TA Report: Miller's Pond

Date of Activity: 8/27/10
Trail Ambassador Name: Troy William Turner
Condition of Trails(s): great
Observations: some hikers and a few other bikers arrived to the parking lot when we were leaving. Place is clean and crisp New England air.
Trail Maintenance hours: 1.75
Work accomplished: pick up trash along trails - very little :-)

TA Report: Another blow down in P-Valley

Location: Pequonnock River Valley (aka Trumbull)
Date of Activity: 8/29/10
Condition of Trails(s): Bone Dry
Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie
Duration (Hours): 2.5

Observations: There is a new blowdown on the trail that heads down to the Rusty River just past the swamp roller trail. It didn't take the trail gnomes long to turn this into a nice up and over.

TA Report: Rockland Preserve

Date of activity: August 30, 2010

Condition of trail(s): Dry with lots of leaves down
Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka
Encounters and Observations: I had the day off so I decided to try a new venue relatively close to my house and Rockland Preserve fit the bill; I found it on the list on the CT NEMBA site and chose it because it had only one lone entry- Glenn Vernes in July 2009; Glenn had a great descriptive write up that peaked my interest so I did a search on the web and boned up on the history of the parcel- the land had been used to make charcoal many moons ago by the early settlers; downloaded a pretty good map which had many points of interest and locations on it; I started from the parking lot off Renee’s Way and headed north around Coan Pond which has almost been turned into a bog (see photo)

 by a beaver dam; the trails are incredibly varied turning from a compacted processed stone footpath to lightly technical single track to washed out access roads to rabbit paths back to single track then to access roads (etc., etc.) with many lung searing climbs thrown in along the way; I took my time and stopped to check out many of the points of interest on the map, and really looked around instead of just riding with my head down; to see some of them, you need to get off your bike and take short hikes into the woods, but it’s worth it (see photo of a collier fireplace)

 headed over to other parking lot further up route 79 to see where it was, then back into the woods for more abuse; on the way back I ran into a woman and her husband with four dogs looking for her lost eyeglasses that had fallen out of her pocket; continued back to Coan Pond and arrived at my car feeling pretty spent; this place is great for anyone who thinks they have their climbs down and don’t need to work on them; it was a very different ride today and I enjoyed it.

TA report: Waldo State Park

Date of Activity: August 27, 28 , 2010
Trail Ambassador Names: Paula Burton,
Location: Waldo SF

Condition of Trail(s): Rode the trail and checked out the piece of trail in progress. Hopefully, I'll be able to open it up for business after Sept. 12, when there is a TM scheduled. It was a lovely afternoon. When I got back to my car, a bunch of guys from Class Cycles in Southbury were there to do a regularly scheduled Friday afternoon ride. I think more parking will be needed. Glad to see folks using the trail. The next day, I took another ride, and ran into Dan who is helping out with the trail. You'll be able to check out his contributions for the more technically inclined rider very soon. This late summer weather is just awesome!

TA report: Upper Gussy, Polly Brady

( Picture - Ed at the south end of the Upper Gussy)

Date of Activity: August 29, 2010
Trail Ambassador Names: Paula Burton, Ed Perton
Location: Pauguessett SF
Condition of Trail(s): Great, lots of fun! Did the section from the parking lot to Sanford Road 3 times. Trail in great shape. I braved the poison ivy to clean up garbage at the parking lot.

TM Report: Wilton Woods

Date of Activity: 8/30/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

Observations: Hiked to Yellow trail with chain saw as 2 trees (1 large, 1 small) were blocking the trail. With the logs from the large tree I made a little fun A-Frame of logs for the mountain bikers to play on.

TA Report: Bennetts Pond

Date of Activity: 8/29/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort, John Sweeney
Observations: Had a group of 6 riders and since John knows the park very well he led the ride and gave us a great tour.

TA Report - Miller's Pond

Date of Activity: 8/28/10
Trail Ambassador Name: Troy William Turner

Condition of Trails(s): good
Observations: some hikers with dogs. People fishing. A few other bikers but for the most part a quite morning. Place was clean and pure.
Trail Maintenance hours: 2
Work accomplished: cleaning up very little trash. Gave directions to another biker.

TA Report: Trout Brook

Date of Activity: 8/25/10
Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten

Condition of Trail(s): Nice!!!
Observations: A herd trail, trail braid is starting to form on the white trail, lower portion of the preserve as you head north. The location is just before the small rock garden followed by the STEEP, eroded, short and sweet uphill, this is before the intersection with I think it is the Orange to the RED/WHITE to return south. We started and returned to the Elm Street Cul de Sac.
Thank you to David Francefort and Mark Lurie and the TBV folk for their coordination regarding removal of a previously reported blowdown in the upper section of the preserve

TA Report: Bluff Point

TA Report: Bluff Point
Date of activity: August 26, 2010
Condition of trail(s): Good shape with some low wet spots
Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka

Distance (miles): 11+
Encounters and Observations: I was coming back from a business trip in MA and knew I would have time to ride so I had packed my stuff; this was my first time to the park and I had a heck of a lot of fun; I did all the gravel roads on the map before I discovered the rats nest maze of unmarked trails (not on map) between those roads; the vast network of low / medium technical trails was just a blast to ride; I spent about ten minutes on the trails, came out onto a road for a while, then caught another trail to somewhere else; there were people all over hiking, fishing, riding and kayaking; it was a perfect day near the water; the morning rain left some low lying spots wet and muddy, but overall the trails were in good shape; I planned on spending only about an hour riding, but lost track of time and am glad I did; it was good breaking out from my usual rides in Weber Woods (off my back yard) and I made a goal of riding in a new place every two weeks through the end of the year; I will be going back soon.

