Windham Bike Park: Batavia Skill

Some people want flow, berms, and speed, but don't feel the need to "send it" off of big tabletops and drops. Batavia Skill at Windham Bike Park is the perfect trail for those seeking these attributes. Similar to "Side Show Bob" at Killington Bike Park, Batavia Skill features fast straight sections, tight turns, tall berms, and fun for all skill levels. A blue rated trail, it doesn't offer up anything in the way of man made jumps but there are line choices in certain spots where you can pop air off of features. Exit the left to the lift, and make the right before you get to the ski patrol shack and this is the beginning of the trail. It starts out somewhat slow and flat, expect to spin the cranks a little before the fun begins. A few rock features and a small drop greet the rider, then after crossing the ski run we start to pickup speed. While this trail is a flow trail, they left the terrain natural with lots of rocks to roll. There is some areas of chunk on this trail but it is punctuated by fun turns with well sculpted berms. Upon getting spit out at the bottom of the first section we end up in an open area surrounded by houses. This is a good area to catch a break because this trail is a whopping 3 miles long.. which by east coast park standards is pretty long. Once you're done resting your death gripped hands, we head back down the trail through what may be the fastest set of switchbacks. These are well built and if you keep your hands off the brakes, they can be a ton of fun. After that we meander a little across ski runs, and enter another area of even tighter turns. Once this ends we again just ride back and fourth as we make our way back to the base. My only complaint is the bottom 25% of the trail.. I said it meanders here and there, and it does. It feels like an afterthought towards the bottom. This may be a blessing in disguise though, as typically downhill trails in excess of 1-2.5 miles becomes incredibly fatiguing. With all that said, this may be my favorite trail at the park. I love fast winding trails, and while jumps are fun, they aren't 100% what I'm after. If you are comfortable on green trails, this is an easy progression into the blues, and if you want to improve your cornering skills, this trail gives you plenty of opportunity for that.