North Park Ride Report (2009-2011)

[gearhead313]

Hi im Jason, nice to meat you


when you ride in, the trail is open and flat until the right hand turn off where it goes down and bends to the left... right there and as far as i could see it was horse ridden. I didnt want to ride it out and a; make more damage and b; walk the bike.

[Deluxe]

Sorry Jason. I always get you and Brad mixed up online. I am clear on the distinction in person though! Thank you.

[gearhead313]

lol thanks buddy

[terricksa]

Has anyone been out since the weekend?

[Deluxe]

Great conditions on North Ridge (new stuff); single track is actually good everywhere, but bridle trails are sloppy as usual. A few big trees down on Pfundstein (Red w/ blue dot) and a few minor sloppy areas where unfinished trail needs bench cut. Get out there before it snows.

[terricksa]

Thanks, gonna try for today, but we shall see if the kids allow.

[cracked]

be careful around the lower section of the "pool loop" there was some riders out Sunday, building their own go arounds for soft spots and run off crossings.

looked like they were "closing" the original trails with branches and logs.


I'm sure intentions of the riders/workers were good, just want to spread a heads up.

[Deluxe]

Will take a look with county guys this week.

[gearhead313]

rode pfunstein tonight... trail was nice except 2 spots i huffed it. This was the first time I saw it since more work has been done to it and I think its coming out great!

There was a tree down on the 2nd half of the run, around those gully switchbacks, I was able to move it just in time for some guys to come by and enjoy blasting through

[Raher312]

Prior to last nights rain the North Ridge Trail and the orange and green blazed trails were in excellent shape! A few wet spots but overall BEAUTIFUL! There were a couple of down trees on the North Ridge side right in the same spot. But everything looked great.

[Deluxe]

That depends on what side you are speaking about. Not everything looks great. In fact, much of it is in terrible shape. Solid red along North Ridge and the trails below the pool (white blazes) are a total mess. They should be avoided. The outer nature center loop (the only part of the center legal riding) is extremely dangerous in certain locations such as the bridges or where pallets have been placed. I have not been to the purple blazed trails, but given their usual appearance this time of year, it is probably safe to say they are riddled with mud pits.

The mountain biking community using North Park is fortunate that the park naturalist doesn't stray from Latodami, otherwise she would probably attempt to enact the complete closure of many of these park trails. The fact that a well built trail can be ridden after rain is not the reason they are built that way. They are built that way to prevent damage to the forest. Being able to ride them is simply an added benefit, and a little restraint should be exercised during prolonged periods of rainfall.

Before riding this time of year, cyclists should consider the tenuous access rights to these trails. Parks directors, park managers, and park naturalists, change. The parks director before Mr. Baechle was orderd to keep bikers off the trails. It can happen again. Different groups with a lot more funding than PTAG, PORC or freeriders become involved (e.g., the County Parks Conservancy), and attitudes about environmental damage evolve. If you have 3 hours to ride this time of year, then set aside 3 hours to come out and join a work day.

[Deluxe]

Tree update: Don Schmitt was able to get 3 trees off the trail today (off Pfundstein, behind County District I shop, and above basektball courts by rink), but there are a few more out there. Thank you for your continued patience as they are removed. As you can imagine, Don is pretty busy with other matters in Hartwood and NP this time of year. Please feel free to post the locations of any trees that require a chainsaw. That information will be sent to Don immediately.

[robert t]

Brian, Great news, we rode there Sunday, for the most part the trails were in very good shape.
Only a few wet spots,and they are bad,in need of a reroute ?
Let me know if you will need help with any thing at NP.
Thanks for the Good job & updates

[gearhead313]

Bridle trail is a cistern of poo... horse highway

[Deluxe]

Thanks for the report Bob. Indeed, the single-track looks great. Bridle trails...what can I say...they suck. But all in all the single-track is buff.

If you guys have time to work on some wet spots, some could use minor reroute, others (like bathtub) could be fixed with just a well-dug knick to pull water off the trail. There is a County approved Eagle Scout project to fix part of the Red Blaze trail where it meets the road behind the Heights of North Park (neighborhood). Part of that project will inlcude a bog bridge further along the same trail (Red blaze) in the vicinity of the old arboretum area (overlooking Irwin Run).

If you want to drop a line on locations, let me know. I could probably find time once a week in the morning to fix like 2 locations at a time. I will be going out Thursday a.m. to take care of some smaller trees blocking the trails and to pinpoint the few remaining larger ones for Schmitty to chainsaw.

[cracked]

poo indeed.

[gearhead313]

What do you think about building a log-over on the big down'd tree at the top of the first north ridge climb, up on the other side of the water tower?

[Deluxe]

I think it sounds fun, but I also think lets not do it unless we have permission.

Trail maintenance ride report (with exception of Pfundstein a/k/a Red w/ Blue a/k/a North Ridge and illegal trails in the ravine below Koto Buki): Orange, Purple, Green, White, and Nature Center Outer Loop now rideable without need to dismount (which actually gives one pretty significant mileage). Not all spurs were ridden, but they appear to be clear from either a distant visual inspection and other rider reports. Some of the bridle trail was drying out (until tonight of course). All in all, there are two or three low hangers that will probably have to be removed (on White, Orange, and Nature Center Outer Loop).

The Hemlock (White) repairs look well done. Thank you Bob and your crew for repairing that hazard.

Horse damage is non-existant on Orange (saw a few horseback riders out today and for what it is worth, they were cool about staying of wet trails).

No time to make it to North Ridge today. PTAG and Schmitt are aware of the issues over there. We will see what shakes out from these thunderstorms before we ask Don to go out. I am sure we will have more damage after tonight.

All in all, I really hope some of you were able to make it out the past few days. The single track in NP is really looking nice this time of year, and you can tie an incredible amount of mileage together while still avoiding the old skanky bridle paths.

One last reminder: please be very careful on the 3 bridges and walkway across from the Nature Center Barn off of Brown. They are extremely dangerous when wet, so much so that they should not even be walked when wet. I am at a loss to understand why park management permits them to remain in this condition.

[cburch]

could we just add lathing like we have on the woodwork on dr j? that stuff grips like crazy in all conditions. i'm betting it could even make the slime bridges rideable.

[Deluxe]

Yes. I just placed a call to Baechle to ask him if we could do that. He will get back once he speaks with the Park Naturalist who seems to be on charge of that area.

In the meantime, please do not even walk across them if they are even slightly damp.