6 Mile Run Conditions

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
someone more familiar with 6mr can comment, but I think this could be the worst time to ride the park till we get a complete freeze
the sub freezing temp at night locks in the moisture up on top and when it warms up during the day it becomes slimy and the "peanut butter" consistency, which makes for nasty ruts. Also rain is predicted for this weekend, so doubt I'll be there for some time.
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
someone more familiar with 6mr can comment, but I think this could be the worst time to ride the park till we get a complete freeze
the sub freezing temp at night locks in the moisture up on top and when it warms up during the day it becomes slimy and the "peanut butter" consistency, which makes for nasty ruts. Also rain is predicted for this weekend, so doubt I'll be there for some time.

its definitely the toughest time for 6MR.

i have found it generally works like this (at 6MR - sourlands is a whole different monster and its only about 7 miles away or so) - about 4 hours of subfreezing temps overnight/before sunrise means you are pretty much good to go as long as its below freezing at ride time, with one big BUTT.

and that big butt is: once the sun hits the ground, its over - unless its below 20/25 degrees out, the sun will melt the hardpack with ease. it will be a greasy/muddy trail anywhere sunlight hits. so if you are driving to the trail head to go ride and the sun is already rising, and its 30 out, its gonna be too late by the time you are in the middle of your loop. it takes very little time for the open areas to go from a solid freeze to muck. the trails in the woods will take a *little* bit longer, but not much longer.

you don't need days and days of subfreezing temps. 4/5 hours and you'll have solid trail if you are out in the wee hours of the morning (i mean riding with a light).

another BUTT: if it rains during the day then freezes at night, you'll need a lot more freeze time. the puddles won't go away, the ruts will hold the water. they will look frozen, but will break the minute you ride over them and water will pour out. you'll just have a muddy, frozen bike and real deep ruts left behind.
 

pygmypony

Well-Known Member
someone more familiar with 6mr can comment, but I think this could be the worst time to ride the park till we get a complete freeze
the sub freezing temp at night locks in the moisture up on top and when it warms up during the day it becomes slimy and the "peanut butter" consistency, which makes for nasty ruts. Also rain is predicted for this weekend, so doubt I'll be there for some time.
very true...this time of year, the earlier (ie pre-thaw) in the day, the better
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
My guess is we wont' be riding 6 Mile until there's a good base of snow.

Oh well... at least I got a few loops in this year. :oops:
 

Tonggi

Active Member
I will wait for some good super cold days to freeze the ground to come back. I need some fat burning fitness riding during the holidays where I can have fun with the flow and mash on the pedal close by to my house.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
I was out digging this am. The soil is heavily saturated till about 8" down.

The freeze thaw cycle is on.

I was out on Sunday afternoon and everyone kept asking me .. "When did it rain here??.. Why is it SOOO muddy??"

It isn't from the rain, it's from the moisture cap that occurs from the frozen ground.

From now till spring, you are likely going to see VERY muddy conditions any time it is above freezing or even below freezing in the sun.

Spread the word.
 

Rdoonz

Well-Known Member
I'm looking for a trail report.

I was at hiking at Rutgers Eco Preserve yesterday and left the bike home figuring the trails would be a mess with all the weekend rain. I was actually surprised at how dry the trails were. I'm guessing it's due to the dry, windy conditions the last couple of days. I'm hoping 6 Mile will be similar.
 

CrankAddictRich

Well-Known Member
I rode Rutgers on Friday morning... the trail was good and dry, but obviously that was before the big rain on Saturday/Sunday. Rutgers is more Sandy soil than 6Mile and I'd suspect that 6Mile is still very wet even if Rutgers is dry. We're either gonna need a lot of windy days with NO precipitation or a bunch of freezing days before 6Mile is really rideable again.
 

Rdoonz

Well-Known Member
Rutgers not the same as 6mr. Freeze thaw in effect, only rideable below freezing before sun hits trails

I rode Rutgers on Friday morning... the trail was good and dry, but obviously that was before the big rain on Saturday/Sunday. Rutgers is more Sandy soil than 6Mile and I'd suspect that 6Mile is still very wet even if Rutgers is dry. We're either gonna need a lot of windy days with NO precipitation or a bunch of freezing days before 6Mile is really rideable again.

