Oxford Trail School: May 20

Saturday, May 20, 2017
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Rockhouse Hill Sanctuary

Join us for a day of learning how to design, build and take care of great singletrack. There will be classroom instruction about the science and theory of trail design, assessment, construction and maintenance of sustainable shared-use singletrack for human-powered recreation, followed by hands-on clinics working at Oxford’s Rockhouse Hill Sanctuary, during which we'll be teaching the use of clinometers, design and construction techniques.  Lunch is provided.

Please note that limited spaces are available – more info or to register...

The Great Give 2017

Update: thanks to all who gave.  We received 50 gifts totaling $3,804! 

From 8 AM May 2 thru 8 PM May 3, your donation can not only help us grow mountain biking in Connecticut, but help us win prizes and matching gifts.  And all contributions we receive during The Great Give 2017 will benefit Rockland Preserve and their new Rockland Bike Park project! (Read more about it…)

Winterfest 2017

Join us for a day of play in the cold on Saturday, February 11, 2017.

Led rides (weather permitting) leave at 10 AM from Millers Pond and Wadsworth Falls State Parks.

And unless it's a blizzard, potluck (bring something to share) and movie to follow at CFPA in Rockfall from 1-4 PM.

More information...

Where:

Rides (10 AM):

Millers Pond State Park
350 Foot Hills Rd
Durham, CT

Wadsworth Falls State Park
721 Wadsworth Street
Middletown, CT

Potluck and Movie (1-4 PM):

Connecticut Forest & Park Association
16 Meriden Rd
Rockfall, CT

Fall Fiesta 2016

CCT NEMBA is throwing its annual “Thank You Fest” for all its members who support NEMBA all year long.

Rides and food are all just a small part of the fun when you join us at Gay City State Park in Hebron, CT, on Sunday, September 25, 2016.  Meet up with your fellow mountain bikers who have helped keep our trails open and fun to ride.

Not a member? Well, you can join at the event and still enjoy the festivities!

Guided rides, lunch and much more!  Rides are free to the general public.  NEMBA membership required for lunch (swag raffle to follow).  $35 to join if a not-yet-member.

All donations help support mountain biking, our trails and parks in CT as well as throughout New England.

2016 Schedule:

• 8:30 AM – 11:00 AM: Registration
• 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Advanced Ride
• 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Intermediate Rides & Women’s Ride
• 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM: Beginner Ride
• 12:45 PM – 2:00 PM: Lunch

* Helmets must be worn by all riders.

Watch our video from last year's Fall Fiesta:

TRAIL BUILDING SATURDAY 7/30

We'll be finishing the trail we started at River Highlands 2 weeks ago. Meet at the park lot at 105 Field Rd Cromwell at 9:45. Wear sturdy shoes or boots, bring water and a snack, and a rake if you have one.

RIDE AT HURD PARK WEDNESDAY 7/20.

Beginner/novice no drop ride. Trails are fun flowy and relatively smooth with a lot of longer gradual climbs. Meet at 5:45 at the park lot at 1 Hurd Park Rd East Hampton for 6:00 departure.

TM Report: Litter Cleanup

Trash "highlight" from Waldo

I spent two hours yesterday morning picking up trash in the parking lot at Waldo, as well as along the fire road and the picnic area at the lake.  Took out two bagsful.  There's probably another half to full bag's worth of trash at the picnic area to be removed (I ran out of space in the bag I had with me).

Broken cooler in the bushes @ Naugy

This morning, I spent two hours at the Reservoir 4 parking lot of Naugy West Block, as well as a cursory look around the dam.  Four bags came out with me.  Highlights include what must have been a family picnic - broken Styrofoam cooler included - tossed into the prickers, copious fishing line (despite Naugatuck Valley Audubon's receptacle being a few steps away), and a pair of shoes.

Something I picked up must've been particularly nasty, because on my return home the bed of my pickup smelled like the northbound end of a southbound garbage truck.  (It's been washed out and is presently drying in the sun, what little of it we have today.)

Update 7/11/2016: Post ride @ Waldo, I took out another bagful from the picnic area at the lake.  Honestly, I could probably spend the next week there picking up cigarette butts, wrappers from drinkbox straws, and (especially) bottle caps.  (Litterers' beverage of choice: Corona.)  Looking at the beach north and south of the picnic area, it looks like there's plenty more junk to go, too.

Ride & Meeting: Wednesday 7/6

WEDNESDAY RIDE AT WADSWORTH FALLS 7/6

Meet in the main lot on Rt 157 in Middletown at 5:30. No drop ride. We'll probably keep a mellow pace because it's supposed to be beastly hot. Optional swim after.

