Braap = DTE for the Winn

So, today I had a meeting in Jackson so I took my bike with me to ride the new Winn Loop at DTE. For those who haven’t been yet, DTE is located in Chelsea, MI. They have a five year plan to build 5 new trails, each with flow and making the best use of the hills and terrain. Winn is the third trial. It opened in August 2018.

Winn is a 7.75 mile loop. From the description on their website this is supposed to be the crown jewel of the trails in the system. Having ridden Big Kame a number of times, Winn had big shoes to fill…

The first thing I noticed was that they ate building a correctional facility on Cassidy road where I parked. Since I had a hard time understanding the set up the first time I rode at DTW, I was a little concerned about making a wrong turn. Fortunately this was not an issue. The trail was clearly marked and easy to follow.

Second. I forgot my riding shorts. I just had my outer shorts. New saddle on the Remedy 8 and I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out… Ah well. I’m riding anyway.

Winn is a cool trail. Lots of flow. The trail rotates depending on the day. Since this was a Tuesday, I rode counterclockwise. The first 2 miles had me wondering if I was even getting warmed up. I soon found that the trail goes up.

I really enjoyed this trail. I had a blast hitting the big berms, jumps, and tech features which were found at different points throughout the trail. It made me really wish I had a GoPro to capture some of the stuff that was out there. I was going to pull out my phone and mini tripod and session a downhill or tech spot to capture some of that, but it got a bit dark and windy, so I didn’t.

I found myself pushing a bit. The tires were off the ground a number of times. I’m still going to have to make some adjustments, but overall the bike was awesome. I am not the jumper I was 30+ years ago, but the smiles were just as big.

The climb around the 6 mile mark was pretty big and caught me off guard. Not going to lie… I had to walk it because it caught me off guard. The rest of the trail was doable though, even for a fat guy like me.

I got done with the lap in about an hour and then minutes of riding. I was pretty happy with that. The best part was that the lack of riding shorts didn’t hinder me.

See all photos here: https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/LKylZ7aURLGD51lpXOqEhg.m8XwUJ5oDabMiHMgpj0a9h