Chad Burma shares off-road tips

With winter weather gone  — cross your fingers — local residents are ready to hit the trails.

For Chad Burma, biking is a passion and a livelihood.

When the 33-year-old store manager isn’t working at Rydjor, he still hits the trails in the summer months — both in Austin and across the region.

ah.01.11.b“It’s a really great asset that we have in this town,” Burma said of local trails.

Here are some of Burma’s favorite spots to ride:

 Around town

When Burma rides the trails in Austin, here are some of his favorite spots:

•The addition by Wildwood Park, the trails north of Hormel Foods Corp. and through Todd Park are some of his favorite Austin spots.

“That Wildwood trail is definitely the most beautiful stretch of trail that we have in town,” he said.

•The loop of trail along the Cedar River near the bandshell in southwest Austin — another secluded spot — though it gets a little buggy during the summer.

“I think most people that want to ride these trails want to ride the secluded areas,” he said.

 Around the area

ah.06.11.bWhen Burma leaves Austin, here are some of his favorite regional paved trails:

•Eastwood Trails in Rochester, the trails in Decorah, Iowa, and the Root River Trail System, especially near Harmony, as a paved trail.

 Off road

One of Burma’s favorite ways to bike is off road. Here are some of Burma’s favorite spots for mountain biking.

•Levis/Trow Trail system, which consists of a 34-mile network of trails in Clark County, Wis., with camping and other amenities.

“It makes for a really fun weekend with friends to be able to go there and hit trails and camp for the weekend,” he said.

•Myre-Big Island State Park on the east side of Albert Lea, with spots along the lake to stop and rest.

“If you’re a novice mountain biker and you just want to get off the road and ride in the woods, that’s a great spot to go,” he said.

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