Ugh....I get what you and Rick are saying, Rich. I suspect the same thing, that's why I'm asking for an eyes-on report.

I get all the reasons that historically 6 Mile Run can be a slopfest from fall into spring the vast majority of the time. But I've ridden 6 Mile.....a lot. I know that any month of the year, on any given day, at anytime of the day the trails at 6 Mile may be in excellent shape. Is this the norm...no, but is it possible....certainly. How do I know, because I've ridden there enough to have seen it with my own eyes.

While I'm on a roll, I'm going to address the comparison of 6Mile and Rutgers Eco Preserve. I've ridden both parks, more times than I care to count, and I agree that both parks are not the same. For the sake of argument they are similar enough to make a rough comparison based soil composition and geology. Maybe not the old fire roads at the eco preserve that are mostly covered in crushed gravel and asphalt, but most of the trails. This is based on not just my experience, but data from USDA Soil Conservation Service and the NJ Department of Agriculture Experiment Station at Rutgers....but I digress. I guess I'm just a little frustrated because I thought I was asking for a direct answer to a straightforward question.

That is why I was asking if anyone has seen the trails today, but at this point of the day I'm about to leave work, so I guess I'll just take a ride by and look for myself.
 

CrankAddictRich

Well-Known Member
Ugh....I get what you and Rick are saying, Rich. I suspect the same thing, that's why I'm asking for an eyes-on report.

I get all the reasons that historically 6 Mile Run can be a slopfest from fall into spring the vast majority of the time. But I've ridden 6 Mile.....a lot. I know that any month of the year, on any given day, at anytime of the day the trails at 6 Mile may be in excellent shape. Is this the norm...no, but is it possible....certainly. How do I know, because I've ridden there enough to have seen it with my own eyes.

While I'm on a roll, I'm going to address the comparison of 6Mile and Rutgers Eco Preserve. I've ridden both parks, more times than I care to count, and I agree that both parks are not the same. For the sake of argument they are similar enough to make a rough comparison based soil composition and geology. Maybe not the old fire roads at the eco preserve that are mostly covered in crushed gravel and asphalt, but most of the trails. This is based on not just my experience, but data from USDA Soil Conservation Service and the NJ Department of Agriculture Experiment Station at Rutgers....but I digress. I guess I'm just a little frustrated because I thought I was asking for a direct answer to a straightforward question.

That is why I was asking if anyone has seen the trails today, but at this point of the day I'm about to leave work, so I guess I'll just take a ride by and look for myself.


Yea.. I get it, but you gotta realize, there might not be people that can give you a direct, eyes on report because they haven't gone there, because their years of experience has told them that its not worth driving there 2 days after a torrential rainstorm, just turn around. If I lived close, I'd cruise by and check it out, but I'm about 20 minutes away in the best traffic conditions. As far as USGS soil maps are concerned, they are not accurate to the level that you're suggesting at least not in my experience, gleaned from the 10 years I spent working as a Landscape Architect in the state of NJ. Both Rutgers and 6Mile are probably similar if looking from a bird's eye view, 10 miles up.... but down close, on the ground, they're pretty different. I'd say that Rutgers has some areas that maybe be close to 6Mile in terms of soil make up and drainage, particularly in the area around bridge that crosses the deepest cut, but for the most part, Rutgers trails are all cut, up on the higher ground, so water drains away form them. 6Mile on the other hand has pretty significant portions of trail right at water level, or probably within 6-12" from a grading perspective, so when it rains, it gets wet and stays wet. Most of the surrounding farm lands all drain into the area, so its accepting a lot more water.
 

