SE Michigan vs. NE Ohio Suburban Singletrack Shootout #4: WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN

Proud Lake Trails near Milford and Austin Badger Trails in Medina could have been so much more. Proud Lake is a state park within pedaling distance of my house in Wixom, and Austin Badger is a defunct golf course that could’ve been ever cooler than it turned out to be. Both could have been so much more, the first limited by the Spoke Junky-type vision of a local trailbuilder, the second restrained by subdivision bitchers and whiners.
Let’s start with the Ohio trail first this time. Austin Badger is where I ate shit a couple of years ago and afterward got to enjoy the pleasures of ketamine and morphine. It’s a short, purpose-built trail that contains plenty of hoppy, jumpy features as well as small a BMX park that hosts races. Building credit goes once again to Phat Jay who had a vision for a much larger system, but who was cut short by uptight people who didn’t understand that mountain biking is the new golf. It’s a fun rip that begs for multiple laps. You can also ride the former cart paths which are about as much paved fun as you can get on a mountain bike. Ride Huffman Reagan and AB, then relax and drink a brew at the town square in Medina. There’s a lot of bike related stuff going on there since the days when the crew would ramble and gamble in the Medina “backcountry.” Lots of good memories there.
Proud Lake is my go-to trail when I’m in Wixom. It’s the scene of considerable trail development over the last few years. The lake side features a few miles of twisty, old school singletrack that then links up with the Proud Lake Trail proper. Up until last year, it was an oasis, a place where you could ride mountain bikes or horses and feel like you were up north. Unfortunately, the fringe dickheads on both the mtb and equestrian sides couldn’t keep their mouths shut, and what resulted is the splitting up of a precious small tract of land into horse-only and mountain bike-only trails. I will say that “Herman’s Dream,” a short machine-built rollercoaster in Loop 4 (3?) is one of the better designed segments of trail I’ve ever ridden. But the sacrifice of a maze of rocky (yes, rocks in Michigan) chunky legacy trails for a few miles of babystroller “flow” makes me sad and angry every time I ride it. The builder (Bill) could’ve created a unique blend of old and new trail design and retained some of Proud Lake’s character while still appeasing the horse ladies, but instead, hid behind the “sustainability” argument and destroyed one of the more interesting trails in SE Michigan.

I’m pissed: Austin Badger 9, Proud Lake 5

Next up: Island Lake vs. Royalview