TA Report: Weber Woods

TA Report: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods
Date of activity: August 27, 2010
Condition of trail(s): Great with some light mud
Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka
Duration (hours): 1.5
Distance (miles): 8+

Encounters and Observations: It was a beautiful day for a ride….period; it’s great being in the woods without the brutal heat and massive volume of bugs we had a few weeks back; I looped around the green/blue/orange/red/white trails and stopped and studied three situations, one on the blue and two on the white, where there is a tree across a very fast section of the trail (see two photos). That presents fun sometimes, but other times you just want to crank right along and not deal with the toy. I’m going to request permission from the LM to cut an optional line through the logs so the integrity is not lost for those who want to play, but offers a direct line that does not hinder speed for those who do not. Since these sections of trails are not real technical, I believe many of those who utilize them will really appreciate this modification; I continued up the white to the yellow then up to the lower Quinimay trail. I think more riders are using the Quinimay because it seems to be more visible every time I hit it; my rides on this usually end at route 80 where I turn around, but I decided to venture further and crossed over and continued north for another ½ mile or so; little by little I’m going to head more and more north and make this trail a viable option for riders looking for something different in my neck of the woods; backtracked on the Quinimay to the green and then on home; this day I had the trails all to myself.

TA Report.: Huntington State Park

Date of Activity: 8/21 or 8/22/10
Trail Ambassador Names:Ed Perten, Eric Schonenberg
Condition of Trail(s): Nice!!!
Observations: Did trail maintenance work on the Rock & Roll trail, fallen tree by the lake, on the return trail to Dodington Road at the Beaver Dam, why can't those beaver make their tree fall in the right direction. I heard they are great engineers, removed a beaver cut tree blocking the trail. Good ride, my first since a injured myself on 7/28/10.

TA Report: Paugussett State Forest

Date of Activity: 8/27/2010
Trail Conditions: Very good.

Observations: The trails were drier than 2 days ago, but still lots of leaves down making it look like mid fall. Mark pointed out several areas he has in mind for new additions and/or re-routes. The Gussy will continue to become a really fun trail with these improvements in mind. Mark cut some vines that were blocking the trail. I spotted some small downed trees that are slightly interfering with the trail that I will get to next time out on the trail. Beautiful morning at 55 degrees and a bit of misty fog.

TA Report: Upper Paugussett State Forest

Date of Activity: 8/25/2010

Trail Conditions: Good. Not too wet. Rocks were slick.

Observations: The trails were surprisingly dry given the recent rain. However, anything hard like rocks or wood was slick. I lost my traction on the rocks on the re-route after the first stream crossing. I didn't go down but it caused my chain to pop off. No problem getting it back on. Came across some hikers on the Polly Brody. Two teenage boys who say they often bike on the fire road but had no idea about the Gussy. After talking with them and realizing they were nice kids and had decent bike knowledge I told them about the Gussy and how to get there. They seemed excited to check it out. The other hikers were an older couple with poles in hand. There was lots of evidence of bikers riding the Gussy backwards. Several skid marks were a dead giveaway. I cleared debris in several places. Mostly large downed branches blocking the trail. No need to use my hand saw. Took some pics but was having camera problems today.

TM Report: George C Waldo SP

Date of Activity: August 26, 2010

Summary of effort:  Worked on finishing the benching in a few spots on the trail.  I've had some questions about turns lately and how to make a trail "flow",  When working on the design, the over all difficulty of the trail needs to be taken into account, the terrain, the slope, where the last turn was ( transitions) .  

A minimum turning radius is 10 ft. To prevent cut throughs on the trail, placing the turn around an obstruction such as a large blow down, a stone wall, a large tree, boulders, etc helps. A pile of brush is not a good turn around point. It is too easily removed. Turns should be placed on relatively shallow slopes if possible, and should have grade reversals or dips before and after the turn. The treadway is outsloped except the part directly on the fall line.  If a trail is folding back on himself, the trail should be at least 30ft or more from itself if possible. 

Wider turns are faster and need better sight lines from both directions.  Sometimes,the only way to test the flow is to ride the trail, and then modify if necessary.  Turns can be used to create flow, slow down traffic, create technical challenge, make transitions from one part of the trail to another, or just to make the trail fun. 

TA Report: George C Waldo State Park

Date of Activity: August 24, 2010
Condition of Trail(s):  Met someone who was riding the trail with his family. I told him I was responsible for the trail, and he said to me," This trail changed my life!" " i'm riding my bike all the time now." "It's easy and it's hard."  Nice to hear high praise.

TA Report: Cockaponset SF (Msex Section)

Location: Cockaponset State Forest (Middlesex Section)
Date of Activity: 8/24/10
Condition of Trails(s): Damp
Trail Ambassadors: Mark Lurie, Glenn Vernes, Al Tinti
Duration (Hours): 1

Observations: Nice little pre-board meeting rip through the forest on Single Speeds, except Al.  Everyone coming to the party had a 29er so it was Big Wheel Fest at Msex last night.  Trails were damp but there was no mud.  Exposed rock, in which the trails runs over in many places, was bone dry.  Awesome features to ride.  Trails is getting a little grown-in but the edges of the shrubbery that board the trail are like hedges.  Need to run through there with an electric hedge cutter or clipper.

More pix and commentary follows

TA Report: River Highlands State Park

Date of Activity: August 16, 2010
Trail Ambassador Names: Glenn Vernes
Trail Ambassador Email: glennvernes33athotmaildotcom
Town: Cromwell
Time of Day: Evening
Duration: 1.25 hrs
Condition of Trail(s): Good, slick roots
I rode the Blow Hole Monday night. It had rained recently and, although the dirt was dry, the roots were wet and slippery, adding challenge to a place that has become routine. It was dank and extremely humid- it felt like riding and taking a shower at the same time, only the shower got you dirty.
On Tuesday the 24th I hiked in with the big saw to clear a tree that had fallen across one of the double tracks. A diversion trail was beginning to form around it and it was overdue for removal.