Tim

aka sptimmy43
Yea.. I get it, but you gotta realize, there might not be people that can give you a direct, eyes on report because they haven't gone there, because their years of experience has told them that its not worth driving there 2 days after a torrential rainstorm, just turn around. If I lived close, I'd cruise by and check it out, but I'm about 20 minutes away in the best traffic conditions. As far as USGS soil maps are concerned, they are not accurate to the level that you're suggesting at least not in my experience, gleaned from the 10 years I spent working as a Landscape Architect in the state of NJ. Both Rutgers and 6Mile are probably similar if looking from a bird's eye view, 10 miles up.... but down close, on the ground, they're pretty different. I'd say that Rutgers has some areas that maybe be close to 6Mile in terms of soil make up and drainage, particularly in the area around bridge that crosses the deepest cut, but for the most part, Rutgers trails are all cut, up on the higher ground, so water drains away form them. 6Mile on the other hand has pretty significant portions of trail right at water level, or probably within 6-12" from a grading perspective, so when it rains, it gets wet and stays wet. Most of the surrounding farm lands all drain into the area, so its accepting a lot more water.

^^^I agree 100%. Let's also remember that 6 Mile was intended to be a reservoir. I'll leave it at that...
 

Rdoonz

Well-Known Member
Yea.. I get it, but you gotta realize, there might not be people that can give you a direct, eyes on report because they haven't gone there, because their years of experience has told them that its not worth driving there 2 days after a torrential rainstorm, just turn around. If I lived close, I'd cruise by and check it out, but I'm about 20 minutes away in the best traffic conditions. As far as USGS soil maps are concerned, they are not accurate to the level that you're suggesting at least not in my experience, gleaned from the 10 years I spent working as a Landscape Architect in the state of NJ. Both Rutgers and 6Mile are probably similar if looking from a bird's eye view, 10 miles up.... but down close, on the ground, they're pretty different. I'd say that Rutgers has some areas that maybe be close to 6Mile in terms of soil make up and drainage, particularly in the area around bridge that crosses the deepest cut, but for the most part, Rutgers trails are all cut, up on the higher ground, so water drains away form them. 6Mile on the other hand has pretty significant portions of trail right at water level, or probably within 6-12" from a grading perspective, so when it rains, it gets wet and stays wet. Most of the surrounding farm lands all drain into the area, so its accepting a lot more water.

I'm getting ready to head to bed and I see the couple responses to my post and all I can think "sorry HenryK, I know all you wanted to know were the conditions at 6 Mile today, just like me"

It seems that all the responses to my initial post are an opinion about the trail conditions based on a person's years of actual experience on the trails, lack of experience on the trails, or experience from a previous vocation related to landscaping. One problem: that is not the same thing as reporting on the current conditions of the trail.

I also have an opinion about the trail conditions based on my years of experience. Based on my experience, I know that actual conditions at 6 Mile might not sync with anyone's opinion of what the conditions should be. Being that this thread is titled "6 Mile Conditions", I was hoping to get information about the actual trail conditions. Perhaps someone on this forum might ask someone else's opinion about trail conditions and find that to be enough to decide to ride/not ride. Maybe the intention of my original post and my follow up question weren't clear, and if not.....my bad. So let me clarify below.

I was simply requesting information from anyone reading the post who might have something to offer. Maybe someone is in the area already: riding, walking a dog, eating ice cream, pissing next to a tree....or any one of an unknowable number of possible circumstances that may have brought them close enough to 6 Mile to, I don't know, actually see the trail(s). I certainly wasn't expecting anyone to drive 20 minutes out of their way (or even 20 seconds) to give me a report on trail conditions. If no one had responded to my post, my assumptions would be: 1) no one viewing the post has any information relevant to offer or 2) anyone having information about the actual trail conditions, that viewed my post, didn't care to respond. I would have been cool either way. Everything else is simply irrelevant to my original post and to anyone else who wants to know the actual trail conditions.

Since I actually went to 6 Mile today, I'll get back to the original point of this thread-I walked the open field section of the Blue Trail out of the Canal Rd lot and the trail was definitely rideable. I can't report conditions on anything else because I didn't actually see anything else. If it doesn't rain tomorrow morning, I will try again. If I actually have something else to report, I will be happy to share.
 

