Trail Reports

[Norm]

Similar to the snowfall totals thread. What trails can be ridden right now?

My guess is that Mahlon and Deer Park and maybe KVSP are the best bets. Anyone have reports on any trails they rode or tried to ride?

 

[mattybfat]

As far as deer park goes yes with difficulty, anything going up may turn into hike a bike, I would suspect KVSP would be good, as one could ride around on the roads and RR tracks...

 

[RNG1]

Is ringwood ridable? It didn't get the kind of snow the south did....

 

[Glancing Aft]

Is ringwood ridable? It didn't get the kind of snow the south did....

via my parents who live up against the park they received less that 5" of snow. I'm going to guess with solar compaction and a freeze thaw cycles over the next day or so it'll be fine to ride. (atleast I'm hoping)

 

[Fogerson]

Mahlon

Just tried Mahlon; didn't work out so well...but that might just be my setup.

Snow is about 5-6 inches deep and very loose/powdery. 'Couldn't get any traction. Even the slightest grade usually resulted in a loss of forward motion. Came to a complete stop twice before I even got out of eyesight of the truck.🙁 Punted before I got to the Turtle (started at the ball field); felt like I'd done the full outer loop.

Now, the 2.4 Conti Mountain King I have on the rear is about dead. Furthermore, I was surprised to see that despite the powdery nature of the snow, the MK's packed up pretty bad...probably because I couldn't muster enough momentum to keep 'em clean. And, the SIR9 is setup as a SS so gentle power application is tough to do. Last winter I didn't do that much snow riding as it rapidly went from snow to ice, and when I did, I had it setup as a 1x9.

So, it is pretty much unrideable for me at the moment. But is it me? My setup? The conditions? A combination?

I need to fix the tire problem and retry...

 

[kush]

Now, the 2.4 Conti Mountain King I have on the rear is about dead. Furthermore, I was surprised to see that despite the powdery nature of the snow, the MK's packed up pretty bad...probably because I couldn't muster enough momentum to keep 'em clean.

If you ride the Mtn King 2.4 tubeless at about 20psi there is nothing better in the snow IMO!

 

[Fogerson]

If you ride the Mtn King 2.4 tubeless at about 20psi there is nothing better in the snow IMO!

That is what I have, but like I said, it is pretty worn down. Gotta' run some errands...hope to be able to pick up a new one and try again tomorrow.

 

[bruce.b]

I just returned from an excellent ride at the Tourne. The flat doubletrack that runs straight to Birchwood lake right up the middle of the park is 100% ridable. I rode it to the lake and back to the main road in the Tourne without a dab. I stayed in the XC ski tracks the entire time. Lots of the doubletrack is ridable. Some of the singletrack is somewhat ridable..... fun but hard. Here sometimes the best bet is to avoid the XC tracks or where it's been tramped down. The sled hill is a hoot. Really good traction going up and fast coming down. I expect the Tourne will be solid good riding from now until it gets too icy..... if it gets too icy.

>>If you ride the Mtn King 2.4 tubeless at about 20psi there is nothing better in the snow IMO!<<
20 psi? That would be way too high for me with tubes. I'm running probably 12 to 14 in EXI's on a singlespeed, rigid Karate Monkey. I find it makes a big difference. Go low in snow.

bruce b.

 

[mattybfat]

20 psi? That would be way too high for me with tubes. I'm running probably 12 to 14 in EXI's on a singlespeed, rigid Karate Monkey. I find it makes a big difference. Go low in snow.

bruce b.

Have to agree I'm 210# and at 10 psi in the snow, 20 psi is my normal rear tire on dirt...And I have witness's all over this place cause they keep reminding that my tires look low 😉

 

[xc62701]

I just returned from an excellent ride at the Tourne. The flat doubletrack that runs straight to Birchwood lake right up the middle of the park is 100% ridable. I rode it to the lake and back to the main road in the Tourne without a dab. I stayed in the XC ski tracks the entire time. Lots of the doubletrack is ridable. Some of the singletrack is somewhat ridable..... fun but hard. Here sometimes the best bet is to avoid the XC tracks or where it's been tramped down. The sled hill is a hoot. Really good traction going up and fast coming down. I expect the Tourne will be solid good riding from now until it gets too icy..... if it gets too icy.

>>If you ride the Mtn King 2.4 tubeless at about 20psi there is nothing better in the snow IMO!<<
20 psi? That would be way too high for me with tubes. I'm running probably 12 to 14 in EXI's on a singlespeed, rigid Karate Monkey. I find it makes a big difference. Go low in snow.

bruce b.

Glad it's getting better. I was there yesterday on that same trail and it was a tough slog. I guess it got just a little more packed down overnight. Good to hear!

 

[Steve Vai]

Chimney Rock...

I only lasted about 30 minutes at 2 miles an hour. It's somewhat rideable but not much fun😱

D&R Canal...

I did from Bound Brook to Landing Lane. Rideable, but tough, I averaged over 160 bpm for an hour+ at like 5 mph🙄

It was kinda exciting to lay down the first tire tracks at both spots today though😀

-Jim.

 

[bruce.b]

>>Glad it's getting better. I was there yesterday on that same trail and it was a tough slog. I guess it got just a little more packed down overnight. Good to hear!<<

It was much easier today! I was there yesterday too and didn't even make it to the lake.

bruce

 

[mtn]

I think you all need the Ktrak.

 

[BiknBen]

Mercer County Park report 12/21...

I got confused and put this in a different thread by accident.

I was just hiking at Mercer Cnty Park. I'd say there were 6-8 inches on the ground. I was walking on trails between the East Picnic area and the Peddie Boat House in hopes of making a rideable loop later in the week.

The XC skiers are out in full force to so that may help us later. Right now there is too much snow to ride.

 

[hardtale70]

Mooch North

Did 9 mi outta Tranquility gate this am. Footprints are hell, you won,t be climbing w/o studs, drifts up top are thick, but the Waterloo side is startin to compress from the sun exposure. Not for the faint of heart. I couldn't believe i was first track this many days after the storm..................

 

[montclairbobbyb]

Sourland Conditions

The good news is I think conditions are going to be excellent in a few days... The bad news... right now they suck... A little more foot traffic and some freeze/thaw action will help. I rode as far as I could (several hundred yards) before the snow swallowed me up... I pushed up to the top of the gas line, then had a nice, crazy ride down the main trail through the woods... hairy for sure, but way too much fun to not ride it.

Running my KM SS with 3.0 Duro Wildlife Leopards, at 18 PSI... could definitely have gone lower PSI... could've used gears...

BB

 

[bruce.b]

Did a 2 hour Tour de Tourne this morning. The flat doubletrack to Birchwood lake is packed hard and is fast and easy to ride. Some of the singletrack is really opening up. I rode the singletrack trail just to the west of the flat doubletrack to Birchwood and back and had to walk a short uphill section on the way to the lake and rode back without a dab. It's hard work, I'm pretty beat from a two hour tour.

bruce b.

 

[bighit]

i got 2 hours in at CR. it's wet and packs down nice. the trail is very hard to find. i had to follow the dear tracks at some points. i have some vids that i will put on my blog later. i will be going back thurs, anyone?:getsome:

 

[lou_b_83]

Just did about 1.5 hours at Deer Park. Most is ridable with the snow only getting maybe 4 inches. Up hill with foot prints sucked but all fun.😀

Side note: Don't follow the bunny print. They suck at staying on the trail.

 

[bighit]

i was amazed at how well the deer follow the trail. i got a vid up on my blog.