TM Report: Is it Fall Yet?

Location: Collis P Huntington State Park
Date of Activity: 8/23/10
Condition of Trails(s): Damp
Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie
Duration (Hours): 1.5

Observations: Certainly feels that way.  Since it didn't rain all day Monday in the Danbury Metropolitan Area so we had the Monday RAW as planned. There was a large crowd, 4 riders including myself, and we stayed in the norther section of the park. Stuff was damp but not terribly wet. Even the stream still were flowing because the ground so dry it soaked it up like a sponge. Great tempurature to be riding in, though. One of the bridges on the blue trail, over towards Hopewell Road, has a busted plank - could be from a horse.

TM Report: Wilton Woods

Date of Activity: 8/14/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort
Duration (Hours): 2
Observations: From the previous days ride I notice various braids and a cut through trail someone put in, I blocked 4 sets of braids and closed a cut through trail.  Also fixed some of the rock on Serpentine and Raptor.  Park is in excellent shape and minimal projects are left.

TA Report: WIlton Woods

Date of Activity: 8/13/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry

Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort, Ryan Tucker, Kayiera Tucker

Observations: Place is real dry, trails nicely packed and fast, unusual amount of leaves on the ground already, most likely due to the very dry summer.  Ran into a mechanical on Ryan's bike as the pedal came apart and required a trailside fix, but his shoe was not releasing from the pedal, so we think something was out of alignment or bent. 

TA Report - Miller's Pond

Date of Activity: 8/21/10
Trail Ambassador Name: Troy William Turner
Condition of Trails(s): excellent
Observations: some trash along pond
Trail Maintenance hours: 2
Work accomplished: cleaned up trash along parking lot and pond

TM Report: Pequonnock River Valley (aka Trumbull)

Saturday, August 21st, 2010 Condition of Trails: Excellent Trail Ambassador Name: Rich C, Paula, Rich S Trail Ambassador Email: mtnbikerdad[at]yahoo[dot]com Town: Trumbull Location: Pequonnock Valley State Forest Trails Ridden: Connector near north Brtidge How did you use the trail?: TM , What was the time of day? 9 AM -12 noon Duration (Hours): 3 Hours This was a posted TTC TM day - We met at the north end Whitney Road parking lot and, after chatting with a few hikers and bikers, we gathered our tools (including a wheelbarrow) and took a short walk to the North Bridge. Our project was to work on the water-runoff issues on the short connector trail that leads up to from the bridge to the White Trail on the east side of the river. We (three CTNEMBA members) were joined by TTC stalwart Robbie Kane, as well as Larry Settembrini and Steve Mcallister. Paula and Steve headed further into the Central Maze and removed a fallen tree that was noted a month or so back. It was blocking the Yellow Trail in the Slab rock area and has been overdue for removal. In the meanwhile, the rest of us got started on addressing the runoff issues just up the hill from the bridge. Diverting the Streambed - The normal runoff streambed for excess rain, located on the north side of the trail, was currently blocked with large clumps of fallen leaves and sticks, etc. This has caused the water to divert directly onto the trail and wash it out and leave it muddy. Upgrading the Trail - The trail itself was chewed up and widened from all the mud and braiding. We needed to narrow the trail and "beautify it" where needed. Diverting/Digging the Streambed - We dug out a new channel, turning the streambed away from the trail and diverting the water runoff further downhill. At Rich S's suggestion, we built up the channel bank at the turn with a solid rock wall to ensure the water wouldn't erode this turn but instead, continue and dissipate much further downhill away from the trail. Fixing the Trail - We focused on narrowing this trail and routing it away from low-lying areas where water would collect. A gentle sweeping S-curve reroute was added for a short section connecting nicely with the existing curve on the current trail. In addition to randomly scattering leaves and small brush over the excessivley-widened areas, Paula suggested we transplant plants and small trees to blend the reclaimed area with the surrounding scenery. The trail now (1) looks really nice; (2) has great flow; and (3) is isolated from the storm runoff -- a much-improved sustainable solution. Feedback - As we were working, a few bikers and hikers came through and "christened" the new trail, and once back into our cars in the parking lot another biker in the lot said our "upgrade" was a smooth fun ride and a great improvement. A nice way to end the day - unsolicited direct positive feedback from a park user!

Trumbull Trails Coalition Work TM: Saturday, August 21st; 9 AM to 12 Noon

We'll meet at the North End - Whitney Ave Parking Lot, Saturday at 9am, and work for approximately 3 hours. Bring along sturdy shoes, work gloves, bug repellent, and water.

TA Report: Paugussett State Forest

TA Report: Paugussett State Forest

Date of Activity: 8/20/2010

Trail Conditions: Good.

Observations: A beautiful fall day on the Gussy (oh wait, its still August). 55 degrees, leaf covered trails and both wild turkeys and deer running around. Really strange climate for August. I hear the lack of rain has put the trees in shock which explains all the downed leaves. No other riders out there, but lots of evidence that there are people riding the Gussy regularly. Every time out lately I see new features; a flat rock leaned against a downed tree, up-and-overs formed out of rock. It's nice to see activity on this fun trail. Some expansion in the future would be nice. I hit all the stunts this morning and its all in good shape and the trail feels nice and flowy. Next time out I think I need to bring my small saw as there are some storm damaged tree limbs affecting the trail.

TM Report: Trout Brook Valley

Date of Activity: 8/19/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry

Observations: Received word from David Brandt of TVA that the white trail had a very large tree down blocking the trail. Park at Elm Rd and hiked out with chain saw and eventually found it, really large tree, took a solid 1/2 hour of chain sawing. cleared the path good to go.

