MD Today
- Thread starter Shaggz
- Start date
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mco29
Guest
Hi Shaggz,
I did MD via the Weldon Brook WMA this afternoon. Hit some bike-stopping mud past the entrance to the wma (coming from the LCR Law Offices), but after that the conditions were as you described. Should be a touch drier tomorrow after the sun and wind we got today.
I did MD via the Weldon Brook WMA this afternoon. Hit some bike-stopping mud past the entrance to the wma (coming from the LCR Law Offices), but after that the conditions were as you described. Should be a touch drier tomorrow after the sun and wind we got today.
SpartaBard
Well-Known Member
Freezing rain right now up here. Looks like rain most of this week in fact.
Shaggz, Brad & Jake -- It was good to run into you guys yesterday. Our ride turned out well, too. We didn't hit Cascade, but hit everything else.
I can't believe what those Quads have done to the single track in the WMA. That nice twisty single track is gone replaced by torn up double track. Too bad.
Take care.
Yes. When you go down the railtrail 1.3 miles and make the left. Follow that trail under the power lines -- continue straight past the Beaver Dam Trail until you reach a fork. If you take the right side of the fork, it used to lead you on a nice twisty rolling single track that ended at the four way intersection (one of those trails peals off to the Park & Ride on 15).
Actually, there is evidence of quads everywhere in that WMA -- deep ruts, widening of trails, rocks ripped out of the trails, etc. You'll see next time you get out there.
SpartaBard
Well-Known Member
Maybe I will take a ride back there this week, but that is disheartening to hear.
anrothar
entirely thrilled
brad, steve, the trail he's talking about has been like that for as long as you two have have ridden it. he's not talking about the singletrack that dumps you out across from the saffins lot. it's further back on that little loop though. i rode it today and to me, it's just as fun as ever, but i don't recall ever riding it as singletrack.
The trails that dump you off at Weldon Road are still single track. But last summer that other trail I was describing was a single track. I noticed it was widened by quads when I went there in November and now it is even wider. The guy I was with hadn't been there in since summer and he is the one who noticed a big change in that trail.
Also, there was lots of evidence of quads out there during the ride yesterday.
Shaggz
A strong 7
got it.
SpartaBard
Well-Known Member
ok good.
M
mco29
Guest
I started at the Park and Ride at Blue Heron both yesterday and today (Sunday). Quads have indeed widened the trail going from Blue Heron to under the powerlines since I rode it last Fall.
Sometime between 3 pm yesterday and noon today, someone went into the WMA with a chain saw and cut away at least 3 of the larger (yet easily mountain bike surmountable) log obstacles between Blue Heron and the powerlines, leaving a clear path for the quads. Those logs were a fun part of the ride heading towards MD from Sparta. Now they are gone.That part of the trail now looks like it could be used as a Route 15 bypass.
Once I hit the intersection at the railtrail, I went straight across and did the trail that takes you up to the County's highest point. After passing the summit, I made a left onto the gravel trail that takes you to the Pine Swamp trails and trailer park. I got on Weldon Road for just a bit, then veered off onto a trail on the right, which ended up taking me back to the rail trail. The MD trails were in decent shape, with just a few muddy spots near the bottom. Finished my ride by 2:00pm, beating the rain.
Sometime between 3 pm yesterday and noon today, someone went into the WMA with a chain saw and cut away at least 3 of the larger (yet easily mountain bike surmountable) log obstacles between Blue Heron and the powerlines, leaving a clear path for the quads. Those logs were a fun part of the ride heading towards MD from Sparta. Now they are gone.That part of the trail now looks like it could be used as a Route 15 bypass.
Once I hit the intersection at the railtrail, I went straight across and did the trail that takes you up to the County's highest point. After passing the summit, I made a left onto the gravel trail that takes you to the Pine Swamp trails and trailer park. I got on Weldon Road for just a bit, then veered off onto a trail on the right, which ended up taking me back to the rail trail. The MD trails were in decent shape, with just a few muddy spots near the bottom. Finished my ride by 2:00pm, beating the rain.
That's what I saw. Thanks for backing me up.
Yes, and there were two long crossings on that ex-single track have been removed as well. Even next to the railtrail, there was a downed tree with a single track that went around it -- that is not gone and the tree has been chainsawed out to make room for quads. That tree removal was done since January when I last rode in there.
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Just thought I was going crazy, that's all -- it isn't too far off for me, you know. :drooling:
Actually, I am probably not explaining where I mean well enough. It is kind of hard to describe a trail without names and only by directions -- left at the rock, right at the tree, over the log and don't forget, though the woods...
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anrothar
entirely thrilled
joe, i wasn't doubting you at all, just trying to explain to brad and steve which trail you meant. vagueries of the internet... during hunting season, alot of hunters that access their stands will clear the trail so that they can do so more easily, and also to haul out the quarry. it's the name of the game on wma's. mahlon is human powered turf, wma's, wether it's legal or not, are dirt bike and quad turf. not much that we can do about it. the wco's will also clear trees from a trail so that they themselves can access all of the roads there.
This is why it's not a bad thing to have the burned out hull of a car, or the occasional boat out in the woods. Perhaps a few grandmothers houses too. Otherwise how would we communicate?