We're having our board meeting afterwards at CFPA Headquarters 16 Meriden Rd (Rt 66) in Rockfall (Middlefield).

WEDNESDAY RIDE AT RIVER HIGHLANDS 6/29

We'll ride at River Highlands in Cromwell on 6/29. Suitable for novice and beginner riders. Social pace no drop. Meet at 6PM in the park lot at 105 Field Rd Cromwell.

TM Report: West Rock Ridge SP

Date: June 20, 2016

Report Type: TM Report

Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP

Town: Hamden

Trail Conditions: Good

Observations/Information: From January to June, I put in 27 hours worth of work at West Rock on the Red and Red-White Trails, mostly near Farm Brook Reservoir. I placed a heavy emphasis on cutting the autumn olive shrubs that line the open field, along with cutting and pulling other assorted invasives, including bittersweet vines and thorny multi-flora rose shrubs. The Red Trail that I created along Farm Brook Reservoir had parts that were quickly becoming overgrown, so I cut that back in June. The Red-White Trail from the top of the field to the gravel road portion of the Red Trail needs a good pruning back. That will be my next project. in particular, the bittersweet vines are growing along and across the trail.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at

How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking

Trails Ridden: Red and Red-White

Time of day: Morning

Time/Duration (hours): 27

Approximate Distance (Miles): 4

TM Report: Naugatuck State Forest

Date: June 27, 2016

Report Type: TM Report

Trail Name: Naugatuck State Forest

Town: Oxford

Trail Conditions: Beige Trail, blazed, but mostly not rideable

Observations/Information: I had a busy day in my final (yeah) trail project at the Naugatuck State Forest.  I blazed the trail along the west side of Reservoir 3 in Beige. Why beige? I had half a can of it from my neighbor from when he moved. On the trees, it looks like a pale yellow. You can see it in the photo of with the logs. I cleared a blowdown that was blocking the trail. I blocked off two of the three trails at the first stream crossing, and created my own approach to the second stream crossing.

I placed logs by junction with the Red-Green Trail, so people can follow the Beige trail. I did some light pruning along the sunny part of the trail. The photos of the trail are AFTER I did my light pruning. You can push through on foot, but there is lots of growth that will catch on bike handlebars. The sections that are in the woods, closer to Reservoir 4, are fine for bicycling.

I carried the pickup truck parts to the Chestnut Tree Hill Road gate for the state to remove. The state removed the truck several years ago. The parking lot at this location has been greatly enlarged, which is good news because this area needs a good sized lot. Twenty cars could probably park in this area now.

I found two wood ticks crawling around my car as I was driving home. I tossed them out onto the hot asphalt at the supermarket to cook and die. A very thorough tick check found no creepy crawlers on me.

I'll schedule a work party after the frost. While it would be tempting for someone to blast through there with a brush cutter, the reality is that there are many good native tree, shrubs, and other plants intermingled with the nasty invasives. My focus would be careful pruning of the natives and ripping out the invasives as much as possible.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at] sbcglobal[dot]net 

How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking 

Trails Ridden: Beige (West side of Reservoir 3) 

Time of day: Afternoon 

Time/Duration (hours): 4 

Approximate Distance (Miles): 1 

Image 1: Map-Naugatuck SF West w. colors.jpg 

Image 2: NSF, Beige Tr. after clearing, 6-16.JPG 

Image 3: NSF, Beige Tr. start at Red-Green Tr., 6-16.JPG 

Image 4: NSF, car parts at Chestnut Tree Hill Rd. parking, 6-16.JPG 

Image Description(s)/Instructions: The color-coded map of the Naugatuck State Forest, along with views along the Beige Trail and the car parts formerly along the trail.

RIDE ALERT

Rie this Saturday morning at Hurd Park. Social pace no drop ride. There's a new trail we'll check out. meet in the lot at 1 Hurd Park Rd East Hampton at 10 AM.