Hiked back to the car and dropped of the chain saw and got by 2 shovels and hike down the blue to a section that had a major braid. I covered the braid with ground cover and buried 2 choke stones to deter bike traffic from taking that blocked line again.

TM Report: Trout Brook Valley

Date of Activity: 8/17/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry

Observations:  Met Lisa Brodlie from TVA to do a walk through for potential projects.  We hiked up the blue and immediately saw many trail braiding issues, water erosion situations.   Hiked blue to orange to green back to blue and green back to lot.   I came up with a list of about 10 projects 2 of which are major re-routes with extensive benching.  I will be coordinating with CTNEMBA T'A's and Lisa and her staff to have a seriously large TM session as a lot of repairs are needed in the park and we only touched upon 10-15% of the total.

TA Report: Trout Brook Valley

Date of Activity: 8/18/10
Condition of Trail(s): Dry, beautiful
Observations: Had the park to myself, introducing a friend to mountain bike riding. First time back on the bike after 3 weeks re: recovering from my fall requiring 16 stitches. This hasn't been my year. A few months ago, 3 insect stings in Roosevelt Forest, Stratford; then 3 weeks ago this fall in Huntington. Oh well… Of note: Two major blow downs up top, one on the white

TA Report: Paugussett State Forest

Date of Activity: 8/17/2010

Trail Conditions: Very good. Slightly wet.

Observations: Trails were slightly wet from the last night's rain, but the Gussy drains so well that it was very rideable. No other riders out this morning, but it was a beautiful morning to be out in the forest. There was a tree down right before the newest large blow down right before the roller. The tree was about 10-12" wide and just the perfect height for a new up-and-over. So I gathered up some logs and a medium size rock and created an up-and-over. It may need some reinforcements but rides real smooth. I also cleaned up the third creek crossing by moving a couple rocks back to their originally intended positions.

TA Report: Grayville Area

Date of Activity: August 14, 2010
Trail Ambassador Names: Glenn Vernes
Condition of Trail(s): Good, dry
We rode Grayville on Saturday and, as usual, got lost in the maze on the north side of Grayville Rd. This is certainly an easy place to get lost in, given the number of trails and that fact that there is not a blaze anywhere. We met another rider, also lost, who had a map. The map turned out to be of limited usefulness. This is one of those places you just have to learn through trial and error.
There are some new dirt jumps, and an old decaying ladder bridge has been replaced.
Trails were in good condition, nice and dry. Lots of traffic on the trails- the area continues to be popular.

TA Report: Wilton Woods

Date of Activity: 8/15/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry

Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

Observations: Ran into a few lost riders on the blue looking for the black diamond trail so I gave them a tour of that trail and got them back to the lot then went and did another lap in the park

TA Report - Millers Pond

Date of Activity: 8/14/10
Trail Ambassador Name: Troy William Turner

Condition of Trails(s): awesome....dry and fast. Cool morning was great.
Observations: some people fishing. Park was clean.
Trail Maintenance hours: 1.5
Work accomplished:cleaning parking lot and trail head...not much

Trumbull-Pequonnock

Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Condition of Trails: Dry
Trail Ambassador Name: Rich C
I started a little after 10:30 AM, coming in from the Whitney Ave north entrance to the park. It was a gorgeous sunny day. Had great conversation with the lady who lives on the house right on the corner and who complained (like the mountain biker crowd has) that the state really overbuilt the now paved "road" north to Old Mine park.
Posted a TTC map on the kiosk and then prepped the area near the north bridge for next week's TM session. Also started a small knick up on the White Trail for drainage where it always fills up in the spring (best to continue that in the spring when it's wet nearby and the ground is softer...).
Rode south on the Yellow to check out the dreaded sight of last month's trail reroute - I was informed it was torn asunder,. Sure enough, the old washed out fall line was reopened. Up near the top, it was raked as wide as 12 ft. ! Are NASCAR races expected in the middle of the woods shortly? I don't get it! One step forward and two steps back - this vengeful behavior makes no sense.
Word has to go out that this is totally idiotic and self-destructive. This was a DEP-approved reroute. They are only shooting themselves in the foot.
Took a few photos (for the record) and then tossed a few logs and leaves on the reopened areas to at least readjust the sight line to fixate on the reroute instead.
For the homeward stretch, I road north on the Yellow, switching over to the White/Blue just south of the Serengeti and then the Blue down at Turtle Rock. Met a few bikers and hikers along the way.

TM Report: Bradley Park

Date of Activity: 8/14/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort, 3 volunteers
Observations: Crew headed out on Orange trail to back end of property where, Chris K and I did a trail re-route a month ago.  Our project was to bring in leaves and other natural material to cover up the old trail, about 150 feet, we found a local house that dumped leaves onto the Bradley property, so with tarps and rakes we moved 6 tarps of leave and spread onto the old trail and added some branches to blend it all in and was done pretty quickly.  We next hiked to the blue trail where it was reported that various trees were blocking the trail.  We found them pretty quickly and chain sawed them all out. On the hike back we came across another large tree down across the trail and took care of that.

TA report, West Hartford Reservoir.

Date of activity; 8/1, 8/7, 8/8, & 8/14
Trail Ambassador name; Mike Lefevre
Condition of trails; all dry.
Observations; Many observations noted as beautiful scenery encapsulated you.
Questions & comments concerning trail equestrian usage & NEMBA.
Trail Maintenance Hours; 2, Picking up after folks!

TA Report: Wilton Woods

Date of Activity: 8/14/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort
Observations: Had the place all to myself and ripped it up on the black diamond trail....

