Rockland Preserve

Date: 5/20/13
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Rockland Preserve
Town: Madison
Trail Conditions: Dry, hardpacked
Observations/Information: Rode and then did trail work. Conditions were great prior to Sunday's rain. Trails are holding up well. Tim Burton and I spent 1.5 hours reshaping a rythm section on Zip Line between the burms.
Trail Ambassador Name: Dave Okamoto

Larkin State Bridle Trail

Date: 5/19/2013
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Larkin State Bridle Trail
Town: Naugatuck/Middlebury/Oxford/Southbury
Trail Conditions: Good (mostly)
Observations/Information: Rode end to end and back (actually started/ended near midpoint @ the Riggs Street crossing). Light drizzle (hey - that's what GoreTex is for), encountered a couple joggers and dog-walkers, but no other bikes or horses (though there was plenty of, um, evidence of equestrian use). Some evidence of motorbike activity, especially at the Naugatuck end.

Trail condition is good for the most part. Just in from the Naugatuck terminus @ Route 63 there's a large mucky patch that has been repeatedly ridden through.

The segment in Oxford between the Towantic Hill Road and Longmeadow Road crossings is still closed (private property), necessitating a detour onto those two roads. (This I confirmed with DEEP.) Towantic, in particular, is steep and curvy (with horrible sightlines) and heavily traveled, so use caution.

Sandy patches in Oxford by Towantic Pond and just west of the power line crossing by the airport. Wet area just to the east of the power line crossing.

The segment in Southbury between Route 67 and Curt Smith Road was washed out by the big rains a couple years back; the trail meanders in and out of what appears to be a rocky streambed (presently dry for the most part).

Just in from the Southbury terminus @ Kettletown Road there is a blowdown across the trail that's a bit too big for my small handsaw. I did manage to cut the narrow end, but by myself (and coming off a back injury) couldn't get it dragged off trail. Will have to return with tools and/or help.

Most of the storm blowdowns have been cleared. There are a few leaners (including an ominous looking one just in from the above in Southbury).

Trimmed a branch partially obstructing the trail in Oxford.

Trail Ambassador Name: John Joy

Rockland Preserve

Date: May 16th
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Rockland Preserve
Town: North Madison
Trail Conditions: Excellent
Observations/Information: Walked in to the lower section of beyond thunderdome and repaired/finished the first of the three berms. THe existing berm wasn't finished and because of this the trail had a slightly awkward twist that begged folks to hit their brakes....

My new berm should ride, drain, and settle in well... it will certainly make this section faster, flowy and more fun.
Trail Ambassador Name: John Biehn

West Woods Preserve

  

Date: May 15, 2013
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: West Woods Preserve
Town: Guilford
Trail Conditions: Interesting
Observations/Information: I took a spin at Westwoods Wednesday afternoon. I started at the lot on Moose Hill Rd and worked my way over to Sam Hill Rd on the pink, purple, blue, red and white trails.

In that early period of spastic growth in the sport Westwoods was THE place to ride in southern CT, attracting riders from as far away as Boston and New York City. On weekends it crawled with mountain bikers, the squeal of cantilever brakes emanating from every direction. The trails are about as old school as it gets-many of them are straight, off camber, muddy in places, and in other places too steep and rocky for even the best riders. There's a lot of swamp and ledge, and many of the trails go straight through them. The word that comes to mind is "gnarly". You have to be willing to do some hike-a-bike. Many of the hills are badly eroded but the flat sections have held up well. Some of the trails are wide and have multiple lines through the rocks. The bridges are narrow, crooked, sometimes wobbly, and definitely meant for walking not riding. I spotted some tracks on the yellow trail and they looked appropriately old school- a narrow tread with a simple block pattern. The ghost of some early mountain biker who bit it at Westwoods?

Some sections of the park have a thick leaf canopy and can be dank and buggy even on sunny days, while others have been denuded by the hemlock blight allowing the sun to shine right through.

There are some pretty good trails here and it's possible to get a good ride in if you know which trails, and which sections of them, to ride. The best place to park is probably the Sam Hill Rd lot (although Dunk Rock Rd is more popular). I spotted a lot of tracks, mainly in the southeastern section near Sam Hill Rd. The gnomes have built a nice playground on the rocks near here. Trails were clear of blockages.

If you're new to the sport and want to know what it was like in the early days, you can get a good idea by riding at Westwoods.
Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

Cockaponset SF - Weber Woods section

Date: 5 & 12-May-13
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Cockaponset SF - Weber Woods section
Town: Clinton-Deep River-Killingworth-Westbrook
Trail Conditions: Dry with a few wet spots
Observations/Information: Good trail conditions. Noticed continued prima facie westernly tree cutting of bandit trails and stonewall vandalism. Some signs of past 4X4 mudder activity.
Trail Ambassador Name: Peter Finch

Upper Paugussett State Forest

These logs have been sitting here for months

Date: 5/07/2013
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Town: Newtown, CT
Trail Conditions: Bone Dry
Observations/Information: The only chance I have this weekend to do clear a blowdown on the Upper Gussy was early Tuesday morning.

While riding up the Forest Road I came across a hunter and we chatted a bit. Turns out Spring Turkey season is from April 25th to May 25th so if you are going to ride Upper P early in the morning I suggest that you wear something bright, maybe ride with a bell, and make sure your brakes don't squeak!

I started work on the blowdown and was able to get most of the small and medium stuff cleared but the big stuff is going to require a chainsaw, however, it's probably unnecessary at this point because it's clear enough to ride past.

Might make a nice skinny, skinny at some point. Did some clipping here and there along the rest of the trail.
Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie
Trail Ambassador E-mail: ctnemba@gmail.com
How did you use the trail? MT Biking
Trails Ridden: Poly Brody, Upper Gussy
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 1.5
Approximate Distance (Miles): 6

River Highlands State Park

Date: May 7, 2013
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: River Highlands State Park
Town: Cromwell
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: I took a quick spin at River Highlands Tuesday morning. It was a warm sunny morning. Birds twittered and garter snakes darted off the trail where they were sunning themselves. Not surprisingly the trails were very dry end even dusty- my legs acquired an impressive dirt tan. Someone had been in with a chainsaw recently and cleared some of the blowdowns that accumulated over the winter and that were too big for my handsaw. They left the big one at the top of yellow, however, possibly because it was too big for their saw.

There has been some gnome activity at the north end of the park. They have built a jump line along the white trail and a new singletrack as well. The singletrack appears to be simply an easy way to get back to the top of the jump line (white trail too steep?) and its not worth riding for any other reason. Not much effort or creativity went into it and it might not hold up for long. I'm going to try to find out which gnomes are responsible and encourage them not to do it and maybe get them in on my own legitimate plans for the park. The jump line was also hastily built and not very good. Built for a quick thrill is all. I've seen similar stuff at Wadsworth Falls and suspect the same gnomes might be responsible.

So the trails are all clear except for top of yellow, and well-ridden.
Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes