So today was my first day here and ...

aedubber

New Member
Wow lol wasnt really expecting what i encountered . Was my first time here, so i dont know the area well nor the trails and on top of that everything was wet and im still on the plastic pedals that came with my bike :eek: .. Anyways, i think i just found my new trail system :D , this is the type of terrain i been looking for, but i will admit i had to hike my bike quite a bit on the trails . I dunno about you guys but i def think my new knee pads will come into use at this place , i almost went OTB today 9/24 a couple times . Once i learn the trail im sure i will do a lot better and i think i took the trail system the wrong way lol ..

I parked up at the maint ent off skyline dr , i jumped onto red/white blaze then intersected @ cannonball trail , i took a left there and went down , took a left onto blue and got a nice view of the lake there . I took blue across and jumped onto yellow trail to come back up to main ent . WTF did i make a mistake going UP this thing :cry: .. Im not gonna lie , i prob hiked 75% of it , it was just too much , couldnt get traction, tight areas , and i couldnt pick a good line not knowing anything about the trail . I did enjoy the little rock jumps that whoever made coming close to the fireroad on yellow ..:cool: All in all , it was a short trip, it kicked my ass , didnt have enough water, no pads , no gloves on me so i ended my ride to be safe . I will def be prepared next time and would like to try this place when its somewhat dried out . How does this place compare to Ringwood ?
 

aedubber

New Member
Alright thanks !! I will have to look into ringwood soon but im going to try and tackle ramapo a few more times .
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I would say RW is a bit more groomed than Ramapo which has more raw feel to it. But yea both are rocky.

I prefer going up Cannonball and coming down Yellow, but a lot of people do it the other way.

Do yourself a favor and get some bmx pedals with pins, if you're not ready for clipless.
 

aedubber

New Member
I would say RW is a bit more groomed than Ramapo which has more raw feel to it. But yea both are rocky.

I prefer going up Cannonball and coming down Yellow, but a lot of people do it the other way.

Do yourself a favor and get some bmx pedals with pins, if you're not ready for clipless.

Well i wanted to start from the soccer fields? but i couldnt find this place for the life of me lol so i just said f it and start from main ent on skyline. I never been there or didnt know what these trails were like so i had to find out myself . Yes , Yellow should be taken down , not up the way i tried doing it :eek:

Ya i have some Deity pedals on my other bike , just need to place the order and slap them onto this new bike now . Do you guys really ride over all this stuff without dismounting at all or walking the bikes ? Maybe i was rolling too slow or the rocks were too wet on some of the areas , but i def will pad up for this next time .
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
It is all ridable even by guys wearing spandex suits :) When I first started mountain biking I had similar experience as you. Plus wet rocks make it much more difficult.

Now, I can ride most of it, but I've never done the whole thing w/o dismounting at least a few times and re-trying sections. Keep in mind I'm a mid-level sport (cat 2) rider. There are guys who can clear it w/o much trouble.
 

aedubber

New Member
Ok , i was just getting a bit frustrated with myself at times and felt a bit let down. Just more motivation for me to ride harder :D I should try Ringwood and maybe practice there a bit too .

Thanks for the info for the soccer fields
 

JerseyPete

Well-Known Member
Beware, with all the rain the soccer field and the area along DuPont fence are full of bugs. This year seem to be the worst ever.
 

Schilling

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i decided to give these trails a try yesterday. my plan was to ride cannonball up to ringwood and then explore ramapo on the return trip.

i parked at the end of barbara (soccer field, lots of bugs) and started up cannonball. it was slow going, constantly looking for blazes, looking at my map, and still making wrong turns. some hike a bike, due to lack of tech savy and riding a ss with 32x20 setup. going up the switchbacks was a challenge.

the ride from skyline to ringwood was fun. some climbing, log overs, and rocks. i was kinda nervous about some of the posted areas that the trail took me through, but decided that i was in too far to go back and reroute.

on the return trip my map was trashed so i decided to take the tower trail just after crossing skyline. at first i thought, wow this is going to be great riding, then i realized this trail is crazy and i ended up hiking down portions of the initial descent as well as after the tower. still lots of fun.

by the time i reached the castle it was it was started to get late and i was low on water so i decided to head back. somehow i wandered off of cannonball onto this side trail that abruptly ended. thankfully i have a gps so i was able to figure out a way back with the map mode.

it was a good ride and a fun day. now that i have ridden this and have an idea of the layout i'll make route changes. maybe cannonball, yellow(after 287), red to skyline, then do manny's loop and continue on back up cannonball to ride around ringwood. also, i'll arrive earlier to give myself more time and stash water around skyline.

thanks for starting this thread and i appreciate everyone's imput. it's nice to travel, ride different places, challenge myself, and work on my mtb skills.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/117572127#
 

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