RR: Saturday ride on the "IMBA" improved trail

I was reading Penny's last post and felt a little guilty about doing too
much shopping and not enough riding, so I headed out to one of our local
loops this aft.

None of the other people I ride with were home, so just me for a change,
which was cool because I'm so friggin tired I wasn't in the mood to hotdog
it anyway.

I got to the trail head, and didn't see another soul in sight the whole 20
minutes it took me to get the bike outa the wife's car, so I was stoked at
the prospect of having the trail to myself for the next hour or two. That
plus the trail freshly dried out from the recent rains was enticing...or so
I thought. The bike and me, started out clean enough, but ended up much more
clay stained than I anticipated.

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=17

I had heard from some of the other riders in the club that IMBA along with
loads of volunteers had "improved" the trail system about a month back.

I'm not a fan of digging up rocks, cutting trees, or trimming branches etc,
just in the name of making the ride comfortable. These guys must feel the
same, because most of the work seemed to focus on small touches to key areas
along the main single track. They built some interesting structures to keep
the DH/Free-riding types semi-happy, and freshened the singletrack on the
main trail very nicely, by adding little bridges and a nice switchback down
a clay infested hill.

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=18

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=19

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=21

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=22

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=23


On the lower loop of the main trail they built up a mini jump section for
the "rad" guys/gals to enjoy. It was nice hanging with them for awhile and
watching them do their thing. I was surprised at how much they liked the
work done on the trail, they really seemed interested in doing their part to
keep the momentum going. My guess is the new sections convinced them that
taking care of the trails were all of our responsibility, not just the XC
people. Plus they have to use the singletrack to get to their section
anyway...may as well keep it in good shape.

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=24

Overall it was a decent ride considering the time constraints and weather. I
wished I had brought the SS though, it was a perfect day to practice on it
given that the trail was practically deserted. I spent lot's of time
scratching my way up hills that I was doing in the middle ring all summer
because of the rain-soaked clay, but I was glad to be away from the
screaming kids and Toys-R-Us for the afternoon.

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=26

PS: she freaked at the clay stains in the trunk of her car...I think she's
gonna do something in retaliation to the truck when it's back from the
dealership.

Happy Trails!

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 18:44:18 -0500, TBF::. wrote:

I got to the trail head, and didn't see another soul in sight the whole 20
minutes it took me to get the bike outa the wife's car,

Dang, and I was just bitching today about the 3 minutes it took to get
my bike out of a Beetle. :P

They built some interesting structures to keep
the DH/Free-riding types semi-happy, and freshened the singletrack on the
main trail very nicely, by adding little bridges and a nice switchback down
a clay infested hill.

Oooh, that looks slick.

BTW, I think your license plate is the name of a town in Wales.

gabrielle

TBF::. wrote:
I was reading Penny's last post and felt a little guilty about doing too
much shopping and not enough riding, so I headed out to one of our local
loops this aft.

None of the other people I ride with were home, so just me for a change,
which was cool because I'm so friggin tired I wasn't in the mood to hotdog
it anyway.

I got to the trail head, and didn't see another soul in sight the whole 20
minutes it took me to get the bike outa the wife's car, so I was stoked at
the prospect of having the trail to myself for the next hour or two. That
plus the trail freshly dried out from the recent rains was enticing...or so
I thought. The bike and me, started out clean enough, but ended up much more
clay stained than I anticipated.

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=17


Most of the work looks really good, but I'm not sure about the reasoning
that went into doing this:

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=25

Seems to me that you'd want to leave that alone and NOT pile up the
branches there?
--
Westie

"gabrielle" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 18:44:18 -0500, TBF::. wrote:

I got to the trail head, and didn't see another soul in sight the whole
20
minutes it took me to get the bike outa the wife's car,

Dang, and I was just bitching today about the 3 minutes it took to get
my bike out of a Beetle. :P

They built some interesting structures to keep
the DH/Free-riding types semi-happy, and freshened the singletrack on the
main trail very nicely, by adding little bridges and a nice switchback
down
a clay infested hill.

Oooh, that looks slick.

BTW, I think your license plate is the name of a town in Wales.

gabrielle


I like small cars but the wife's trunk is ridiculous to cram anything other
than a suitcase in.

The license plate stands for criminal lawyer, but yeah people always think
it's that town from Wales!

Most of the work looks really good, but I'm not sure about the reasoning
that went into doing this:

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=25

Seems to me that you'd want to leave that alone and NOT pile up the
branches there?
--
Westie


Funny you should say that. That fallen tree has been there for years and a
natural pileup of dirt, leaves and small branches was originally there, so
it wasn't nothing at all to ride over with a little luck and skill. That new
deal is loose and unstable.

