Weekly MTBNJ Highlights - July 22, 2024

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I liked how it worked out last week. So I'll do it again.

I guess the Tour ended. Some dude with a big yellow helmet won...maybe? While I have not been paying any attention, you can read about it here. Someone told me this was the best TdF in years. I'll have to take their word for it.

I added an update about Round Valley here, with some follow-up posts from both Pat & myself. The park super got back to me yesterday with a message of, "Ok thanks but please stop for now." So we're starting back to ground 0 in building up this relationship. I'll be signing documents, then presumably talking to someone who runs the maintenance team there. I'm not going to pretend I'm cautiously optimistic anymore because this is the 3rd time in 4 years we are starting from scratch.

We continue to make changes & fixes at Chimney Rock. We were out there Friday fixing stuff. Today we will be out there again fixing more stuff.

Made it to Nox to see the Trolls. Good ride with a few people here. Sadly, the cow ice cream place opens at 12 and we were done just after 11. So I was not able to perform a proper taste test of the lavender ice cream.

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We did not make it to Jungle Habitat but we plan to get there this coming weekend. Look me up if you want to ride there.

I started adding content with a wiki post about Mount Peg and a subsequent Discussion Thread which is a feature of the board. Thinking Saskadena 6 next as it's in the same town.

JOY GOT HURT!

My blog is kinda back for now. I've been putting a lot of time into the trails in the back yard. I will add an update this week. The current topic of discussion of my blog will be the building of my trails. Not sure there will be much more than that until I get this version done. I expect it to be rideable this week which is a huge step. Things have come a long, long way since that post.

Carson sent this link about shit going bad in the PNW. "I may pour concrete." Pretty shitty stuff.

Discussion about Stratton last week was ok, but you should check out what Sinuosity is doing in Vermont, here and here are great IG posts.

Kingdom is having a 30th anniversary celebration. More details here.

Glenn posted about a Zwift bike here. Seems interesting but I'm not ready for indoor riding just yet.

West Virginia is looking to build 27 miles of trail in the near future. Not sure how much of a destination WV is, but it's cool to see.
 
Made it to Nox to see the Trolls. Good ride with a few people here. Sadly, the cow ice cream place opens at 12 and we were done just after 11. So I was not able to perform a proper taste test of the lavender ice cream.

ism_HsfWWJzuJ76Zdq8L7dLoFOHS7pMpS8m6FWhlBkQ-2048x1536.jpg
For folks not familiar with Nox like me, could you post information on location/trailfork link?
 
Didn’t know about the Beacon Hill drama, really sad. Rode there with Mergs when I visited Spokane and it was a really fun trail network. Sounds like they have a dangerous person on the loose, doesn’t care if he/she hurts someone.
 
August 1st is coming - Eagle trail time!
The hikers just go around the closed sign, and the eagle nest isn't there anymore......
oh, we are supposed to stop. I see.
 
For folks not familiar with Nox like me, could you post information on location/trailfork link?
Trailforks:

I've ridden there quite a bit over the years. I typically park at the Tower Road lot at the corner of Tower & Fink Roads.

Overflow lot is usually the boat-launch lot off 563 on the other side of the lake and a short ride on the 563 shoulder from there to an access to Hammer Trail at a sign kiosk (visible from the road)

Typical route we do:

Access to Cold Spot trail (fork to the right) and take that trail to Hammer Trail. Cross the rocky creek to Haycock Run trail, ride clockwise to Eastern Woods.

Eastern Woods and Jay Walk are debatable on which direction is better. My group usually ride Eastern Woods counter-CW, and Jay Walk clockwise although many do the opposite. My friend who I usually ride with there thinks this loop flows better. However, on high-traffic days we will sometimes follow the more established directions in order to encounter fewer riders head-on. YMMV.

The new trails in WV is definitely a good thing, although Marlinton is even farther south than Snowshoe, so not exactly an easy day-trip. But if one is spending a week in Snowshoe, then it might be an interesting side trip. My experience riding XC trails in WV are at Davis and Big Bear Lake. Both are fun.
 