TA Report: Rocky Neck State Park

At the Four Mile River edge

Date of Activity: 8/14/2010

Trail Ambassador Name: Thomas Lamourine
Condition of Trails(s): Good, great, dry. just about perfect
Observations: Weather was perfect again today. Beach area was pretty much packed with people but much less trail traffic than I actually expected that time of day and with the great weather. (trail parking lot was full though, thank god I rode over from the house) Few hikers and Dog walkers, everyone smiled and was polite as I passed with a "good afternoon" Pretty much picture perfect ride. Did the Camp sites loop to add a few miles. Lots of happy campers there too. DEP mowed both side of all the trails where they are in the fields.

D. E. P. mowed 

TA Report: Bluff Point

View from Bluff

Date of Activity: 8/13/2010
Trail Ambassador Name: Thomas Lamourine
Condition of Trails(s): Good, great, dry. Tight
Observations: Trails are a good bit over grown, lots of briars and other prickery bushes everywhere. Wear full finger gloves if you go there before it's cleared up, My hands and legs got pretty torn up. Place was nice though. Day was down right perfect riding weather

TA Report: Upper Paugussett State Forest

Date of Activity: 8/12/2010

Trail Conditions: Very good.

Observations: Took a big 2 hour ride with CTNEMBA president Mark Lurie this morning. We did the Gussy backwards and then forwards with a monster climb on the other side of the Polly Brody fire road. The trails were still a little damp from rain the other day, but its not enough rain as many of the trees are dropping their leaves. There were sections where the trails were covered looking very much like the fall.

It was a blast doing Gussy backwards and then forwards; two very different experiences. Lots of climbing and lots of fun features much of which we captured on video and photo (Mark published the videos in a post on his blog, Cycle Snack called Early Morning Endo).

The short log ride was still a little slippery. I cleared it fine on the backwards route, but forwards my back wheel slid off again and this time I pinch flatted.

Quick mechanical break and then we were back on our way.

Not much trail work to do, but Mark cleared the horse treats on the wetspot.

That nice BMW truck was again in the lot in the same exact spot. I thought there might be a problem but Mark was quick to point out that the engine was warm. Probably a runner or hiker.

TA Report: Millers Pond - 8/09/10

Date of Activity: 8/9/10
Trail Ambassador Name: Troy William Turner
Condition of Trails(s): great...dry and awesome. great night for a ride
Observations: other bikers and people enjoying a swim at the pond. Some trash around the pond.
Trail Maintenance hours: 1.5
Work accomplished: picking up trash in parking lot and along the pond.

TA Report: Paugussett State Forest

TA Report: Upper Gussy
Date of Activity: 8/10/2010
Trail Ambassador: Rick Brodsky
Trail Conditions: Excellent.
Observations: Hot day so it was nice to be in the forest. The trails
were a little damp from the early morning rain, but not muddy at all.
Took the Polly Brody fire road up to the Upper Gussy trailhead. I made
sure to notice the new open-and-over at the log cut at the beginning
of Gussy. Its very smooth, although tall. I only rode it from the
reverse direction because I didn't have enough momentum on the intial
approach while ascending. All the other features look great on the
trail. The short log ride was a little slippery and my back wheel slid
off just before the end but I pedaled thru without falling. Some
equestrian definitely needs to clean up their mess on the wet spot.
Ridculous that they would think its alright to just leave it there.
Saw what appeared to

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.

TA Report: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods

Date of activity: August 9, 2010
Condition of trail(s): Very dry and fast
Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka

Encounters and Observations: I had a spectacular time yesterday at the MBAS ride @ Cockaponset (nice job Bryan!) and the pleasure of meeting Philip Keyes and also my land manager Alex Sokolow, not to mention many others; not wanting the fun to end, I decided to enjoy another day on the trails; it was hot and buggy as expected this time of year, and the trails were all very dry and really fast; there wasn’t any mud at all throughout all the low lying areas; I didn’t see anyone during the entire ride; I decided to loop around to the blue trail to see if my directions to the downed tree were accurate this time so the DEP’s crew could remove it; when I got there, the trail was completely cleared (see photo- thanx Alex!); I looped up the white and yellow to the green then over to the Quinimay; this trail looked like there had been much more activity since the last time I rode it two months ago and I really enjoyed it; I’m going to include this section more often in my rides and eventually take it all the way up north to its end (or beginning); came out on route 80 and shot down the north section of Tower Hill to the dirt road, then back to the west entrance to home; I needed this ride to work out the pain and kinks from my trip over the handle bars on the Intermediate route yesterday which fortunately did not get captured on film, but did get observed by those behind me.

TM Report: Mianus River Park

Date of Activity: June 5
Trail Boss Name: R Tucker, K Mistretta, D Francefort, Chris K., Rich C.; 40 volunteers

Condition of Trails(s): Several Project areas
Observations: Trail widening needs to be rehabilitated, install a hardened river access, and choke/rehab river side habitat
Trail Maintenance: 44 x 3 hours
Work accomplished: Rehabilitated, armored, choked, and narrowed the Meander Trail over roughly 500 yards. Installed deer fencing and river bank restoration area. Good mix of volunteers from Trout Unlimited, Greenwich Associates, CT NEMBA, Meet up, and the Friends of Mianus RP. Great day of work with some great refreshments and food afterwards, sorry for the delay in writing up!

TA: Report: Mianus River Park

Date of Activity: August 9
Trail Ambassador Name: R Tucker

Condition of Trails(s): Stay off river side trails.
Observations: Some snags down from the storm a couple weeks ago.
Trail Maintenance: 30 mi
Work accomplished: removed trees along cave trail before the Pine Hill rd. and cut back some growth. Also replaced rocks that were removed from a rock garden. If you're not working directly with the Friends of MRP or the Land owners, please improve your skills and not the trails.