Westie wrote:
TBF::. wrote:

I was reading Penny's last post and felt a little guilty about doing
too much shopping and not enough riding, so I headed out to one of our
local loops this aft.

None of the other people I ride with were home, so just me for a
change, which was cool because I'm so friggin tired I wasn't in the
mood to hotdog it anyway.

I got to the trail head, and didn't see another soul in sight the
whole 20 minutes it took me to get the bike outa the wife's car, so I
was stoked at the prospect of having the trail to myself for the next
hour or two. That plus the trail freshly dried out from the recent
rains was enticing...or so I thought. The bike and me, started out
clean enough, but ended up much more clay stained than I anticipated.

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=17



Most of the work looks really good, but I'm not sure about the reasoning
that went into doing this:

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=25

Seems to me that you'd want to leave that alone and NOT pile up the
branches there?
--
Westie


It's the same in our woodland area. People like to take perfectly good
log overs and turn them into wheelchair ramps. However, as devils
advocate, if you do not built it up and there is just loose dirt on the
other side you risk creating ruts that retain water.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 18:44:18 -0500, "TBF::."
wrote:

[snip nice]

Didn't know you rode an SS....

Happy Trails!

Bill


The First law, Inertia: Unless acted upon by an outside force,
a body at rest tends to stay at rest,
and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
Sir Isaac Newton

"Bill Wheeler" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 18:44:18 -0500, "TBF::."
wrote:

[snip nice]

Didn't know you rode an SS....

Happy Trails!

Bill


The First law, Inertia: Unless acted upon by an outside force,
a body at rest tends to stay at rest,
and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
Sir Isaac Newton


I didn't b4, but after reading about it from you guys for the past year I
decided to try one out. Bought most of the parts and frame from Jensen USA
and my LBS built it up for me.

"Bill Wheeler" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 18:44:18 -0500, "TBF::."
wrote:

[snip nice]

Didn't know you rode an SS....

Happy Trails!

Bill


The First law, Inertia: Unless acted upon by an outside force,
a body at rest tends to stay at rest,
and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
Sir Isaac Newton


I didn't b4, but after reading about it from you guys for the past year I
decided to try one out. Bought most of the parts and frame from Jensen USA
and my LBS built it up for me.

"TBF::." wrote in message ...
I was reading Penny's last post and felt a little guilty about doing too
much shopping and not enough riding, so I headed out to one of our local
loops this aft.

None of the other people I ride with were home, so just me for a change,
which was cool because I'm so friggin tired I wasn't in the mood to hotdog
it anyway.

I got to the trail head, and didn't see another soul in sight the whole 20
minutes it took me to get the bike outa the wife's car, so I was stoked at
the prospect of having the trail to myself for the next hour or two. That
plus the trail freshly dried out from the recent rains was enticing...or so
I thought. The bike and me, started out clean enough, but ended up much more
clay stained than I anticipated.

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=17

I had heard from some of the other riders in the club that IMBA along with
loads of volunteers had "improved" the trail system about a month back.

I'm not a fan of digging up rocks, cutting trees, or trimming branches etc,
just in the name of making the ride comfortable. These guys must feel the
same, because most of the work seemed to focus on small touches to key areas
along the main single track. They built some interesting structures to keep
the DH/Free-riding types semi-happy, and freshened the singletrack on the
main trail very nicely, by adding little bridges and a nice switchback down
a clay infested hill.

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=18

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=19

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=21

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=22

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=23


On the lower loop of the main trail they built up a mini jump section for
the "rad" guys/gals to enjoy. It was nice hanging with them for awhile and
watching them do their thing. I was surprised at how much they liked the
work done on the trail, they really seemed interested in doing their part to
keep the momentum going. My guess is the new sections convinced them that
taking care of the trails were all of our responsibility, not just the XC
people. Plus they have to use the singletrack to get to their section
anyway...may as well keep it in good shape.

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=24

Overall it was a decent ride considering the time constraints and weather. I
wished I had brought the SS though, it was a perfect day to practice on it
given that the trail was practically deserted. I spent lot's of time
scratching my way up hills that I was doing in the middle ring all summer
because of the rain-soaked clay, but I was glad to be away from the
screaming kids and Toys-R-Us for the afternoon.

http://groups.msn.com/DirtyWheels/sh...oto&PhotoID=26

PS: she freaked at the clay stains in the trunk of her car...I think she's
gonna do something in retaliation to the truck when it's back from the
dealership.

Happy Trails!


Hey TBF, are these pics of DVP trails? I was up there in Jan/Feb of
this year walking with the g/f, and those trails looked kinda
familiar. Then I saw your plates... Just wondering. I didn't have a
bike up there at the time, but would have loved to ride those trails.

Nate