Blue Mtn Bogner Death Loop 11/3 or 4

anrothar

entirely thrilled
as suggested by jbogner, here is the mega loop of blue mountain up in new york state. date is SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd, 8:00AM. meet at the back lot on lounsberry lane. distance is somewhere between 20 and 30 miles, with lots of technical and climbing(?). with that kind of distance, i would imagine we shoul keep the pace perhaps advanced sport+ ?

there will be an optional group field trip to the beer store that dreams are made of after the ride.

All-Blue-race-map.jpg
 
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J-Dro

Well-Known Member
What do the numbers on the map represent? Do they correspond to signposts on the trails?
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I hope it snows on you jerks. Or I hope it turns out I can't go on vacation that week and the weather is great. :D

Jeff - I didn't see any numbered markers out there but then I wasn't looking.
 

Panhead

Well-Known Member
The numbers are trail numbers. Alot of them are little posts on the side of the trail or numbers nailed into the trees.
 
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DANSPANK

Guest
Just got back from about 4.5 hours at Blue following this loop. It's bloody brilliant - thanks for posting it up Jbogner!

The bad news is that the battery on my gps was flat so I have no data. I didn't realise until I went to turn it on there!

If you've not ridden there then here's my bestest description; There weren't any really long climbs but what there are, are steep and rocky - you need a good bit of grunt to get up them. I didn't use my granny gear and I had RD probs so was missing the lowest two gears on the back too but my only problems on the climbs were stalling as the front wheel jammed.

The trails aren't really rooty at all. There are more rocks, big buggers too, but for the most part you're looking at nice, smooth dirt that was the pefect consistency for me today.

I headed into the woods opposite the trail lodge, that got Neds Left Lung out of the way quickly. It's a steep, rocky fireroad but I got up it ok. It's probably worth giving yourself a bit of a warm-up in the car park to make sure you're ready to grind up that slope. MYX Monster was wicked - I loved that long, swoopy singletrack. The huge rocks were slippy so I didn't play around on them too much. The first loop back to the car took me probably about two hours, and that include stopping at every trail junction to check where I was going, stopping to watch a family of 8-10 deer for a bit, getting a tad lost as a massive tree had falled and hidden the trail, and stopping to trail-fix my RD as best as I could.

I chatted with a couple of people in the car park, chugged a coffee and some sports beans and then I was off again. I think the second loop is more technical and longer than the first - lots of large rocky acents but, again, the single track is just so sweet - this really is on the top of my list for the kind of riding I like. My out-n-out favourite was the green/white trail - Upper Sis and Sis. Well marked and just cool - like a pump track!

There were lots of rock drop-ins to jump from, log rollers, rock rollers and gardens - some more daunting that others, switchbacks, narow tree passes, basically everything!

I really wish I had my gps as I buggered things up Debacle and I missed My Favourite Trail, Rocky Glen, and Montrose Station Road as indicated on the map. I'd like to know where I went wrong. By that time I'd been out for another two hours and really needed to get back so turned towards the car. I really wish I could've stayed as the climbs didn't drain me and I had more umph to carry on.

So, a couple of notes;
-The leaves are falling and covering the single track. Not much of the single track is marked so if you don't go in the next couple of weeks then some of the trails could be quite hard to follow. If only my gps would've worked!!!!
-As mentined above, the numbers on the map are markings for trail junctions. Some were plainly obvious but I couldn't find others making it tough to understand where I was.

So, 4.5 hours with an average speed probably between 6 and 7 miles an hour, and I missed a few miles at the end, I would say that the loops are closer to 30 miles. That's a real guess though.

Shit, that was a good ride!

What? What did you say? This post is useless without pics? Hold on Tiger, how else was I to prove that I rode there today:
 
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DANSPANK

Guest
In no particular order...

The first pick shows a nice 3ft drop in.
The second and third is the same monster rock garden. Last week's racers may remember the "Caution!!! SLOW!!!" sign pinned to the tree.
Fourth is the fire road ascent around Crossover
Fifth is some sweet singletrack with some deer fans watching me
 
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DANSPANK

Guest
A few more...

-First is a small incline with a couple of rocks at the top to deal with
-Second is a smallish rock garden
-Third is one of the few rooty sections that I found
-Fourth is a nice big stone to play on
-Fifth is a quick decent
 
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DANSPANK

Guest
And finally...

-One of the markers
-One of the fallen tress but you can ride under this one
-More deer fans egging me on
 
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Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Cool writeup man. You know, on the 11-3/4 weekend this place is going to be slick as hell with the leaves.
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Full marks

You did this solo?!? Nice job.

Looks like a groovy place to ride, for sure.
 

anrothar

entirely thrilled
if you're capable of rides of that length in less than 5 hours Dan, then sure, c'mon out. it'll be good to have a second guide too in case J has a last minute thing....
 

jbogner

NYCMTB: President
JORBA.ORG
Rrrrooogggeeerrrr. 30 miles of Blue. Lets do it. Gumby's gonna come along- he's on a final tour of all the old haunts before moving back with the family to Australia.

We'll add the El Cap trail up and over the giant roller, and an out-and-back to Mt. Spitz, just to keep it new and interesting for Danspank. Plus, Mt. Spitz = great photo op.

Those who aren't up for 30 miles could always just ride the first loop back to the lot...
 

Spylab

New Member
Where are you guys getting that map from? I want to print out a full, untouched version to get an idea before my friends and I go up just to explore...
 

J-Dro

Well-Known Member
Where are you guys getting that map from? I want to print out a full, untouched version to get an idea before my friends and I go up just to explore...

Yeah that map looks like an updated version of the one at the wmba.org web site. Is it available in jpg or pdf?
 
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