Tom Wilemon

twilemon@tennessean.com

Rick Cordell lifted a mountain bike from the bed of his pickup truck for a Saturday adventure on a new trail at Percy Warner Park.

The gleaming red bike had no dings or dents.

"I just bought a mountain bike yesterday," the Thompson's Station man said. "They told me at Eastside bike shop I ought to come over here and check it out. I'm new. I've got a bunch of buddies at work, five or six guys that have gotten into mountain biking. I wanted to ride with them."

Cordell had plenty of riding buddies because the mountain bike community showed up in force to celebrate the arrival of what one member called "the holy grail" of trails. The Warner Park Mountain Bike Trail at 1221 Forrest Park Drive runs eight miles with differing obstacles for riders of all skill levels. It is Nashville's fourth mountain bike trail, which means Metro parks now offer 25 miles. More trails are in the works.

Daniel Lonow of Green Hills, a member of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association-MidTN (SORBA), and others like him worked with Metro officials to make the new trail and its spacious parking lot a reality.

"This was a major leap forward for us," Lonow said. "This is our first properly manicured trail that we have ever built. Most of our trails are cross country, rocky, rooty. This does have a trail like that. But most of it is what is known as a flow trail with large banks, berms, corners and hops."

SORBA and the International Mountain Bike Association brought in builders to design and construct the new trail.

"We wanted this to be the diamond, the holy grail of mountain bike trails in Davidson County," Lonow said. "We wanted a grail trail."

Jose Alea of Nashville, a former member of the SOBRA board, said the effort required increasing membership in the mountain bike organization to show city officials a commitment toward and maintaining trails.

Besides the new trail at Percy Warner, mountain bikers can check out others at Cane Ridge, Bells Bend and Hamilton Creek.

Plans are in the works to expand Bells Bend with a family-friendly trail and build an entirely new one in Madison.

One hundred acres of heavy forest with naturally occurring steep slopes next to Cedar Hill Park has been identified for trail development. However, the timeline for construction has yet to be determined.

Reach Tom Wilemon at 615-726-5961 or on Twitter @TomWilemon.

Metro Parks Mountain Bike Trails

Warner Park: 1221 Forrest Park Drive. Offers eight miles of single-track trails for all skill level.

Bells Bend: 4187 Old Hickory Blvd. Two miles of what will be a five-mile family-friendly trail are open.

Cane Ridge: 419 Battle Road. Two miles of what will eventually be a nine-mile trail are open for both beginner and intermediate riders.

Hamilton Creek: 2901 Bell Road. Eleven miles of trails for intermediate and advanced riders.

— Source: Metro Parks