Tim

aka sptimmy43
I'm getting ready to head to bed and I see the couple responses to my post and all I can think "sorry HenryK, I know all you wanted to know were the conditions at 6 Mile today, just like me"

It seems that all the responses to my initial post are an opinion about the trail conditions based on a person's years of actual experience on the trails, lack of experience on the trails, or experience from a previous vocation related to landscaping. One problem: that is not the same thing as reporting on the current conditions of the trail.

I also have an opinion about the trail conditions based on my years of experience. Based on my experience, I know that actual conditions at 6 Mile might not sync with anyone's opinion of what the conditions should be. Being that this thread is titled "6 Mile Conditions", I was hoping to get information about the actual trail conditions. Perhaps someone on this forum might ask someone else's opinion about trail conditions and find that to be enough to decide to ride/not ride. Maybe the intention of my original post and my follow up question weren't clear, and if not.....my bad. So let me clarify below.

I was simply requesting information from anyone reading the post who might have something to offer. Maybe someone is in the area already: riding, walking a dog, eating ice cream, pissing next to a tree....or any one of an unknowable number of possible circumstances that may have brought them close enough to 6 Mile to, I don't know, actually see the trail(s). I certainly wasn't expecting anyone to drive 20 minutes out of their way (or even 20 seconds) to give me a report on trail conditions. If no one had responded to my post, my assumptions would be: 1) no one viewing the post has any information relevant to offer or 2) anyone having information about the actual trail conditions, that viewed my post, didn't care to respond. I would have been cool either way. Everything else is simply irrelevant to my original post and to anyone else who wants to know the actual trail conditions.

Since I actually went to 6 Mile today, I'll get back to the original point of this thread-I walked the open field section of the Blue Trail out of the Canal Rd lot and the trail was definitely rideable. I can't report conditions on anything else because I didn't actually see anything else. If it doesn't rain tomorrow morning, I will try again. If I actually have something else to report, I will be happy to share.

Written words are often misconstrued. No one is trying to string you along or provide bad intel. My take is that 6MR is generally more fragile than some other parks during this time of year/recent weather pattern. Why risk it when there are parks that aren't that far away that handle the weather better?

I am sure that if someone had first hand knowledge of trail conditions they would have gladly reported them. I can only assume that any other information or opinions given were only meant to be genuinely helpful. Much like how individuals don't want to waste an hour driving to find an un-rideable trail, they don't want others to do the same. I am sure that most people on here err on the side of caution, i.e. trails being in poor condition just to protect them. There may even be other issues behind the scenes such as trail access that need to be considered. Furthermore, many of the riders on here spend countless hours working on the trails. Obviously no one wants to see their hard work ruined if it is at all avoidable.

I know that does nothing to answer your question and I get pretty frustrated when I don't get direct answers to questions myself. I don't think anyone has the information you are looking for.

Happy Trails!
 

Rdoonz

Well-Known Member
Written words are often misconstrued. No one is trying to string you along or provide bad intel. My take is that 6MR is generally more fragile than some other parks during this time of year/recent weather pattern. Why risk it when there are parks that aren't that far away that handle the weather better?

I am sure that if someone had first hand knowledge of trail conditions they would have gladly reported them. I can only assume that any other information or opinions given were only meant to be genuinely helpful. Much like how individuals don't want to waste an hour driving to find an un-rideable trail, they don't want others to do the same. I am sure that most people on here err on the side of caution, i.e. trails being in poor condition just to protect them. There may even be other issues behind the scenes such as trail access that need to be considered. Furthermore, many of the riders on here spend countless hours working on the trails. Obviously no one wants to see their hard work ruined if it is at all avoidable.

I know that does nothing to answer your question and I get pretty frustrated when I don't get direct answers to questions myself. I don't think anyone has the information you are looking for.

Happy Trails!


Agreed. If my post came across as salty (and I can see why), I apologize. I know and like Rich. I feel like the thread derailed as a result of me responding to Rick mentioning the freeze/thaw and me asking if this was an actually report then Rich following up with his opinion on why he thought it would be unrideable. Then things further devolved because I was frustrated at the fact that I felt like I had to justify why I was asking for a report of the conditions. Like I stated before, I was simply posting a request to gather info as a matter of convenience.
 

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