NJ to become a Mountain Bike Mecca

The trails at Ringwood State Park continue to get better and better.
Last year was the new trail. A section that bypassed a switchback downhill and replaced it with a winding, flowing, rolling, and exhilarating stretch of trail that highlighted how good Mountain biking in NJ can be.

Well this Year Art White and the Rembrandt's of rock have stepped up their game creating a re-route of a once hikers only trail named "Warm Puppy Rock" by Ringwood Locals.

This trail contains a number of rock features and is somewhat technical. But what Impressed me was how well they were able to utilize and integrate the natural trail lines and rock to create a unique riding experience. (Of note are a rock wall ride and downhill rock spine.)

Jeff Mergler Executive Director of the Jersey Off-Road Bicycle Association (JORBA) had this to say about this latest trail creation.
"Its truly amazing work and even the people within JORBA (me included) are patting them on the back for the scale of it. Coincidentally, NYNJTC folks have even taken notice and let Art know how nice it came out."

Video of the Trail
Link to Trail Map
*GPS Coming Soon

Stewart State Park in New Windsor NY.

About an hour from the GWB is the Stewart Buffer Zone in NY State
Stewart State Forest is a 5,600-acre State Park MUA (Multiple Use Area) surrounding the regional Stewart Airport.
Stewart is many things: The number and miles of trails make it an almost epic place to ride, The trails have something for everyone from carriage roads for families and beginner riders, Fast flowing singletrack for more experienced riders and while its not a freeride park there are some jumps and drops to keep a smile on more adventurous riders faces.


Stewart is not a great place to ride after a week of rain though it tends to take longer to dry out than other places like Ringwood State Park. The lower lying areas tend to get flooded and can be extremely muddy but when it is dry or better yet slightly damp conditions are optimal and you can really fly. Stewart has more flow the a city hydrant opened up on hot summer day. The Rock walls, banked turns, and rolling terrain just throw free speed at you.


Stewart host a number of races every year including a favorite of mine the Darkhorse 40
Always a challenge and always lots of fun this year is a 4x10 mile loop


Keep in mind that Stewart closes October to March for hunting season


Read about one Racers experience doing the Darkhorse-40 as her 1st race

GPS Maps:

Sprain Ridge Park

Sprain Ridge Park
Sprain Ridge Park in Yonkers is less than 30 minutes away from the Jersey side of the GWB (traffic permitting) The Park has some of the best riding I have experienced on the East Coast There are plenty of drops, jumps, obstacles, and skinnies. Making this a great place to practice and get your riding skills together before heading to a Freeride park like Diablo or Hunter. Most of the technical features have an alternate ride options or bypasses similar to Blue Mountain.
I have now ridden Sprain Ridge in multiple conditions from Sunny and hot to Rainy and cool. The ride is a workout and the Heat and Humidity can make it difficult so make sure you have plenty of water and food to keep you going. After a week of rain I was pleased to see that the park drains well and was not too muddy. But be careful of the wooden bridges and log hops they can be treacherously slick.
The single track begins right at the trail head and seemingly never ends although there are a few fire roads. The trails are twisty and technical but with more flow than Ringwood. While Sprain ridge offers miles of trails for free riders, it has its physical challenges as well. There are some long somewhat steep climbs and undulating trails to test the legs and lungs of even the most seasoned XC rider.
This is a great place to ride or train. There are a few sections I want to point out:
Roller/Drop right at the beginning of the trail head.
A long rock ridge with a steep roller or drop (This is about ¼ of the way into the trail (See video and GPS).
An open area that is filled with drops, step-ups, skinnies, and jumps (After the Lions Back Ridge you will go down some tight switchbacks then climb to this open area which is a good place to take a break have something to eat and mess around)
A narrow walled downhill section (see video rider coming down with dog)
Wooden Bridge drop Beginner Trail - start off in the bus parking lot. to get there you need to enter the main entrance of the park from jackson ave, go straight and through the opened gate and turn on your first right turn and park where the buses are. The trail starts at the sign opposite of the buses and is called "otter ramble" Intermediate Trail - start off in the main parking lot. to get there you need to enter the main entrance of the park from jackson ave, follow the road, bear left and make the right into the 1st open lot you see. park in one of those spots and the trail starts at the corner of the lot to the left of where you came in up a big hill/boulder combo. this trail is one of the main trails people start with called "north brother's loop". if you follow the map you can head north, then east, then south east and enjoy the terrain as it loops back, expect to spend 2-3+hrs on your first time out just to find your way around

Directions from New Jersey:
GWB to 87 North

Take Exit 6A (Stew Leonard Drive)
Continue toward Corporate Dr
Turn left at Corporate Dr
Turn right at Sprain Rd
Turn right at Jackson Ave

For additional Information: http://www.westchestergov.com/parks/Directions/Individual/SprainRidgePark.htm

Pictures:


Video from various rides at Sprain Ridge

GPS Links:

The Last Mountain Bike Ride of Winter 2009

This Sunday was the last weekend ride of winter 2009. All and all it had been a pretty mild winter. New Jersey only experienced a few snow storms none of which lived up to the hype of the weather forecasts. For most of our winter riding we headed down south to Allaire State Park and Hartshorne Woods. We did however do a couple of rides at Ringwood State Park and Some trails off the top of Skyline Drive. For this Sunday’s ride however we headed up to Peekskill NY. About 15 minutes past the Bear Mountain Bridge is Blue Mountain a mix of flowing singletrack, technical terrain, tricky climbs, and some adrenaline releasing downhills. In short Blue offers some of the best riding in the area.

There was a definite chill in the air at the start of the ride and at the last minute I decided to add an extra layer. We started our ride by going up a trail appropriately called Ned’s Left Lung. I however, needed both my lungs to get up this beast of a climb. This climb was made all the more difficult due to the dirt being especially soft and loamy. Not quite muddy, but a quality that occurs when the snow slowly melts and the dirt can absorb the moisture but doesn’t have time to dry out.
After we crested the top of the "Ned's Lung" it was time to peel off that extra layer. We rode down the fireroad a bit then turned onto the singletrack. Blue Mountain has some of the best singletrack in the tri-state. Technical trails like monster which twist and turn and go over large rock spines. Other trails like the lower stinger are fast and flowing with some short steep climbs. We did not ride “My favorite Trail” or Chewbacca today but those are also a lot of fun. The park is pretty big at 1,500-acres. Our ride was around three hours. We had two flats and a crash, that to witness was scary as hell. I watched Ian go down a cliff face kamikaze style (no brakes) he was way off the back of the bike and when he transitioned and the front end got away from him. He slammed into a tree with his left side taking most of the abuse. Ian was a trooper though and after a few minutes was back on his bike riding strong. As we rode, the day warmed up. The grey cloud cover from earlier had eventually yielded to bright spring sun.
We finished the ride by taking another go at Ned’s Lung then part of Monster finishing on the lower stinger. After the ride we had lunch at the Firehouse Pub on Welcher Ave. A decent place for a a sandwich and drink.

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GPS map from ride:

Blue Mountain

Take a Trip to the Indoor Mountain Biking Mecca

About 500 Miles away in Cleveland Ohio lies 103,000 square feet of indoor riding at Rays indoor MTB park. People come from six surrounding states to ride the indoor park that has among other things rock gardens, logs, North Shore style teeter-totters a foam pit, and of course jumps, rhythm sections, and a pump track. March host a series of Demo days from bike Manufacturers like Jamis and Giant. check out the site for full details and videos.

Where to Stay:
Holiday Inn rooms are 1/2 PRICE for Ray’s customers. Please call them directly to book your room. