Jungle Habitat ride 9/12

CycleBoy

Sussex Bike and Sport
Shop Keep
Hey all, for those interested the jungle habitat race course is roughly marked out and there will be various people riding it this wednesday night. Unfortunately I can't make it, but Mike will be there at 6. Any questions just give the shop a call at 973 728 8878 or post a thread
 
M

m-theøry

Guest
6pm I am guessing right? I will try and make it!

Anyone else going?
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
I'll be there - depending on the weather. As long as I don't hear the usual "ding - ding....Singlespeed on your left!" ;-)
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
What does "roughly marked" mean? Does anyone have a GPS version of the race loop?
 

monteverest

New Member
will try but more likely Friday

I may have to pass on this ride but will make the Friday ride (barring major illness, financial collapse, catastrophic hemispheric event, or toenail splinter). Can anyone provide estimate of how long the ride will take? I have to ride home afterwards through Cherry Ridge (Waway) and the dark scares me:eek:
 

xc6801

New Member
I am going to head up there around lunchtime for my first ride there. If anyone has advice as to how to follow the race loop in addition to "The first two trails are easy to find. First, go through the main gate. About a 100 feet in there is a little road on your left and painted on the pavement is EMS exit. Turn left on that road and hang an immediate right into the woods. This is the trail we call the animal chute. Follow that trail right to the top. When you exit, you will be on a paved road. Hang a right and follow into the big parking lot. It's a huge parking lot. Now stay to the right and hug the perimeter of the parking lot. DON'T GO DOWN THE HILL!!! The entrance to Warthog will be on the right and just follows the perimiter of the parking lot. You won't find the rest of the course very easily if you don't know the park, so I'm not even going to try to explain where it is." it will be greatly appreciated.
 

jdispensa73

New Member
GPS file

I have the garmin training center course in my GPS. But this site will not allow me to post it for some reason. Its a tcx file, which is from garmin training center. I am not sure how to create any other file tyes with GPS at this point, I am a new user. The single track is great! I have attached the google earth file. The course was really well marked on sunday. What I mean by that is there are arrows pointing to all the turns. Having never ridden there before we were able to get around what seems like all the single track. If you want the tcx file, I can send it to you. I think the file will contain all my courses, but most are from the area anyway. Just shoot me an email to and I can send it your way. You can upload this right to a garmin and follow the loop. I have a garmin 305, so I am not sure if they all function the same.
 
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Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
This is the race loop? Sweet! Thanks!

OK so where to park for this...?
 
D

DANSPANK

Guest
If you're looking to park for your practice loop then you can park by the entrance gate. You could likely fit up to 10 cars there at least.

I'm sure that the gates will be open on race day and they'll use the car park that's already there. Maybe the race loop will circumvent the car park using a paved section or something.
 

jdispensa73

New Member
Pretty sure this is single track. Not sure in which direction or how the race will follow it, but this was all very well marked. The parking is right at entrance to JH right now. Which is on Airport road. As you come up the road you will see the entrance to JH, its big log type structure. The gate is locked, but there is a pass through to get your bike through the fence. We parked right in front of the gate. You then go in like Towncycleboy said and make the first left. As soon as you make left the first single track is immediately on the right. That's the way we went. Again it was a blast! These guys did a great job.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Great - thanks guys! Looking to head up this weekend maybe one or both days!
 
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ridnwarrior

Guest
I'm wondering how this race course would stack up for a first timer?

Let me know...thanks.
 

anrothar

entirely thrilled
i think it'll be as good as any for a first time racer. i wouldn't go racing for your first time mtb'ing though?

it's got some steep climbing, and will introduce you quickly to tight turning and a few rocky sections. i say go for it. why not?
 

mtn_goat

Member
I am planning on riding here on Thursday evening, meeting at the gate at 6:00pm, for a 6:15 start. If anyone is interested, meet me there.

Bring lights, since it gets dark pretty early now.

So far, there are only 2 of us going, the more the better, plus if someone has been there before, it will be much more easier to find the trails.
 

mtn_goat

Member
We just rode the race course at Jungle Habitat. Let me tell you, it was a mix of singletrack, some old paved walkways, and some fireroad. It was a great ride, definitely will be going back to do it again and again, tons of fun.

First, the trail is flowing singletrack, a few rocks, large ones that is, and lots of switchbacks that works its way up to the top of the first hill. The switchbacks did not exactly loop back onto where you just came, but made the climb very rideable and you had no idea of where it was heading next. This trail was just under 1 mile long. The next trail, we had to cross the parking lot, about 200 yards, and then the fun began. Tight twisty singletrack, looping, flowing, rolling, a few rock bridges, some dips, narrow tree passages, etc... This trail was probably just under 4 miles of this as it went around the perimeter of the large parking lot. This one will disorient your sense of direction, so just follow the trail. A few spots it looks as if it will end into the parking lot, but then a sharp turn and back into the woods for more and more of this. Eventually, it ends onto an old paved walkway. This then heads through the old park that has an old pool, an old kids electric car track (concrete track with a metal rail in the middle for power). This then continues up and down through the old park roads with the fencing leftover to keep the wild animals in, the baboons, the lions, etc... Eventually, this climbed up to the eastern most side of the park. There were a few spots that the trail was not marked to well and there were a few choices to go, but we did pick the right ones. This then goes back through the fence and has some steep downhill singletrack, some fun drops and twists. This then switches between the old paved roads and trails and comes back out at the start.

It took us about an hour to do this, with a few stops to talk with a few guys and to regroup. I believe that the total distance was about 7.5 miles or so, probably about 4.5 to 5 are singletrack.

We then decided to cut back into the park, not on the race course, to head to the end of the second singletrack trail, to do that and the first trail backwards. We now needed our lights since it is dark. This was one of the best trails to ride in the dark, it was as if you were completely alone, yet just little bit in back (or in front) was another rider. We made it back to the beginning of the trail in 45 minutes in this direction. It seems to be more of a downhill grade going this direction, an absolutely perfect why to end the ride.

These trails are soft, loamy, quiet, and fun to ride, very similar to Blue Mountain, minus the huge boulders, and very similar to some of the trails up in Kingdom Trails in Vermont. Doing this at night was a blast, I am not sure what would be more fun, in the daylight, or at night.
:D
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
were you riding with the guys from Pearl River (GT FS & Klein HT)? I think we were going in as you were coming out...
 
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