Fort Ebey ain't half bad....

Living here in Seattle one has to get used to driving to ride a mountain bike. Lets just say that this has been a challenge getting used to. When I first swung a leg over a bike I could easily ride from the house to a trail in the Tahoe area. This time of year the mountains are all under a white blanket of goodness, so one must turn to the lowlands to get their fix. I usually end up at places like Tokul, Grand Ridge, or Bellingham. This week a friend had his 54th birthday and he wanted to ride the Trail System in the Fort Ebey park. So we loaded the car up Sunday and headed out to the island....Ferries can get expensive with bikes on top of the car, they charge you double for an over height vehicle, ouch...thats a who other story though. Had we not been running late I would have tied the bikes to the top just for the ferry ride, to avoid the extra fee.
Any way we got to Whidbey Island and headed up to the retired Military instillation that is Fort Ebey. I had ridden here once before and remembered having an ok time, but felt like I just went in circles. Lets just say the crew we assembled had a great ride, the trails are buff for the most part, if not punchy no long climbs but really never a flat section at all, and all the climbs were steep, like over the bar steep, like get off and walk steep. Then there is this loop called Stevens or Shawns, something that starts with an s anyways that is technical, slow, twisty, tight, full of switchbacks. Fun. We had a great time, if you want to ride for more than 3 hours you will be riding lots of the same trails, but if you want a place with good trails, and a beautiful overlook, this is it. The scenery is worth the lack of the long ride for sure. So happy Birthday Dewey....may there be many more.