Airline Trail

Date: June 11, 2016

Report Type: TA Report

Trail Name: Airline Trail

Town: Colchester to Willimantic

Trail Conditions: Generally good

Observations/Information: I led a group ride on the Airline Trail with 8 people from the Route 2 parking lot east into Willimantic. We rode over the recently-decked bridge. The trail continues for another 1 mile past the bridge where it is paved (the rest of the trail is stone dust) and ends at a kiosk about 0.2 miles from Rt. 32. We also rode on the half-mile paved section of the Hop River Trail (its only paved section) out to Route 66. The trail is generally in good shape, although some of the gates are tight to get around and often have a sandy surface underneath. Two people joined me for a second loop west that included a loop through the Salmon River State Forest. The forest road is in good condition; last year it was a kidney buster. The section between Route 149 and River Road always seems to be a sandy mess. My GPX track, which includes a map:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1219097004

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

How did you use the trail? MT Biking

Trails Ridden: Airline Trail

Time of day: Morning

Time/Duration (hours): 5

Approximate Distance (Miles): 35

Image 1: Airline Trail start, Willimantic, 6-16.jpg 
Image 2: Airline Trail bridge over Willimantic River from trail, 6-16.JPG 
Image 3: Airline Trail bridge, view to Lebanon, 6-16.jpg Image 
Description(s)/Instructions: The Airline Trail Bridge over the Willimantic River and a view from the bridge toward the Hop River Trail.

TM Report: Naugatuck State Forest

Date: June 11, 2016

Report Type: TM Report

Trail Name: Naugatuck State Forest

Town: Naugatuck

Trail Conditions: Blazed and cleared

Observations/Information: With help from others, I spent the spring in the Naugatuck State Forest in Naugatuck, blazing and clearing the trails northeast of Spruce Brook Road. The state had partially marked these trails with metal disks, but never completed the project. I blazed to supplement and complement these disks on White, Orange, and Yellow. I did not blaze Red as the trail was well marked with disks, plus I consider the portion from Spruce Brook Road to the top of the slope to be somewhat unsafe with a 20 percent grade and poor footing over a series of steep rock faces. The Yellow Trail has been extended to connect to the powerlines and Old Highway. The Orange Trail blazes were extended to overlap the Red Trail out to the overlook. The White Trail has a switchback around a steep, rock face. Complete details with many photos and a color overlay map are available at http://westrocktrails.blogspot.com/p/naugatuck-state-forest-west-block.html. From the perspective of a mountain biker, the White Trail and the Red Trail from Spruce Brook Road up to the top of the hill are steep and not suitable for bikes, in part due to the damage they would do to these poorly designed trails. The better access for bikes would be to head up the steep, but freshly surfaced (and unblazed) woods road to the powerlines off Spruce Brook Road near the High Rock Shooting Range. Once up on the ridge, White, Orange, and Yellow are a mixture of woods road and challenging single track. Total time in this area was 30 hours from me and 50 hours from hiking friends from the New Haven Hiking Club.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at] sbcglobal [dot]net 

How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking 

Trails Ridden: White, Orange, Red, Yellow 

Time of day: Morning 

Time/Duration (hours): 30 

Approximate Distance (Miles): 4 

Image 1: Map-Naugatuck SF West w. colors.jpg 

Image 2: NSF, NSBR, Orange Tr. at Red Tr., 6-16.JPG 

Image 3: NSF, NSBR, Red Tr. Rock Face 2, 6-16.JPG 

Image 4: NSF, NSBR, powerlines, gravel road, 6-16.JPG 

Image Description(s)/Instructions: The Red Trail has a steep rock face unsuitable for bicycling. The Orange Trail is narrow single track. The powerlines are freshly graveled in some locations.

Chester "Combined Arms" Trail Day

Saturday, June 4, 2016
9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Join members of BPC, CFPA, NEMBA and LCRVHC for our 10th annual “combined arms” trail maintenance event! Projects will include; brushing, blazing, and treadway improvement. A pot-luck cook out will follow with hot dogs provided by the LCRVHC. Bring a dessert or side and stay for the raffle. Bring a friend or make a new one! Participants should come dressed appropriately for a day of work in the woods (including work gloves - NEMBA TAs are asked to wear jerseys) and may bring loppers, pruners or bow saws-all other tools will be provided. Participants should also bring along water, snacks, their favorite bug repellent and a healthy appetite!

More information...

Trails Day Ride @ Rockland

Saturday, June 4, 2016
9:00 AM-11:00 AM

As part of Connecticut Forest & Park Association’s Trails Weekend, CCT NEMBA will host a beginner level ride at of Rockland Preserve to introduce riders to the singletracks network.

This will be a mountain bike ride to introduce riders to the Singletracks of Rockland. Riders should bring a trail bike (not hybrid) and be fit enough to ride on hills and through narrow trails. The ride will visit a sample of trail features at Rockland Preserve that will be fun for multiple levels of users. All riders must wear helmets, have an appropriately tuned bike, and be comfortable riding on narrow, windy, unpaved trails.

Leader(s): Jason Engelhardt & Dave Anderson

Total Distance: 5 miles

Meeting Place:
99 Renee’s Way, Madison, CT 06443

Rain Plan & Registration Details: Rain cancels.

