Riding a Secret Spot

I had been invited sometime back to ride a private trail that a good friend of mine, Brian, had constructed on the grounds of his business. Saturday seemed to be as good a time as any to meet with him and ride. A huge manufacturing facility, the plant sits on Lake Wiley, in southern Mecklenburg County.
Brian and his fellow trail builders (er, fellow employees) had received permission from management to construct the trail for the use of the employees at his facility. The corporation does not recognize the trail system as an amenity.

The trail is a rolling masterpiece. With the minimal amount of traffic that the trail actually sees, it should remain healthy for years to come. And the trail was built right, using IMBA standards. At 5.5 miles and for a piece of property with little actual elevation gain/loss, you seem to be on the gas the whole time. Brian and his crew incorporated many of the naturally occurring obstacles into trail features. The trail skirts “Withers Cove” a quiet finger of Lake Wiley.

Brian has served as the Trailblazer’s liaison to the Greenway Advisory Committee for about the last 15 years. A tireless volunteer, he is heading up construction of the latest addition to our network of trails, Southwest District Park. SWDP sits between Billy Graham Parkway and West Blvd, in an area with street names like Nobles and Burnett, two Charlotte Mecklenburg police officers, killed in the line of duty. The trail system will be the initial offering of new amenities to the new park that currently houses an indoor recreation center. Future plans include baseball/softball/soccer fields. It’s great that CMP&R looks upon the Trailblazers with such favor as to allow us to build in so many different and diverse areas. Volunteers such as Brian make the difference.