Helena, How Do I Love Thee

Helena. I'd made assumptions about Helena. I'm suspicious of any mountain town that doesn't have its own ski area. How exciting could it be? A couple of my fit testers from work kept mentioning the trails in Helena and how awesome they are. I didn't expect that the trails are bona fide ride from town single-track. You could theoretically introduce some unconstitutional legislation or squander tax payer money with some foolish branding iron veto sideshow in the morning and then ride straight up into a patchwork of city land, BLM, and Forest Service in the afternoon.

Municipalities around the Mountain West listen up: Helena is your public recreation archetype. The quality is incredibly high and the access is as good as it gets. I stopped in Big Sky Cyclery for some good, friendly advice. I know the dance well - ask about the trails and where to eat, then buy a tube or a map. I'll tell you, skip the map (unless you're a mapophile) and spend the eight bucks on tacos or something. There's been a lot of trail construction since it was published, and it's tough to get lost. Head out of downtown a few blocks on Davis or East Main and you'll see trails. Start riding up. Generally ride in a clockwise direction. Even with the map I kept dumping out a little farther up or down the road than I expected. A few of the intersection are marked. The system has three sections: Mount Ascension City Park, Rodney Ridge, and Mount Helena City Park, each divided by a major drainage and road. Ascension and Rodney are fairly uncrowded (even on a beautiful, warm Saturday), and Mount Helena has a few more hikers and dogs. There is plenty of room to spread out. I only saw about a dozen riders and 5 or 6 hikers. Almost every group of riders stopped to say hello and chat. I met a lot of very friendly folks from Helena and a couple groups of riders who made the trek from Bozeman (and who were nearly speechless on one of the descents). Thanks to all for the advice, conversation, and company.

The trails are mostly single track and run through timber and meadows. There are great 360 degree views. Good, stiff climbs no matter where you go. I was off my bike a bit but nothing obnoxious. I rode for 3.5 hours without doing much retracing of trails. The Entertainment Trail was a spectacular descent. There is a lot of ground to cover. I imagine that if you lived there and rode 3-4 days a week you might be itching for some variety toward the end of the season, but at times I lost sense of time and geography. It was just ridiculously good riding.