This ambitious bike-optimized singletrack trail circumnavigates Hardy Dam Pond, operated by Consumers Energy Electric.
While the Dragon might form one continuous loop, it's far from a boring, flat XC trail of yore. Instead, the West Michigan Mountain Bike Alliance (WMMBA) hired professional builders to design and construct the trail. Jeremy Whimpy of Applied Trails Research did the design and layout, while Alex Stewart of Spectrum Trail Design did the construction. Stewart has built many famous trails across the Midwest, including Brown County State Park and some of the first mountain bike trails built in a national park.
"We’re talking purpose-built, feature-rich, natural surface... like berms, turns, rock features, everything. So when you ride it, it is, to me, 45 miles of an absolute dirt roller coaster," said Dan Frayer, President of the WMMBA.
The 45-mile loop is divided into 11 different segments, each of which has unique characteristics. Some segments are easier and flowier, while others are rockier and more feature-rich. "Section seven, which was the last piece to get completed, has I don’t know how many tons of rock outcroppings... it’s rock-armored as far as you can see," said Frayer. "Sections eight and nine are probably, to me, the most feature-rich... we're talking professionally built stuff that you can get a little rowdy if you want."
"There are three ravines back in there that are entirely rock, big slabs of sandstone that we had to bring in... it’s just freaking beautiful," said Martin Hall, Trail Coordinator for the Dragon.. "You're looking down the ravine, out to the pond. There’s 13 major overlooks [where] you can stop on your bike... it’s pretty damn nice."
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