Gary Decker is a “mountain biker down to his soul.” He has been riding MTBs (mountain bikes) for about 30 years and BMX before that. He loves nature, the outdoors lifestyle, and anything that gets the adrenaline pumping. He has three daughters who all love the outdoors and who all ride MTBs.
Gary and two of his daughters shared their thoughts on why they love mountain biking at Brumley Nature Preserve. TLC is working on an expansion of the preserve. Learn more here.
Gary Decker:
Brumley is the closet MTB trail to where I live in Mebane and one of my favorites in the area. It is a great trail system no matter what your skill level is. It is my 8-year-old’s favorite trail to ride because she can ride almost the entire trail, and it’s challenging and fun for her. I would consider her a true beginner rider. My 11-year-old, who is between what I would call a beginner and an intermediate rider, also loves this trail for its flow and challenges. She just recently started clearing all the features on the trail. My 14-year-old and I love this trail because it’s FUN, fast, with just enough tech to keep you on your toes, and you always see wildlife of some sort when you ride there. About a month ago we had a thrill as about 5-6 deer were running off to the right of us pacing us on one of the faster downhills. It’s a great place to ride to stay in shape, to train for racing, and most of all just have fun on a MTB. I only wish there were more trail to get in miles of fun!
Abbie, 14, races MTBs both in the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) series and against adult women. In NICA Abbie has won the state championship and been runner-up twice. Abbie also is the 2019 USA Cycling Cat. 2 Women’s N.C. State Champion:
Brumley is one of my favorite trail systems to go ride. I love the flowyness of the trails! People from beginner to advanced riders love riding Brumley. It’s a great place for group rides and NICA team rides. A few teams in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area like using Brumley for practices and training. Some of my favorite rides at Brumley are the TORC night rides. It’s like an entirely new trail at night! There are many different areas of Brumley that are beneficial to mountain bike training. The rock gardens are perfect for technical training and the flat sections are good for speed training. Having more trails at Brumley would benefit anyone and everyone that rides here.
Peyton, 11, likes to mountain bike for fun:
I love Brumley because the trails have roots but they aren’t too big. They have steep hills that are easy if you pick up enough speed. I also love the rocky gardens because they helped me learn how to steer when there are obstacles (ROCKS) in the way. I really like the huge dips because they look scary at first but they are so easy to do, you just roll down and spin up. I also love the way I can flow down the hills and then I have enough speed to go over the rooty hills. Those are some of the main reasons I love Brumley.