For folks not familiar with Nox like me, could you post information on location/trailfork link?
Here's a recent Nox ride lapping all the trails if you want something to follow along. There is a flow trail (here) with berms and tables close to the lot that i looped around a few times to repeat. Its actually fun either way but i tent to go the same way. Parked at the lot Ian mentioned at Tower/Fink for centralized access.


Be advised that this place, though rocky, also seems to hold water like Chimney Rock. It needs some time to dry out after a rain otherwise there will be a ton f standing puddles and soft spots harshing your mellow and the spring is often very mushy and subject to delayed opening (It is actually closed during winter). There is a facebook group called RideNox for info but there is very little other info out there for continual status updates (unlike here were we perpetually update each other after a weather event). Despite all that, its an awesome little trail system for a quick hit or longer lapping session.
 
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Agree about Nox holding water. Especially sections of Eastern Woods. That said, it is exceptionally dry right now. We rode there on Sunday and it was about as dry as we've ever seen it.

The flow/jump trail is fun, but definitely challenging to carry speed through. Someday I'll go there and session that trail to learn it better, but at this time I can usually only clear the first few jumps. My guess is Jay built it in such a way the advanced rider can enjoy it, but a beginner would have a hard time hurting themselves, if that makes any sense.
 
The flow/jump trail is fun, but definitely challenging to carry speed through. Someday I'll go there and session that trail to learn it better, but at this time I can usually only clear the first few jumps. My guess is Jay built it in such a way the advanced rider can enjoy it, but a beginner would have a hard time hurting themselves, if that makes any sense.

We sessioned it 2x on Saturday. Best I can come up with is that it's really intended for a BMX bike.
 
We sessioned it 2x on Saturday. Best I can come up with is that it's really intended for a BMX bike.
Jay is a mtn biker, so it was definitely designed for at least 26" wheels. It seems that every few years he'll tweak the line. My friend Tom can clear most of the line on his 27.5 Trek trail bike, but it's not easy for him either and he is much better at jumps than I am. The line also seems like an exercise in looking ahead as you have to be setting up for the next part of the line while still in the previous part. Either setting up for a jump while still in a berm or hitting a jump and landing in a berm.

And if you case anything your speed is gone and you may as well stop, go back to the beginning and start again.
 
Jay is a mtn biker, so it was definitely designed for at least 26" wheels. It seems that every few years he'll tweak the line. My friend Tom can clear most of the line on his 27.5 Trek trail bike, but it's not easy for him either and he is much better at jumps than I am. The line also seems like an exercise in looking ahead as you have to be setting up for the next part of the line while still in the previous part. Either setting up for a jump while still in a berm or hitting a jump and landing in a berm.

And if you case anything your speed is gone and you may as well stop, go back to the beginning and start again.

Yeah, agreed on all that. Once you lose momentum, it's over. I also found that hitting those 2 small rock jumps on the side really screw up the flow. So I skipped them on the 2nd run and got further.

It feels like a few of the features towards the end were significantly built up since last year. Now I want to go back and ride it 12 times.
 
Jay is a mtn biker, so it was definitely designed for at least 26" wheels. It seems that every few years he'll tweak the line. My friend Tom can clear most of the line on his 27.5 Trek trail bike, but it's not easy for him either and he is much better at jumps than I am. The line also seems like an exercise in looking ahead as you have to be setting up for the next part of the line while still in the previous part. Either setting up for a jump while still in a berm or hitting a jump and landing in a berm.

And if you case anything your speed is gone and you may as well stop, go back to the beginning and start again.
Yeah, agreed on all that. Once you lose momentum, it's over. I also found that hitting those 2 small rock jumps on the side really screw up the flow. So I skipped them on the 2nd run and got further.

It feels like a few of the features towards the end were significantly built up since last year. Now I want to go back and ride it 12 times.
Definitely built for mtb's, yet you actually need to pump the pits. The middle section goes uphill ever so slightly after the left turn and it seems most if not all people loose momentum there and then pick it back up for the end couple berms/jump. From NICA practice a couple years ago, me leading my son and another kid through and then those two. As you can see, not just straight jumping it.

 
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