south mountain

Chimney rock, but more bench cut and faster. IMBA built a bunch of trails there and they are fantastic.
 
oh, I thought they actually came and did a demonstration there. I was part of the JORBA effort there on the top end of the park, but I think it's the blue trail that was done before I got into biking again.
 
I rode South Mountain last weekend and again today. Beautiful trails, beautiful weather and met no one but friendly dog-walkers. Considering what a densely populated area we're in, these trails are seriously under-used. Unbelievable that they're posted for no bikes. I decided I'm not going to worry about it and just unashamedly ride there. Anybody else wanna get a "Ride the Res" jersey?
 
It'd be better to leave well enough alone. Ride, fly under the radar and enjoy it. It'll never be open to bikes as long as any of us are alive...

-Jim.
 
I agree with Jim. I have attended some of the meetings with Jorba and the South Mountain Conservancy and they were more concerned about killing the deer that ate the underbrush than allowing mountain bikers to access the park. These are the same folks that fenced off large tracts of land to let the undergrowth regrow, but in the process, they bulldozed a ton of trees to get trucks in there to build the fences.

It was a valiant effort by the JORBA folks, but between that scumbag Joe D. making the call and the folks running the SoMoCon, it is a lost cause. I ride there quite often and have never had a problem. As long as there are no incidents and the park isn't overrun with bikers, there should be no issue riding there.
 
This just in.....

From West Orange Police Dept

NJ National Guard Training Exercises (May 16-17, 2015)
Please be advised that the NJ National Guard will be
conducting training exercises this weekend in the
following 3 areas in the Township.

- The wooded area behind the West Orange Armory

- South Mountain Reservation mainly in the vicinity of
May Apple Hill and Turtle Back Rock.

- Eagle Rock Reservation in the vicinity of the High Lawn
back parking lot and North Lookout.

Training will take place
Saturday May 16 from 7am to midnight
and Sunday May 17 from 6am to 5pm.

The training will consist of radio communication and land navigation.

Please do not be alarmed by their presence.
 
Nothing to see here...move along

nothing-to-see-here-o.gif
 
I suggest we pass out treats and bottled water as we ride by - anything to make friends on behalf of the mountain bike community, maybe high-fives for our boys...
 
A couple of years back I stumbled upon these guys doing training in the woods. It was a little disconcerting when I looked down and I saw a bunch of Army guys in camo hiding with guns in the woods. They waved me by and all was good, but that is something you just can't get used to.
 
I had a meeting last week with the mayor of West Orange, Rob Parisi. I asked him about the prohibition of biking in SoMo and told him I had sent some letters to the county a couple of years ago. I forwarded the letter to him and he said he would look into it. This is the reply he got from the county (sorry, not sure who at the county wrote this reply):
"As for the county’s position, we are still not allowing mountain biking in any of our reservations, South Mountain especially because of the damage caused on the trails by the bikes. South Mountain is very fragile primarily because of deer, although the tires on the trails do cause erosion problems. Since we constructed the enclosures several years ago, we have seen some improvement in the habitat, but it has not progressed enough lift the ban on mountain biking."
 
A stand on my forever stance that this effort needs to be put towards Hilltop, it would be the best first place for mountain biking in essex county. so much less opposition.
 
DSide said:
I had a meeting last week with the mayor of West Orange, Rob Parisi. I asked him about the prohibition of biking in SoMo and told him I had sent some letters to the county a couple of years ago. I forwarded the letter to him and he said he would look into it. This is the reply he got from the county (sorry, not sure who at the county wrote this reply):
"As for the county’s position, we are still not allowing mountain biking in any of our reservations, South Mountain especially because of the damage caused on the trails by the bikes. South Mountain is very fragile primarily because of deer, although the tires on the trails do cause erosion problems. Since we constructed the enclosures several years ago, we have seen some improvement in the habitat, but it has not progressed enough lift the ban on mountain biking."
Click to expand...

What a crock of shit. #fightclub
 
gtluke said:
A stand on my forever stance that this effort needs to be put towards Hilltop, it would be the best first place for mountain biking in essex county. so much less opposition.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Make Hilltop legal and turn it into example of what legal access could be. I really don't think Joe D is ever going to budge on this, maybe he never learned to ride a bike as a kid.
 
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