Returning to mountain biking

rojasj

Active Member
Hi All,

This is a tad long but it at least helps me introduce myself. I've been living in Bergen COunty for the past 16 years and I'm originally from Hudson County.

About 12 years ago I got the itch to start riding trails first for my health and secondly because I just enjoyed riding. Also, a mounting bike connected me back to my BMX roots from the old James J. Bradock BMX race track in Hudson County Park. At the time I could only afford a Trek 4300 which served me well and got me back on the trails with a few friends of mine. I then upgraded to a Giant Trance in order to keep up with my then riding friends. But, they all gave up on mountain biking due to various reasons such as they could never wake up on time to meet for a ride, their dog threw up two days before a ride which is a bad omen so they could not ride for at least three months, a bird pooped on the car which means they can't ride..etc.. You get the idea. :)

Anyway, everyone bailed on me and I didn't feel comfortable riding alone in the event of an accident. As a result Trek 4300 sat idle for ten years and I had to sell my Trance to help a family member pay for medications (I miss my Trance dearly, but was it was the right thing to do) and I stayed on my road bike for the next 11 years as I love to ride.

Now, our daughter who will soon be 12 and has been riding since she could walk is on her first real bike and has expressed an interest in trail riding. She currently has a Cannondale Quick which she rides the beans out of but for trail rides she I want her on something designed for trails.

So my first question is in regards to the trail that runs along Ramapo Lake which has a parking lot on the lower section of Skyline Drive right off Route 287 South. I have not been there in at least 10 years and some folks have mentioned to me that this trail is closed to mountain bikes. Is that accurate?

Second question. Are there any trails nearby Bergen county where I can get her comfortable with trail riding? I'd like for her to start getting some experiencing the different feel of trail rides vs. bike paths and get comfortable handling the bike on these type of paths.

Third question, I can't afford to purchase a full suspension bike for either of us right now, the funds just are not there and won't be for a few years. I was thinking about giving her my 4300 which has V-brakes and she can beat on and purchasing another hard tail for myself. If the budget is about 500.00 - 600.00 bucks for a hardtail what are my best choices?

Thanks...

J
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Welcome
You can off road a bit at Saddle River!

Btw... little south of Ramapo is High Mountain!
 

Gnick

Active Member
Hi All,

This is a tad long but it at least helps me introduce myself. I've been living in Bergen COunty for the past 16 years and I'm originally from Hudson County.

About 12 years ago I got the itch to start riding trails first for my health and secondly because I just enjoyed riding. Also, a mounting bike connected me back to my BMX roots from the old James J. Bradock BMX race track in Hudson County Park. At the time I could only afford a Trek 4300 which served me well and got me back on the trails with a few friends of mine. I then upgraded to a Giant Trance in order to keep up with my then riding friends. But, they all gave up on mountain biking due to various reasons such as they could never wake up on time to meet for a ride, their dog threw up two days before a ride which is a bad omen so they could not ride for at least three months, a bird pooped on the car which means they can't ride..etc.. You get the idea. :)

Anyway, everyone bailed on me and I didn't feel comfortable riding alone in the event of an accident. As a result Trek 4300 sat idle for ten years and I had to sell my Trance to help a family member pay for medications (I miss my Trance dearly, but was it was the right thing to do) and I stayed on my road bike for the next 11 years as I love to ride.

Now, our daughter who will soon be 12 and has been riding since she could walk is on her first real bike and has expressed an interest in trail riding. She currently has a Cannondale Quick which she rides the beans out of but for trail rides she I want her on something designed for trails.

So my first question is in regards to the trail that runs along Ramapo Lake which has a parking lot on the lower section of Skyline Drive right off Route 287 South. I have not been there in at least 10 years and some folks have mentioned to me that this trail is closed to mountain bikes. Is that accurate?

Second question. Are there any trails nearby Bergen county where I can get her comfortable with trail riding? I'd like for her to start getting some experiencing the different feel of trail rides vs. bike paths and get comfortable handling the bike on these type of paths.

Third question, I can't afford to purchase a full suspension bike for either of us right now, the funds just are not there and won't be for a few years. I was thinking about giving her my 4300 which has V-brakes and she can beat on and purchasing another hard tail for myself. If the budget is about 500.00 - 600.00 bucks for a hardtail what are my best choices?

Thanks...

J
i don't know much about riding in north jersey but central/south jersey has some tame trails.

no need for a full suspension bike. hardtails are fine. I ride one. I ran into a guy this morning riding an old trek with V brakes and he was shredding unbelievably at allaire. a brand new hardtail at 500-600$ will be tough though. going used will likely be the best option. people are unloading their old 26'ers so there should be good deals on pink bike, craigslist, or even the classifieds here.
 
