Next Stop LAX Freeride MTB

18 Jun 2014

Words By Natty G.

We woke to a streak of lightening ripping across the sky. It landed very close to the camper. In fact, I thought the bikes had been hit by the lightening, but neither Trey nor I wanted to go outside in the torrential rain to check on the situation. I was too busy grabbing my chest as I felt the lightening had struck my heart. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but this was a real moment for the three of us. Dude was curled in a small ball on the floor in a makeshift tent I rigged for him earlier in the night because he was so freaked-out by the lightening. His ears were pointed down (I didn’t know they could even do that), and he looked like he was going to throw up. Trey thought someone had discharged a shotgun in front of his face. He asked me the next morning, “how come you didn’t scream?” I did scream. We screamed at the same time, but Trey screamed louder than me! That morning, we packed up the rig and moved on quickly before the next storm planned to rip through. It’s ironic because just when we question, “how can this trip be topped?” it’s topped!

We drove from Brandon-South Dakota straight through Minnesota, without stopping, to La Crosse-Wisconsin in hopes for better weather, nicer highways and to get in a little ride-time.

La Crosse has a pump track, dirt jumps and cool trails in the woods as part of Hixon Forest Park, situated on a bluff above the city. La Crosse (LAX) Freeride MTB is working with the Outdoor Recreation Alliance to develop the trail system. A new “flow” trail is being built, and looks like it’ll be a super-fun rip down the hill when it’s finished! We were able to connect with the locals and get the inside scoop to the scene and trails. Thanks to the LAX Freeride crew, we got to ride a little and even our dog Dude was invited to run along with us. He has short legs, so often he doesn’t get to partake in our mountainous adventures when it involves mountain biking. But, it was too warm to leave him in the truck. So, I hung back and Dude kept up! We look forward to hearing more about the plans on developing the downhill/freeride trails in La Crosse in the future.

Finally that night, Trey and I slept in peace. It felt like it had been days! Even Dude slept like a puppy, dreaming of bunnies and kitty cats. The next morning we were delighted at the fact that we had less than 200 miles to drive our giant rig to Middleton Wisconsin. What could possibly go wrong there?

(rider: Jed Olson)

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