and long-since reforested terrain, making for a truly unique riding experience for this area. Local riders compare the park to an amusement park, and have named many trails after roller coasters: Vertical Velocity, Wildcat, Anaconda, Colossus.... These trails offer short but sometimes steep climbs, lots of low rollers, quick turns, and winding decents. Overall elevation change here is minor, but the frequent climbs over the mounds give your legs a good workout nonetheless. This is not purely a playground for those with well-developed leg muscles. There are trails for less-experienced riders too, like Cotton Candy and Lolligagger. And all riders can try the roller coasters trails, if they don't mind dismounting from time to time.

Trail Review: Palos is the grand daddy of the trail systems available in Chicago. It is the largest trail system and therefore gets the most use. In all, there are some fifty miles of singletrack and widetrack trails to explore, though the legal singletrack is congregated in the western half. The area has hills, rolling widetrack, tight twisty singletrack, climbs, fast descents and plenty more to keep you satisfied for hours.

For western suburbanites, Knoch Knolls is a quick way to get on singletrack. At about 5.5 miles long and with only mild elevation change, it isn't much. But there is some twisty trails that offers a nice change from your regular riding routine. The trails are set up roughly in four loops (some with tails) that attract hikers and dog-walkers too. There are some small widetrack loops in the center as well. From DuPage County Park, you enter halfway into the eastern loop. From the Knoch Knolls lot, you enter the middle of the park, with the better singletrack to your left. The eastern two loops feature tight and twisty singletrack. Log ride-overs appear occasionally as trees fall over the trail, though the city park staff eventually clear away these and any other obstacles. The two western loops are flat, straight trails ringing an open field. But they both have a little singletrack near them that makes doing the flat run worth it. On the eastern loop, you'll find a BMX-style kettle bowl along the river. This loop has its northern end by the river and the other by the baseball diamonds. At this second terminus, you'll find a wide intersection. Ignoring the trail to the ballfields, follow to the left on the widetrack for a few feet and you'll see the start of the second singletrack loop on your right. Or, you can continue on, riding on small woodchips to the open, flat fields. The western area lets you get a little distance without any obstacles, so it's good for beginners, as well as experienced riders wanting a faster pace. There is a nice little piece of singletrack on the south edge of he park, which follows the river and sometimes gets submerged or soggy when the river overflows its banks. It takes you from the woodchip-covered widetrack behind the ballfields to the two flat loops. Supposedly, you can cross the river at the park's western tip and find even more trails. Don't try it when the water level is up, though, as you'll only cause problems for your bottom bracket and hubs. If you get to the straight path leading to the western tip, stay on it, heading away from the tip. You'll shortly find one more easy singletrack trail winding through the trees on your left. One good thing about Knoch Knolls is that it helps you improve your handling skills. The many tight turns and short visiblity make you a better and more alert rider for other trails.

A little bit for everyone.