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Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
I think Giant Talon 4 is around the 600 mark but not sure I would recommend this. However, I do own one and have switched out most of the components...
 

rojasj

Active Member
Welcome
You can off road a bit at Saddle River!

Btw... little south of Ramapo is High Mountain!

Ironically we are about 5 miles from the Saddle River bike trail so she and I ride the bike path all the time. Do the trails interconnect at all or do they sort of just dead end? I'm almost sure her Quick can deal with some dirt I just don't want to beat the crap out of it as she loves her bike and will kill me if I have her mess it up.

After every ride she insists on wiping down the whole bike including the chain and it goes in her room for "safe keeping". Heck, the first night we got the bike for her she went to the local school yard and rode in circles for about two hours. I couldn't be prouder, maybe some of my love of riding rubbed off on her.
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Ironically we are about 5 miles from the Saddle River bike trail so she and I ride the bike path all the time. Do the trails interconnect at all or do they sort of just dead end? I'm almost sure her Quick can deal with some dirt I just don't want to beat the crap out of it as she loves her bike and will kill me if I have her mess it up.

After every ride she insists on wiping down the whole bike including the chain and it goes in her room for "safe keeping". Heck, the first night we got the bike for her she went to the local school yard and rode in circles for about two hours. I couldn't be prouder, maybe some of my love of riding rubbed off on her.
I'm pretty sure the off road trails interconnect with the regular bike path at Saddle River. I think @moose35 might be able to verify on this.
 

rojasj

Active Member
I'm pretty sure the off road trails interconnect with the regular bike path at Saddle River. I think @moose35 might be able to verify on this.
I'll check out the off road trails maybe very early this weekend. It would be great to get my daughter on some trails.
 

rojasj

Active Member

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
welcome - and great story!!!
rookie of the year running...

What size are you? - i might make you the deal of the century. but it is a 26er.
 

rojasj

Active Member
welcome - and great story!!!
rookie of the year running...

What size are you? - i might make you the deal of the century. but it is a 26er.
I'm 5'5". I can't make any deals of the century for at least a few weeks. Bikes sneak slowly into our limited budget household.
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I think most of the confusion of Ramapo is around the Bergen County bike ban and I believe parts of Ramapo are in Bergen County. Also some of the trails are not really fit for bikes so those kind of get labeled as hiking trails.

Anyways, riding around the lake on bikes should be fine, but if you're gonna take your daughter there, most of the other ridable trails will likely be way too advanced. You can do the lake loop but then you have to climb up the long road back to the car which is not a joke of a climb.

Some of the other easier dirt trails you can check out North of 78 are:

Tourne
Deer Park
Kittatinny
Lewis Morris
Stephens

The Northern trails Ringwood, Ramapo, Jungle Habitat, Waway, Allamuchy North are pretty tough even for seasoned riders. High Mountain is not as advanced, but it will still be tough.

The trails South tend to have less rocks and are good for beginners:

Six Mile Run
Allaire

You might also want to check out Stewart State Forest in NY which is somewhat beginner friendly.
 

rojasj

Active Member
welcome - and great story!!!
rookie of the year running...

What size are you? - i might make you the deal of the century. but it is a 26er.
By the way, I'm not exaggerating when I stated that some of my friends would bail on a ride because a bird pooped their car.

Then again I'm one of those guys that likes spending as much time with my wife and daughter as possible. :) So I'm usually in the saddle by 6 am and home by 9am on weekends. Then it's hang out with the family and in the late afternoon another ten or so mile ride with our daughter. My previous riding buddies would struggle to get out of bed by 11am on weekends.
 

rojasj

Active Member
I think most of the confusion of Ramapo is around the Bergen County bike ban and I believe parts of Ramapo are in Bergen County. Also some of the trails are not really fit for bikes so those kind of get labeled as hiking trails.

Anyways, riding around the lake on bikes should be fine, but if you're gonna take your daughter there, most of the other ridable trails will likely be way too advanced. You can do the lake loop but then you have to climb up the long road back to the car which is not a joke of a climb.

Some of the other easier dirt trails you can check out North of 78 are:

Tourne
Deer Park
Kittatinny
Lewis Morris
Stephens

The Northern trails Ringwood, Ramapo, Jungle Habitat, Waway, Allamuchy North are pretty tough even for seasoned riders. High Mountain is not as advanced, but it will still be tough.

The trails South tend to have less rocks and are good for beginners:

Six Mile Run
Allaire

You might also want to check out Stewart State Forest in NY which is somewhat beginner friendly.

Thanks so much for the info, you read my mind because I was just thinking about the climb back to the car as well as how hard most of the other trails are. I've peddled up the hill from the lake to the car many times and as a matter of fact Skyline Drive (both the Ringwood and Oakland side) is one of my favorite climbs on my road bike. I'll take a look at some of the trails you posted I appreciate that.
 
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