Habituals Of The Singletrack Racers: Harbin Park Reviewed

Ok , now that have got situated, so-to-speak, with my new position with Trek Bicycle Store of Cincinnati (our third store located in West Chester). And got moved and finally unpacked - I actually am now able to get back with my blog.

And after moving down from Columbus and having never ridden any of the trails in the Cincinnati area, I must say I am very impressed. Not only with the number of trails with-in 45min -1 hr of the metro area. Most being 30 min or less. You have Harbin Park, Landen-Deerfield, England-Idlewild, Tower Park, Keener Park , Caesar Creek, East Fork, Hueston Woods, Doin' it Outdoors and John Bryan isn't to far either. The best part is only having to drive 20 min to a trail with decent climbing and one mother of a hill - Mt. Mother, as it is called down here.

Harbin Park has a nice trail system with just over a five mile loop. The trail drops in from the parking lot through a grassy field with some nice roller hills, on a clear day the view is a must see. And one part of the park is the highest point in Hamilton County.

While the start of the trail seems tame you'll soon come to respect the hills and love the speed of some areas. The trails do cut in and out of the brushy hillside in a criss-cross and I did find it a bit confusing the first few rides but after a few trips to the trail you can put together a nice loop with a lung busting climb. The trails are fast with some roots, tight turns, short off camber drops and quick steep off camber climbs. There are a few logs to cross and a bridge or two. Just shy of the half way point lies Mt Mother. As you approach the climb there is a nice down hill section to the climb, forget going for the speed on the down hill cause if you don't get your gears in position for the quickly approaching climb then you'll be walking the first step (of three) on Mt Mother.

The downhill to Mt. Mother

Each of the three steps level out briefly and there is two different trails to bail into if the climbing has got to you. Overall, I would say that the distance of the climb is about a 1/2 mile or so if you ride it all the way up . With a trail range that Harbin Park has this single-track is deceptively challenging.