TA Report: Wadsworth Falls and River Highlands State Parks

Date of Activity: August 6-8, 2010
Trail Ambassador Names: Paula Burton, Glenn Vernes
Trail Ambassador Email: glennvernes33athotmaildotcom
Town: Middletown
Location: Wadsworth Falls & River Highlands State Parks
Trail(s) Ridden: Yellow, red, green, blue, unmarked.
How did you use the trail? Mountain bike
What was the time of day? Afternoon
Duration (Hours): 2.0
Distance (Miles): Around 10
Condition of Trail(s): Good, dry

I rode Wadsworth Falls Friday afternoon. There was a sign by the swimming hole warning of "low water", and the trails were similarly devoid of moisture, despite some strong thunderstorms rolling through the day before. The stream that runs through the little falls was very low, and has anyone noticed it gets dark in the woods pretty early now?

Paula and I rode River Highlands Saturday night. We were the only ones there, and the trails were fine.

TA Report: Miller's Pond

Date of Activity: 8/8/10
Trail Ambassador Name: Troy William Turner
Trail Ambassador Email: troy.turner@unilever.com
Town: Durham
Location: Miller's Pond
Trail(s) Ridden: red going to dragon's back/tail and the white around the pond
How did you use the trail: biking
What was the time of day: 9am
Duration (Hours): 2.25hrs
Distance (Miles): 6
Condition of Trails(s): good
Observations: other bikers/hikers/people swimming in the pond
Trail Maintenance hours: 2.25hrs
Work accomplished: picking up trash, providing guidance to hikers on what trails to take

MBAS Volunteering

Date of Activity: 8-8-2010
Trail Ambassador Name: Bryan McFarland
Trail Ambassador Email: czimborbryan@sbcglobal.net
Town: Chester
Location: Cockaponset State Forest
Trail(s) Worked: white > no-name > Mottland > Jaricho > purple > Filley RD > red
How did you use the trail: Riding; leading the intermediate route
What was the time of day: 10am-12pm
Duration (Hours): 2 hours
Distance (Miles): 7.5 Miles
Condition of Trails(s): dry and fast
Observations: pretty good conditions; I blew a tire at 2 miles in... another rider blew a tire at 4 miles in; a missing direction of travel arrow was reported as vandalism, but the next arrow was visible anyway.
Trail Maintenance hours: 0.0
Work accomplished: pedaling, sweating and having fun

Cockaponset MBAS prep

Date of Activity: 8-7-2010
Trail Ambassador Name: Bryan McFarland
Trail Ambassador Email: czimborbryan@sbcglobal.net
Town: Chester
Location: Cockaponset State Forest
Trail(s) Worked: no-name > no-name > no-name > Quinnemay Trail > no-name
How did you use the trail: hiking while posting MBAS arrows
What was the time of day: 3-6pm
Duration (Hours): 3
Distance (Miles): 3.5
Condition of Trails(s): dry and fast
Observations: pretty good conditions
Trail Maintenance hours: 0.50
Work accomplished: removed trail debris along MBAS beginner; posted MBAS arrows.

pics - Mountain Bike Adventure Series: Cockaponset 8/8/10

WHAT A BLAST!!! Didn't get as many pictures as I originally intended but got a few...

I got there a tad after 9AM and the place was already pretty full, very good turn out!!

Went and did the beginners loop  just to get a ride in while there. The trails were unbelievably well marked with white paper blazes and an added bonus for true beginners/newbies they even put up pink caution signs at areas that might give someone that new an issue!! Big cudo's guys for such a thoughtful process! Everyone looked like they were having a good time.

 if anyone else has pictures they took please send them in and we'll add them!

We Like this DEP officer... he rides!!! 

Thanks Officer Alex Sokolow for letting us have this there!! 

Place was PACKED at 5 after 9 in the morning

Intermediate riders grouping up to leave

Two of the many people that made it all happen...

Thanks guys!!

PIZZA!!!!

Thanks to all involved with creating such a pleasant atmosphere for the rest of us!!

Mountain Bike Adventure Series: Cockaponset 8/8

Our second Mountain Bike Adventure series ride in Connecticut will be on Sunday August 8th! There will be three routes to choose from:  Advanced - 14 miles; Intermediate - 8 miles; Novice - 4 miles.  Registration: 9 to 11.  Lunch and Swag raffle included.

All proceeds will help support the trails at Cockaponset.

TM report: Waldo State Park

Date of Activity: August 6, 2010
Trail Ambassador Names: Paula Burton
Location: Waldo SP
I continued painting blazes. You can see the paint kit above. Left to right: A bucket to carry everything, a hammer to tap the lid on the paint can down when finished, a stick to stir the paint, a folding saw to clear brush that might obstruct the painted blaze, small can of paint ( easier to carry than a large one- I usually buy a large one, then pour into smaller cans), 1.5 inch brush, screwdriver to get the lid off the can ( or you can use a paint can lid opener- I seem to loose them), and a paint scraper to gently scrape the lichens and dirt off the bark. A wire brush works well too, incase there is no paint scraper available. I also removed pin flags and flagging tapes. That is usually the last thing I do, after the trail is blazed. Blaze colors ( get approval from the land manager) work best in primary colors - yellow, blue, red, and white. Most state forests and parks have 2 X 6 painted blazes. Land trusts and municipalities sometimes use

TM report: Cockaponset MBAS prep

Date of Activity: 8-6-2010
Trail Ambassador Name: Bryan McFarland
Town: Chester
Location: Cockaponset State Forest
Trail(s) Worked: white & no-name & Mottland & Jaricho & purple & no-name & Jaricho & orange no-name & Braided Trails & purple & no-name & blue-yellow & red
How did you use the trail: Riding, removing debris and posting MBAS arrows
Condition of Trails(s): dry and fast
Observations: pretty good conditions; heavy mosquitoes at north end of purple along Jaricho
Trail Maintenance hours: 1.0
Work accomplished: removed trail debris along MBAS expert and intermediate routes; posted MBAS arrows along expert and intermediate routes.

