Tuesday, August 10, 2010

TA Report: Airline Trail North

Condition of Trail: Varied
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Town: Windham
Location: Airline Trail North
Trail(s) Ridden: Airline Trail North
How did you use the trail: mountain bike
Encounters and Observations: I was interested in exploring the Airline Trail North, starting from downtown Windam. The trail is called the Veteran's Greenway for the first two miles where it is paved. The trail in this location has lots of grafitti. As I rode up the trail, four teens on pocket rockets buzzed by me and turned off about 1 mile into the trail. At about the 2 mile mark, the trail crosses Rt. 66 and changes to stone dust, which was bumpy due to erosion. After 2 miles of stone dust, the trail abruptly changes to a sandpit. I rode for another mile through an average depth of 3 to 4 inches of sand and it took much effort just to maintain forward motion and not fall off. Since the trail is not maintained, I could not even find a firmer side on which to ride. I finally gave up my plan to ride to Goodwin State Forest and turned off onto the road and headed back. Until the trail is upgraded, I certainly would not attempt to bike it again. On the way home, I drove by the Airline Trail iSouth in Lebanon near the Windham border and saw grading equipment and a freshly graded trail that looked like it was waiting for stone dust as the final step.

Email: bikehikekayak123(at)sbcglobal(dot)net
Date: Aug 10th
What was the time of day: 6 p.m.
Hours: 1
Distance: 5 miles

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