Lumpy/Bumpy

[hardtale70]

good news people. the highlands trail within allamuchy is multi-use. this is because the mountain biking community has a strong relationship with Allamuchy and the superintendent has designated the trail as multi-use.

the bad news is that a lot of it is fall line and some of it will not sustain multi-use. also, the nynjtc maintains this trail so we don't have a direct hand in its design and maintenance. elsewhere I believe the highlands trail is foot traffic only.


one of the biggest problems that we have however in NJ is the tendency of trail users to build rogue trails in our parks. some parks totally understand that its a "few bad apples" problem while other park supers don't see it as such a limited problem. when I start seeing comments like "the public will fix it" I start getting nervous because it makes me think of our own trail users going back in the woods without permission and doing things that bite us collectively in the ass. we have rogue trails in a lot of nearby parks and everything they are discovered, our park leaders have to spend a lot of their time and energy fighting for the cause, which usually means explaining that mountain bikers in general respect public land and that we don't condone this activity. please don't start realigning trails or features to suit your own needs. bob and karen worked closely with the park super to get these trails approved. this was unprecedented a few years ago. now we have a sanctioned legal "advanced trail" in NJ. wow. times are good.

hey... look, if you can't ride a feature, no worries youre in good company. a lot of people can't. but... many people can ride it *both ways* and *without dabbing it* in its *current configuration*.

so, please ride the trail as it was intended, and work up to the challenge.

its ok to dab, its ok to get off and walk. its not ok to get off and make changes to the trail design or features. thanks in advance for your understanding.

cheers,
jeff mergler

p.s. if you want to get involved in this trail, or in future projects... all you have to do is get involved at Allamuchy or your our local park. the harder you work and more involved you get, the more opportunity you have to place *your mark* before the fact on trail projects. that's a lot more fun then coming in after the fact and changing the trail against the design of the original builders.

I don't have the time to bother w the trail, i just ride thru or by, but for years i have watched the general public and BobW have "this is the way i want the turn" wars unassembling and reassembling corner blockades every wknd. Its just the way it is, is all i meant

 

[J-Dro]

is this new trail sourlands-like difficult? sounds interesting...

Yes, in a way you might compare it to Sourlands since much of the trail is built on exposed rock. But at the same time it has many other elements (like a bermed switchback) that you won't find at SL. There is some amazing stone work on L-B. You will definitely love this trail Dave.

 

[de00304]

Lumpy is my new fav in Allamuchy. I ride it finishing toward the "red" markers, and it is mega fun that way. It is certainly challenging, but with a little work I find the trail is all doable. As previously stated, some amazing rockwork, excellent flow, great views - hats off to Bob and crew for the vision and the execution here!

Here is a GPS link - Lumpy is the squiggly stuff on the easternmost part of this ride (side towards Cranberry Lake)...

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18862048

 

[ebineezer]

Anyone have pictures of lumpy bumpy? Im curious to see what the trail is like..

 

[clarkenstein]

Yes, in a way you might compare it to Sourlands since much of the trail is built on exposed rock. But at the same time it has many other elements (like a bermed switchback) that you won't find at SL. There is some amazing stone work on L-B. You will definitely love this trail Dave.

sweet! next dry weekend i'm gonna try to cash in some MBUs for a longer ride time. i just hope i even have the legs to get to it

Here is a GPS link - Lumpy is the squiggly stuff on the easternmost part of this ride (side towards Cranberry Lake)...

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18862048

thanks for the link. looking at the topo it looks pretty interesting. it looks like it uses the elevation on the steep side of that mtn its on and has some exposure mixed in too?

 

[Apache1]

Lumpy bumpy

I keep gettin requests to take people thru and, yes , the general population finds it kinda annoying to ride .........as said though, the masses will fix it

Hardtale 70 - come join the "masses" at the next JORBA Allamuchy trial maint..
Be part of the solution. We can always use more help!

 

[goldsbar]

Finally found it - not that easy with all the leaves. I was on a parallel trail (that actually brings you to the other entrance) and noticed the flags. Rode it in the uphill-ish direction - at least that's the way it felt. You'll know when you're on it as it's very and twisty and has had a lot of work. Sort of a XC style Diablo trail.

Fun but it needs some breaking in. It was actually hard to follow at some points with all the wet leaves and stuff. I dabbed many times! While I believe the poster who said it's possible to ride dab free in both directions, my guess is this takes a lot of practice. You'd really have to know the lines down cold and know when to gun it up the short steepies. I'm itching to try it in the other direction. It seemed much more doable in that direction but that's always the case!

For comparison, I'd say it's the hardest trail in Allamuchy and much harder than the white trail (though I take this trail the downhill way - uphill is probably comparable) or Anrother's alley in Mahlon.

Great effort and I'm glad it's there but not my favorite. Can't beat the flow of the purple trail and some of the offshoots. Yet another reason to frequent Allamuchy.

Edit: Confirmed - much easier from the "air conditioner" junk pile side. Hard parts are a couple of really short, steep climbs constructed of embedded flat rocks not visible until they're right in front of you and then some very tight turns near the end.

 

[hardtale70]

Hardtale 70 - come join the "masses" at the next JORBA Allamuchy trial maint..
Be part of the solution. We can always use more help!

You're kidding, right.................:rofl::hitsfan:

 

[soundz]

it looks like it uses the elevation on the steep side of that mtn its on and has some exposure mixed in too?

if you're looking east from the western side is like boulders that are like 40 feet high and many of them .. it's like an island of boulders on top of the mountain .. it's pretty surreal site

 

[Bob W]

Direction

Matty- Trail was designed with travel from east to west in mind. It is harder going west to east.

I find these kinds of posts interesting. Reason for this is that you have folks saying it is a waste of time, but those that make these statements did not work on the trail. Or the public will fix it. Funny if the public cared about trails like this they should come out and be part of the process join JORBA get involved! You want a voice in how your parks take shape, join JORBA!!!

What was it that Forest said...life is like a box of chocolates...I always thought this meant there is something for everyone out there. Same holds true for trials. Tech stuff may not be your thing, open and flowy might. I think Allamuchy has a bit of something for everyone.

The trail was designed as an advanced trail, and approved by the Park as such. IMBA guidelines were used in the design and construction to make sure it is sustainable. If you look at the beginning of the trail (from either direction) you will notice there are somewhat difficult sections right away, these are filters. Filters are designed into a trail to give the user an indication what is to come, you don’t like what you see in the start, you won’t want to ride the rest. There are more guidelines that were followed inthe design of the trail besides this, but it would take up too much space.

Again, if you want to be part of what is going on in the Park come out to a TM session and find out first hand how this get done. Don’t rely on perceptions of how things are organized and implemented.

 

[pixychick]

Here is a picture of one feature:

 

[gtluke]

do want!

 

[lou_b_83]

Some one took a picture of me going over one of the up and overs at the bottom. I would like to see more pics. It was a fun trail for me

 

[clarkenstein]

nice pic - that looks like a cool feature. is that trail on the left of the photo with an option to take the boulder, or is the boulder the trail?

 

[J-Dro]

nice pic - that looks like a cool feature. is that trail on the left of the photo with an option to take the boulder, or is the boulder the trail?

See how the bikers in front are heading away from the camera? The trail has a tight switchback at the end of the boulder, then heads back towards the camera, which is the trail you see on the left.

 

[clarkenstein]

very cool. i'm definitely heading up north soon to hit this.

 

[jdog]

Here is a picture of one feature:

That there is my crew!

We had a blast yesterday.

Thanks for Kirt who acted as a tour guide for the 29er guys.

He was riding a big bike and keeping pace with us on 10 lbs lighter bikes.

I think a few people were taken off guard at how fast we were descending on hardtails.

Great day with good vibes and friendly faces.


Fun Fun Fun.

Nice to be on the bike for 4 hours too.

 

[BABOYTOY]

That there is my crew!

We had a blast yesterday.

Thanks for Kirt who acted as a tour guide for the 29er guys.

He was riding a big bike and keeping pace with us on 10 lbs lighter bikes.

I think a few people were taken off guard at how fast we were descending on hardtails.

Great day with good vibes and friendly faces.


Fun Fun Fun.

Nice to be on the bike for 4 hours too.

Not taken back on how "fast you are" taken back on the fact that the fragile bikes didn't crumble

 

[lou_b_83]

That there is my crew!

We had a blast yesterday.

Thanks for Kirt who acted as a tour guide for the 29er guys.

He was riding a big bike and keeping pace with us on 10 lbs lighter bikes.

I think a few people were taken off guard at how fast we were descending on hardtails.

Great day with good vibes and friendly faces.


Fun Fun Fun.

Nice to be on the bike for 4 hours too.

I wasn't keeping pace so well. But I try. :drooling: I was on the Blue Kona.

 

[jdog]

Not taken back on how "fast you are" taken back on the fact that the fragile bikes didn't crumble

Believe me .. There are tons of guys who are way faster. The point was that a bunch of folks commented that it was unusually to see guys on hardtails.

Somehow our bikes survived.