Happy trails again bike riders! Talon Trails was commissioned by the Greater Houston Off-Road Biking Association (GHORBA) to design natural biking trails in George Mitchell Park, right off of Flintridge in Indian Springs.
This is the second set of trails to be provided in the preserve. There are now three miles of biking trails available in addition to the hiking trail. With the water and mud we have in this area, I am a bit concerned about the potential damage bikers can cause by rutting the surface material. But the bikers might stay off of the walking trails now (I hope,) so that the two miles of loop trails remain fit for walking and running. I believe walking is also permitted on the bike trails but it can be dangerous for pedestrians and do not recommend it. Leave those trails for the bikers. I did it today when I took the photos.
A note of safety - the bike trails have root stubs on the trail, overhanging branches of trees and very narrow paths, with trees on either side. The ground is purely natural and has a lot of sand and leaves on it. That makes the surface slippery. ALWAYS, I mean ALWAYS wear protection equipment when biking here. A head against a tree is very dangerous. Every person riding a bicycle on the trails must wear a helmet. Wear your helmet and ride cautiously! An overhanging limb can knock you right off the bike, or you can upend yourself with a tire slipping in the sand.
Theoretically, the organization's members do not ride on wet trails. GHORBA is asking now for comments on this new bike trail in their members' forum.
Map of the trails can be found on the commissioner's web page. Here is a link to the PDF file.
One can find an intersection to the bike trails by following the walking trail to the far left from the trail head. You will not need to go far to find it. There are several bike trail intersections with the hiking loop. The bike trail is well marked.
