Falcon Trail

Working on a military installation certainly has its perks. Working on a military installation that is also home to a top ranked university is more like being spoiled. The Academy boasts many treasures within its boundaries and the Falcon Trail is like a pot of gold that's just across the street from my building. I was very weary about a trail on a military installation. I figured the majority of the trail would be going straight up and down huge hills. I pictured a bunch of young guys in military uniforms trying to prove their strength to each other by struggling up endless lines of fall-line trail. Apparently I wasn't far off and that is how the trail used to be in many sections. However, within the last two years the Academy hired some dude who travels the world as a professional trail builder to come out and re-route a bunch of the un-rideable sections. I guess that's the kind of thing that happens when you attend a university where people care about their students. My alma mater has the land and opportunity to create some great multi-use trails but there a bunch of idiots running that place. So anyway, as it turns out, this trail is a 13 mile loop of pure excitement mixed with altitude induced pain. Trail users get it all here; baby head sized rocky sections, long gradual climbs up tight switchbacks, smooth twisty downhill sections, forested areas, a creek crossing with the option of a skinny, a couple of pretty technical sections, dirt-mound speed bumps that double as sweet jumps, and sweet views like the ones seen here. I've been riding this trail at least once a week and it has yet to get old. The current map of the trail is outdated since the re-routing of the trail. My boss has asked me to spend a day of work riding the trail and correcting the map. Life is good.