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Contact information: info@lostbranch.com Updated Feb. 12, 2012 Random Rides Alas fair friends, Random Rides is no more. Lack of interest (some would say poor promotional skills by moi and the state of Ky.) has forced me to discontinue it. How you can have such amazing cycling, but no one interested in reading about it, is a mystery to me. It wasn't my best work, I must admit, but most of the rides were mind blowing. I thought it was a no-brainer and that I would just sit back and watch the cash flow in. Shows what I know. Hinterlands Hinterlands has increased in price, from $19.95 to $22.95. You can probably still find several at the old price at retailers. I simply can't keep printing costs down on a 300-plus page book without ordering in high quantities. Without massive sales to match massive orders, I end up paying inventory taxes each year on the books I don't sell. Anyone who knows my current status probably knows how I feel about taxes these days, so they can probably guess what I'm going to do. That's right, I'm raising the price. You can thank your local sheriff next time you have a chance. They collect the cash from those attempting to be productive. . . . well, somewhat productive. All right, all right. From people like me, the unproductive. Red River Gorge Trail Guide I mistakenly referred to the Whistling Arch Trail as trail #224. It is actually #234, so you may want to mark this in your copy. Since the Indian Creek area of the Red has reopened, the next edition of the Red River Gorge Trail Guide will include the Pebble Beach Trail #237 (a short steep trail to a climbing crag) and the Powder Mill Trail #238. Both were described in Hinterlands. The Powder Mill Trail deserves at least one visit by everyone. I'm working on an update for the RRGTG but won't finalize it until I've sold all the old ones. The faster everyone buys the "old" ones, the quicker I'll release the new and improved one. . . , but then, of course, you won't need the old one. Catch 22. Sorry but I can't "eat" 50 copies just to keep things hopping, and it's not like the Forest Service has built any new trails or anything . . . . so . . . Mammoth Cave Trail Guide Some changes have been made to the trails at Mammoth Cave since the first edition of the Mammoth Cave Trail Guide was printed. I'm sorry that these were not included in the 1st edition. For your reference, two short trails have been added near the visitor center. One is basically just a short wooden platform/walkway which goes from the Visitor Center Picnic Area to Dixon Cave. It is no big deal, just a shortcut. It connects with the Dixon Cave Trail just past the cave. It can be found by entering the picnic area and bearing left to a traffic turnaround. The other is an old trail from Sunset Point, on the Heritage Trail, down to the River Styx. This trail has been repaired and reopened. It's quite nice and I recommend it. It's short, but good. Another change has been made on the Collie Ridge Trail, which is a trail I hammered pretty bad in my book because of mud and horse damage. Heavy gravel has been applied to the entire first section, which has eliminated the mud, but turned the "trail" into a 10 foot wide gravel road one could easily navigate in a passenger car. It's definitely an improvement, but not for hikers. This road, err "trail" is passable now, however, and you may want to check it out. The forest is quite impressive along the entire Collie Ridge Trail, but a large portion coincides with the Good Spring Loop Trail, which is definitely the better choice for hikers. |