Route: Cooper Kill Trail (NY)

I'm submitting this to encourage vigorous human vs. bike battles.  Jan Wellford and I were debating if it would be faster to run or bike this route.  From what I can find on Strava, he has the mtb KOM at 52 flat, but I'm incredibly impressed with the mtb times on this trail.  The middle miles are ankle breaking gnar, I can't imaging biking or hike a biking over that.  There is 2 miles of uphill and 4 miles of downhill.  The first and last two miles are bikeable, not sure how much in middle can be ridden without serious maiming.  Since I could not find the Strava segment before my run, I was convinced that I was going to be virtually passed by Jan on the last descent, which I'm confident he rips down.  I must have banked enough time in the middle miles given the result, but it made for a rough return trip.  In addition to the run vs. bike battle, it is a great test piece for mixed terrain that spans everything from awkward crawling and wading to terminal velocity.  The DEC map notes that "sections of the trial and steep and eroded, which may prove difficult for some users."  Typo? Maybe not...

https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/cooperkillmap.pdf