TA Report: Paugassett State Forest

TA Report: Upper Gussy
Date of Activity: 8/6/2010
Trail Ambassador: Rick Brodsky
Trail Conditions: Excellent.
Observations: 73 degrees at about 7:00. Low humidity and clear skies. The trails were dry but not too dry so the tires were gripping nicely. Took the Polly Brody fire road up to the Upper Gussy trailhead. All the fun features are in good shape. Didn't see any other riders. Saw one runner on the Polly Brody road.

TA Report: Wilton Woods

Date of Activity: 8/2/2010
Condition of Trails(s): Dry
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort
Observations: Notice a lot of small branches on the trails from the last windy rain storm, had to stop many times t clean trail. Remembered to bring a garbage bag so when I got back to the parking lot I clean all the litter up.

TA Report: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods

Date of activity: August 4, 2010
Condition of trail(s): Great shape
Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka
Town: Clinton / Westbrook
Encounters and Observations: This ride was taken as a result of sheer embarrassment; I had alerted the Land Manager from the DEP about a downed tree I ran across Saturday that needed to be removed and gave him the wrong trail and location (I rode a lot of trails that day); he sent out a crew to take care of the tree and they could not find it, and he relayed this information to me; I went out and rode all around and located it on a different trail in a totally different location, which I then conveyed back to him; bottom line- get your facts straight before asking for help; anyway, red-faced and feeling stupid, I turned it into a good afternoon by banging around various trails in search of that tree; I ran into (not literally) a young mom with child in backpack carrier on the white trail and we talked for a while about the trails and how cool it was to have beavers in the area; finished it up a bit bug bitten, but glad it turned out okay.

TA Report: Wadsworth Falls State Park

Date of Activity: July 31, 2010
Trail Ambassador Names: Glenn Vernes
Condition of Trail(s): Good, dry
A quick after work ride revealed the trails to be very dry and with no new problems. Bike tracks were everywhere, and there were a lot of hikers on the trails as well. Many appeared to be lost, but only a few asked for directions.

TA Report: Rocky Neck State Park

Date of Activity:  8/4/2010
Trail Ambassador Name: Thomas Lamourine
Condition of Trails(s)Great , Dry, Fast
Did a quick spin this morning at Rocky Neck. little bit of over grown but not bad. few downed branches here and there but most are up in the air so you just need to duck. Rode through the camp grounds to add a few miles and just to relax where it was so humid and all. Place was really packed considering it's a Wednesday. very large group of kids riding around on bikes. great to see over them sitting there texting or home on the Xbox !!

TM Report: Nassahegon State Forest

Just a FYI...I spent the last couple of days trimming back the spine area on the 69er (approx. 3 or so hours). I did random spots before the log rides and a couple random spots after the log rides. The most significant chunk of time was spent on the section that spans from the bridge crossing heading north to the switchback climb (the spine area). This section was severely overgrown to the point where you could not see more than a few feet down the trail. After this "haircut",  the trail should provide more consistent speed & flow because the line of sight has been improved tremendously. More trimming may be needed further north of the switchback...I will ride it tonight and see.

Scottie

TA Report: Nassahegon State Forest

Date of Activity: Report covers the month of July
Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Leggitt
Conditions: Good news! The tornado that hit nearby Bristol missed the Nass. No damage that we could find.
As during June, the trails have been very dry with heavy underbrush growth. TM crews continue their hard work trimming back heavy growth and repairing wind damage, downed trees and erosion problems. The popular trails are seeing incredible traffic while some of the lesser known or harder to get to trails go nearly unridden. During the month I was able to

TA Report: West Hartford Reservoir

Date of Activity: 8-1-2010
Condition of Trail: Hard & Fast
Trail Ambassador Name: Daren Casey
Encounters & Observations: Hard, Packed & FAST. What a great day to ride a
bike! The trails are almost too fast, if I'm allowed to say that. It
appears that the trails at the Rez are becoming faster because people are
going to the sides where it's less rocky and straighter instead of as many
twists and turns. I have a feeling what group(s) are causing this so they
can keep their momentum up. The trails aren't being ruined but some
sections are becoming less technical and less of a challenge.
I've heard some new trails have

TA Report: West Hartford Reservoir

Date of Activity: 7-30-2010
Condition of Trail: Hard & Fast
Trail Ambassador Name: Daren Casey
Email: daren@darencasey.com
Town: West Hartford
Location: West Hartford Reservoir
Trail(s) Ridden: Standard Outer loop up, across the 'secret trail', (not so
secret any more), down the top of the Bomber trail to the dikes and finished
on the fence line.
How did you use the trail? Mountain biking
What was the time of day? Evening
Hours: 1.5 hrs
Distance: 9 miles
Encounters & Observations: Hard, Packed & FAST. What else is there to say
besides GET OUT AND RIDE!!!

TM Report: Naugatuck Forest, Hamden

Date of Activity: July 31, 2010
Condition of Trail: Varied, fair to decent
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Encounters and Observations: I had the place to myself on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, except for the mosquitoes, which were traveling in squadrons, so be sure to wear bug repellent.
Work Performed: With permission from Lori Lindquist, park supervisor, I blazed Brooksvale Rd., which is mostly a wide fire road that starts off Cromie Rd. (the road extending from the main entrance off Downs Rd.), just past the YMCA camp. Near the end, Brooksvale Rd. takes an abrupt right turn to intersect the White blazed Brooksvale Trail at the border to Brooksvale Park. Adding to the confusion, there are actually TWO junctions of Brooksvale Road with Brooksvale Trail: the original one that parallels the stonewall, and a by-pass that cuts slightly in from that point. I painted Yellow blazes to match the color of the trail at Brooksvale Park. With the blazing of these two trails, someone can now make a loop through the forest on marked trails. Should someone choose to stray off the marked trails, they have a better orientation to their location, courtesy of the blazed trails. I did some minor brush clearing in two locations to make the trail more obvious. Thanks to Keith Coughlin, NEMBA rep to the Naugatuck Forest, for showing me the trails on July 30 and helping me sort out the different trail locations.
The state has now posted a map of this area, and it may be downloaded from
www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/stateparks/maps/naugatuckmtsanford.pdf

