I had a fun ride last night so I figured I would post it up. Give peeps something to read while on the pooper.
When I ride at Six Mile, I normally cruise right from my house. I live pretty close, so using a mix of bike paths, roads, and some shady-access small dirt road I can get there on bike.
I live pretty close to the Sourlands and have wanted to do the same - ride from home to trail. So last night, I decided to try out a route that @fidodie first attempted in 2013 and see if I could find my way. I knew Pat pulled it off and I wanted to see if I could do the same, if not something similar.
I took off at about 8:30 and took some roads and a bike path to a local farm field. I dove in on a very rough dirt road. I figured I would be shot within the first ten minutes of this, so my anxiety was a little high. I was mentally coming up with lists of excuses as to why I am riding a bike in the middle of a farm if I'm caught. "Locusts!" was the best I could come up with. The dirt road quickly disappeared to just random recently cut field. I eventually hit a field of full grown corn so I turned and just rode along that which eventually pushed me out of the farm back onto the road. I couldnt get across to where I wanted to go.
I was sorta disappointed with that but dove back in the woods where some work was/is being done on the 206 bypass.
That's where things got a little interesting. Riding through brush I noticed an opening in the woods, so I turned toward it and it was solid trail. A nice surprise!
I took this to where it terminated in the woods, then tried to go further, but again the thickness of the brush held me back. I really wanted to cut through this spot because it would dump me out on 206 right where I wanted to be which would set me up to ride up a gas line to the Sourlands, but I couldn't make it. I turned around and found my way back to the trail and noticed a sign:
This section of woods adjacent to the farm is actually part of the DR Greenway. So that's a win. I make a mental note to come back here and see if I can find a way through. I decided to backtrack and go back to the bypass but noticed a faint trail directly across the way. I followed it and it terminated in a few spots, but eventually lead me to the train tracks that run along side 206. So I rode the tracks (no fat bike and I survived) and figured out a spot where I could pop out on 206.
After crossing 206 and feeling like I had probably broken about 50 laws at this point I took a small dead end road from 206 that dropped me right in the middle of more fields. Riding across them was slow going. Really really bumpy and you have no idea where deep holes are.
I scared about 800 deer and found a few ways that cut through to go field to field. At this point I was just south of the Carrier Clinic so I knew I had almost pulled off riding the connection from home to trail. I cruised along one more road and connected with the gas line I was initially aiming for. I rode up the gas line just to check it out and knew I could make it to the Sourlands from there. My light was going yellow so I knew I wouldn't be able to make it all the way to the trailhead and back without going dark, so I turned around to save that for another day. I took all roads back and lived to tell about it.
Having no idea how to get from one spot to another and just hoping there is a way through (and finding it) was good fun. One of the more adventurous rides I have done in a while. I was pretty stoked.
So once I dial this in with Pat's help, I'll probably be hosting some rides from my place to the rocks with beers afterward in the garage.
When I ride at Six Mile, I normally cruise right from my house. I live pretty close, so using a mix of bike paths, roads, and some shady-access small dirt road I can get there on bike.
I live pretty close to the Sourlands and have wanted to do the same - ride from home to trail. So last night, I decided to try out a route that @fidodie first attempted in 2013 and see if I could find my way. I knew Pat pulled it off and I wanted to see if I could do the same, if not something similar.
I took off at about 8:30 and took some roads and a bike path to a local farm field. I dove in on a very rough dirt road. I figured I would be shot within the first ten minutes of this, so my anxiety was a little high. I was mentally coming up with lists of excuses as to why I am riding a bike in the middle of a farm if I'm caught. "Locusts!" was the best I could come up with. The dirt road quickly disappeared to just random recently cut field. I eventually hit a field of full grown corn so I turned and just rode along that which eventually pushed me out of the farm back onto the road. I couldnt get across to where I wanted to go.
I was sorta disappointed with that but dove back in the woods where some work was/is being done on the 206 bypass.
That's where things got a little interesting. Riding through brush I noticed an opening in the woods, so I turned toward it and it was solid trail. A nice surprise!
I took this to where it terminated in the woods, then tried to go further, but again the thickness of the brush held me back. I really wanted to cut through this spot because it would dump me out on 206 right where I wanted to be which would set me up to ride up a gas line to the Sourlands, but I couldn't make it. I turned around and found my way back to the trail and noticed a sign:
This section of woods adjacent to the farm is actually part of the DR Greenway. So that's a win. I make a mental note to come back here and see if I can find a way through. I decided to backtrack and go back to the bypass but noticed a faint trail directly across the way. I followed it and it terminated in a few spots, but eventually lead me to the train tracks that run along side 206. So I rode the tracks (no fat bike and I survived) and figured out a spot where I could pop out on 206.
After crossing 206 and feeling like I had probably broken about 50 laws at this point I took a small dead end road from 206 that dropped me right in the middle of more fields. Riding across them was slow going. Really really bumpy and you have no idea where deep holes are.
I scared about 800 deer and found a few ways that cut through to go field to field. At this point I was just south of the Carrier Clinic so I knew I had almost pulled off riding the connection from home to trail. I cruised along one more road and connected with the gas line I was initially aiming for. I rode up the gas line just to check it out and knew I could make it to the Sourlands from there. My light was going yellow so I knew I wouldn't be able to make it all the way to the trailhead and back without going dark, so I turned around to save that for another day. I took all roads back and lived to tell about it.
Having no idea how to get from one spot to another and just hoping there is a way through (and finding it) was good fun. One of the more adventurous rides I have done in a while. I was pretty stoked.
So once I dial this in with Pat's help, I'll probably be hosting some rides from my place to the rocks with beers afterward in the garage.