A Night Ride at the Mission Mountain Bike Trails
I have been heading out to the Mission Trails frequently, and to keep it exciting, I have
been trying to night ride as much as possible. You can read about my original trip report to the Mission Trails
here. One day, I will finally complete my
comprehensive guide to the Mission Trail system, but I keep discovering new sections
while riding. At this point, I don’t feel
like I have mastered the trail, so the guide will have to wait a little
longer.
 |
| Found an orange inchworm hitching a ride. She just wanted to see the world. |
The Background
Location: 26.192494,
-98.330125, Mission, TX
Admission: Free
Elevation: 100 to
115 ft.
Weather: Night, windy, 82F
Difficulty: Easy to
intermediate
As I have explored
the mission trails a little further, it seems there are 3 main trails: The paved trail that travels to the birding
center, the named trails (there are 6 named trails on one side), and the
cattle gate trail (that’s what I call it, at least). For this night ride, on October 17th,
I only rode the named trails, which totals 7 miles. This night ride was specifically designed
to prepare Team Adventures With BeeGee for its first official night ride. Another nice thing about night riding is
the quiet and the abundance of wildlife.
 |
| A rabbit running around on El Gato Trail |
Levy Run
Levy Run will be the
first mountain bike trail from the parking lot. Levy is a great beginner trail to get you warmed up before moving on to the harder trails. Although the trail is easy, it is surrounded by prickly pear cacti, which can make it very
intense if you've never been on a night ride. Use this trail to shake the rust off and prepare for the harder trails, such as Jackhammer Trail or the Cattle Gate Trail.
 |
| Cactus lining Levy Run just to add a little more excitement. |
Jackhammer Trail
Jackhammer is rated
as an intermediate trail and has a little bit of everything you could want on a
mountain bike trail. This makes it a
pretty fun trail because of the varied features. The trail starts off fairly smooth and flowy
through a nice wooded section. In
addition, there are a few curves to keep you on your toes without going
overboard. Moreover, there are multiple
mounds to get a little air and a few berms for fast corners (not that I ride
fast at night). All the features of
Jackhammer make for an exciting/intense ride, offering the right level of thrill at
night. Jackhammer also takes you past a
small creek (it actually had a decent amount of water this time), and as I rode
past, I am pretty sure I smelled wild hogs. That was a wee bit scary, but luckily, they left me alone. After a while, the Jackhammer ends where the Pooh Forest
Trail begins.
 |
| Jackhammer Trail at night: it's a flowy ride, and check out those little mounds |
Pooh Forest Trail
As its name suggests,
Pooh Forest did stink a little during this ride. It recently rained, and I guess that is how
the trail got its name. The trail takes
you through oak trees, and the whole area is thicker/darker than any other section
in the Mission Trail system. I feel like
Pooh Forest is the creepiest trail for a night ride, so you might want to bring
a friend (I wish I had) or just get out there and ride if you like the
scary stuff. The Pooh Forest Trail features very tight
curves, which occur frequently. I
felt like this really kept my speed in check as I navigated all the turns. Plus, if you love spider webs in your face,
then this trail is for you. I was
absolutely covered in webs by the time I made it out of the woods. After all the twists and turns, you are led
on a short backtrack to where El Gato Trail begins.
 |
| Double trouble: a low branch and a curve at Pooh Forest |
El Gato Trail
El Gato Trail is a
pretty short trail, but it is also the most intense on a night ride. El Gato uses the large earthen walls of the
canal to create big climbs and fast down hills. Additionally, the pump track is just a short distance away. I am not brave enough to do much of the track
during the day, so I had no desire to try it out during a night ride. However, I recommend being extremely cautious
on El Gato. It is easy to build up speed
and fly through the wide turns, but there are low-hanging branches (I bounced
my head off a branch that night), and it is easy to outride your light at those
speeds. Finally, El Gato takes you back across
the paved path and ends at Champion Run Trail.
 |
| The pump track at night on El Gato |
Champion Run Trail
Champion Trail, in
my opinion, is the easiest segment at Mission Trails. It is mostly a straight trail that parallels
the paved path. The trail is a little on
the boring side and begins the trek back to the parking lot. Plus, the path is lined by tall grass that likes
to reach out and touch you (it makes me so itchy). After this short stretch, you reach the Final
Stretch.
 |
| Champion's Run is a nice, easy trail even at night.t |
Final Stretch Trail
The Final Stretch is
the last trail and another very short ride. The final stretch begins with a tight jump between 2 trees and has multiple
mounds to jump. In addition, there are a
few tight turns, but overall, the trail can be ridden at a fast pace. This segment ends back on the paved main
trail, and it’s a short ride back to the parking lot and your car.
 |
| The tight jump starts off the Final Stretch. |
Final Thoughts
If you love mountain
biking but riding the same old trails is getting a little boring, consider trying night riding. While night
riding isn't allowed on every trail, it’s a great way to experience a trail
from a new perspective. This will definitely
bring life back to the trail system. Moreover, night riding can be an expensive venture, but it doesn't have
to be. Bike lights can be expensive, so I
ended up buying a cheap light from Amazon for around $15 (it is still very
bright).
If you night ride, what gear do you use
to keep you safe at night? If you enjoy the blog, please follow us on
Facebook.
I like jumps.
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't like jumps? Or spiderwebs on their face for that matter?
ReplyDeleteThis guys likes jumps. Strongly dislike spiderwebs tho. They are not for me.
DeleteAre those the trails at Mission Nature Park. I may have walked on one of those for a bit.
ReplyDeleteYes. The sign in the parking lot says "Mission Nature Park". The trails are off Conway Ave.
DeleteI loved ur nite ride blog, Jarrett. Except for imagining spider web going in my face, wild hogs on the Pooh trail. Youngun, you should have had someone with you. Some of those branches could knock you out. How far ahead can you see with the light? Is it just on bike or do you have one on your head too? Be safe. Great reading your blogs.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Support and I'm glad you enjoyed it! I've been out there enough, I've got most of them memorized. Plus, I generally ride slow enough to see any danger well in advance. You are right tho, I do need to find some riding buddies from the area. As far as lights go, I have a really bright one on my bike and I wear a head lamp. You can see pretty far ahead and lightening isn't an issue for me unless I'm riding faster than 15 mph.
Delete