TA Report: Weber Woods/ Cockaponset SF

Date of Activity: 7/1/2010
Trail Ambassador Name: Thomas Lamourine
Condition of Trails(s): Good, great, buggy!!
Observations: -2nd time there. Trails are 90% 2x track and fire roads. did a outer loop. Kinda hilly!  ;) Some basic stuff but lots of erosion in areas makes for mildly technical/rocky riding. place was pretty dry but LOTS of areas you can tell would be flooded during the wet seasons. Hit a few different areas. Marking of trails could be better but the place isn't big so it's hard to get really lost.  Might have to hook up and do a TM day there, after the bug season!!

did the Iphone GPS with Everytrail app... http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=732397

TA Report Millers Pond State Park

Date of Activity: July 29-30, 2010
Trail Ambassador Names: Glenn Vernes

Condition of Trail(s): Good
On Thursday I rode the XC portion of the red trail on my singlespeed. Great ride! Keeping that big gear turning takes determination, but it's fun. Not having to think about the gear you're in allows you to concentrate on the trail- the distilled essence on mountain biking. The trail was fine, although there were some sticks down from the wind, and a new tree or two.
On Friday I hiked the back section of the red trail, past the red/white cutoff. This section doesn't get as much use as the other parts of the trail, and the tread is smoother as a result. It's good stuff, similar to the rest of the trail, with a lot of log skinnies to ride across, and some rock armored sections. I'm going to ride this section more often.

TM Report: Bradley Park

Date of Activity: 7/22/10

Condition of Trails(s): Wet, muddy

Trail Ambassador Name: Chris Keczkemethy

Observations: I came across three areas on the Orange trail that were completely blocked by blow-downs.  The one pictured below was just North of the Oak Ledge entrance and was the easiest to clear.  Using my trusty NEMBA TA hand-saw I was able to clean out all the branches and clear the trail:

Now I just need to go back and do some additional trimming so I can broadscast this pile a little more discreetly:

Note to self: get a freaking chainsaw.

We’ll be having a TM day in the coming weeks to clear out some of this debris and also cover an old section of trail that Dave and I recently re-routed.

TA Report: River Highlands State Park.

Date of Activity: July 28, 2010
Trail Ambassador Names: Glenn Vernes
Condition of Trail(s): Good
I sent an email to the DEP administrator of the park introducing myself and offering my and NEMBA's help in TM projects and the like. Hopefully I can establish a rapport that will allow us to get in there and do some work.
Afterward I went riding. The trails were fine, nice and dry. A few sticks down, which I picked up, and very little litter. I think the DEP might have come in and picked it up. No sign of any human-made blockages either. Saw a lot of bike tracks and some ATV/dirt bike tracks as well.
Total time for the email and the ride: 2.5 hours.

TM Report: Trumbull-Pequonnock

Sunday,  July 31st, 2010 Condition of Trails:  Dry  Trail Ambassador Name: Rich C Went in for a quickie TM session, mainly to blaze a couple of small sections on the yellow trail. There we a couple of unblazed spots near where the red dot trail overlaps it a bit. Weather was gorgeous but surprisingly, I saw very few riders in this part of the park. Kept south of the fire road and re-assessed a few spots on TTC's  list of to dos before heading out.

TM Report: Cockaponset

Date of Activity: 7-31-2010
Trail Ambassador Name: Bryan McFarland
Trail Ambassador Email: czimborbryan@sbcglobal.net
Town: Chester
Location: Cockaponset State Forest
Trail(s) Worked: Purple Trail, Red Trail
How did you use the trail: Riding and TM
What was the time of day: 3:30-5:45
Duration (Hours):2.25
Distance (Miles): 6 Miles
Condition of Trails(s): dry and fast
Observations: lots of briars along red trail; got cut-up pretty good.
Trail Maintenance hours: 1.0
Work accomplished: removed large tangled blow-down with an ax (lumberjack style)

TA/TM report Weber Woods/ Cockaponset

Date of activity: July 31, 2010
Condition of trail(s): Very good shape
Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka

Encounters and Observations: Beautiful day with low heat and almost no humidity…perfect for a bike ride in the woods; expected just to crank through the trails but my plans changed when I began to run across a lot of blown down branches on the green trail; I must have stopped 25 times to clear off branches of varying sizes; the bugs were not bad except when you stopped; headed around to the west parking lot and dropped off some maps in the kiosk box; took a walk around the lot and happily saw no litter; proceeded to the white/yellow trails and the muddy pass there; pretty good except for the one stretch that needs some tending to; took some length measurements across the established route for possible bridge building over the mud (about 40 feet), then noticed that ten feet to the right the trail could potentially pass over the wet stuff across a 25 foot stretch instead; I took down my pool deck earlier in the summer so I have some nice 12 foot pre-fab bridges (see photo)

 that could work out here; I hopped on the green trail

TA report: hop river trail

Dt of Activity: july 25, 2010
TA Name: Karyn Maviano
TA Email: kmaviano@gmail.com
Town: Enfield
Location: Manchester
Trail ridden: Hop River Trail
How did you use the trail: mtbiking
What time of day: Morning
Duration: approx 3 hours 9-noon
Cond. of Trail: Some puddles due to rain a few days before, some down
branches on trail, I cleared them away. Overall, a good day to bike