Pre-registration is APPRECIATED

RIDE LEADER NAME
Jason Engelhardt
860-834-1667

May Meeting Reminder

This month the chapter meets on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 7:00 at CFPA, 16 Meriden Road, Rockfall.

Pre-meeting ride will be at 5:30 at Wadsworth Falls State Park.

George C Waldo State Park

Date: 5/9/2016

Report Type: TA Report

Trail Name: George C Waldo State Park

Town: Southbury

Trail Conditions: Fine, tacky in spots

Good morning, Southbury!

Observations/Information: After a rainy week, I couldn't wait for a ride, so I took probably my longest singletrack ride since the crash in August (not saying much, I know, but to me it is).  I rode the new trail down to where it dumps out onto the fire road, then down to Hunters, up to Daffy (eastbound), out to Where's Waldo, all the way to the western terminus of Daffy, back to Hunters, down to the fire road, up to Thing3, down to the lake, then up the western end of Where's Waldo, to Daffy, to Hunters, up to Where's Waldo, eastbound back to the parking lot.  (A lot to type, but the map makes sense of it.)

Rotten Tree Leaner

Despite a week of wet weather, everything was pretty dry, except that spongy spot on Daffy near the Hunters intersection (and even that was drier than expected).  That said, it looks like someone was riding just after the rains before the trails had a chance to dry out.

Items of note: Paula (I'm assuming) has a couple of signs up near one of the trail features on T3 requesting people not open unauthorized lines.  There's also a nice little bridge on T3 where that mucky brook crossing used to be (and pin flags indicating a proposed reroute).

There's a rotten tree leaner across Daffy a bit to the west of the Hunters intersection.  Ride-underable, but I won't be surprised to see it come down in the next windstorm.

Fiddleheads

TM = removing branches here and there.  I was getting slapped in the face enough next trip in I should probably do some lopping.

No other two-legged users in evidence; just me and the squirrels.

Trail Ambassador Name: John Joy

Trail Ambassador E-mail: jmj [at] savagejoy [dot] com 

How did you use the trail? MT Biking 

Trails Ridden: Several (see narrative) 

Time of day: Morning 

Time/Duration (hours): 2 (incl. TM and photos) 

Approximate Distance (Miles): 6.7

Update 5/17/2016: ...and it's down:

Someone ramped it somewhat with pieces of the rotten tree.

Central CT NEMBA in The Great Give 2016

Update: And it’s done!  Many thanks to The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the Valley Community Foundation and our many donors for a very successful event! Details: http://cctnemba.org/great-give-2016/

Ready... Set... Give!

This year, Central Connecticut NEMBA is participating in The Great Give® 2016, the premiere online giving event for nonprofits in the Greater New Haven region. For 36 hours, starting May 3, 2016, 8 a.m. and lasting until 8 p.m. May 4th, your charitable donation will make us eligible for thousands of dollars in grant prizes when you give to us through giveGreater.org®.

Central Connecticut NEMBA will be competing for various matching prizes, including most money raised, greatest number of individual donors, and greatest number of new donors. Your donation will go a long way in helping us grow mountain biking in Connecticut.

Please tell your friends to mark their calendars for May 3-4 and give – whether out of bed, from your desk, off your couch or on the trail, just give!

Our The Great Give info: cctnemba.org/give

For more information about The Great Give: www.thegreatgive.org

For more information about giveGreater.org®: www.givegreater.org

Naugatuck State Forest

Spring color in the trees! (Reservoir 2)

Date: 5/1/2016

Report Type: TA Report

Trail Name: Naugatuck State Forest

Town: Oxford/Beacon Falls

Trail Conditions: Typical Naugy

Observations/Information: I got in a quick AM ride before the rains.

ATVs had been in, doing donuts in a few places.

Trails mostly dry, with the exception of the places always wet (e.g. under the power lines on Red).  Even the east side of Res 1 only had a couple of damp spots.

West side of Res 3 (in addition to the persistence of logging debris) is also getting prickery.  Tree down across the trail by one of the brook crossings, a bit too big for my handsaw, and the (even bigger) tree across by the turn up the hill to Res 4 is still there.

Other users: dog walker going in as I rode in, and coming out as I rode out.

West side Res 3, looking east (before the rains)

Trail Ambassador Name: John Joy

Trail Ambassador E-mail: jmj [at] savagejoy [dot] com 

How did you use the trail? MT Biking 

Trails Ridden: Reservoir Tour 

Time of day: Morning 

Time/Duration (hours): :45 

Approximate Distance (Miles): 3.7