My wife is awesome.  On Thursday she comes up to me with this sheepish grin and says she's getting all these weird emails on her computer.  She then hands me a piece of paper and says "This is where the emails were coming from."  I look at the paper and it is a printed trail map from an ORV park called The Ridge.http://www.ridgeriding.com/ Obviously, I must've looked really confused so she then proceeded to tell me that she had booked one of the hotel rooms at the Ridge for Friday night and that we were going to be spending the weekend there as a birthday present to me! And let me add that she arranged for a baby sitter for the kids so it was just me and the wife.  Can I get an AMEN!!

So here is a quick report on The Ridge:  Its awesome.  The END.

And here's a longer report on The Ridge:

If MX is your thing, this place has one pro level track, one track for regular folks, and a track for juniors.  It also has trails, tons of trails.  Some are bike only, but 4 wheelers and side x sides are allowed on many of the trails (more on that later).  There is also a pee wee track for little tykes and beginners.  And there are several areas designated for trials riding, some natural and some man-made.

The clubhouse was clean, the shop had gear and parts for sale.  There was a restaurant but there was a sign stating that it was for rent, and I never saw it open while we were there.  The hotel room (there are 5 of them) we stayed in was clean and simple, which is all you need when there are miles of trails to ride right out the front door.

The trails are graded based on difficulty:Green, Blue, Black Diamond and bike only were orange.  Keep in mind that I am most definitely a beginner when it comes to off road stuff.  While Angela stayed in the room during the morning to study (she's in nursing school), I went out and quickly got myself in over my head.  I had started out on a green trail, but inadvertently missed a turn and ended up on an orange trail that was marked as a black diamond.  By the time I realized that little piece of information, it was too late to turn around.  So I spent about an hour and a half struggling to keep the big XR upright on tight, rocky, root infested, leaf covered trails.  I fell so many times I lost count.  I had expected it to be colder than it was and had on too many layers and was sweating like crazy.  At that point, I was not having fun and came close to calling my wife and telling here to get someone to come help me.  But I persevered and finally made it back to base camp where I found my wife suited up and ready to ride. 

After a quick break, we headed to the pee-wee area so she could get used to the KLX140 she was riding for the first time.  She did very well.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


I found the green trails and had a great time riding them.  Angela rode some of them with me but she felt she needed more time on the pee-wee track.  So I explored more of the trail system.  Some of the blue trails I rode were not all that difficult, but there was one section that reminded me of the stuff I had ridden that morning.  Only, I managed to keep the bike upright a bit more this time.  I am grateful though for proper off road boots.  They saved my ankle when I fell over and the bike sandwiched my foot between it and a large rock (hidden under the multitude of leaves).

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


The riding areas are beautiful.  Tons of trees, creeks, and rock formations.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


By mid afternoon, we had the park to ourselves since the entirety of Alabama was at home gearing up for the Alabama/Auburn game.  I rode the regular and junior MX tracks but did so at a snails pace.  The XR is not a bike for that kind of stuff, and I don't have the guts to air it out over the jumps either. 

After a few more loops around the beginner trails, I was ready to call it a day.  I was physically exhausted.  And as I sit here and type this, I am sore EVERYWHERE! 

We will definitely be back again, with the kids, as I think they will love the place.  We'll probably camp (hot showers and bathrooms provided) to save a few $$.  Too bad we don't live a little closer.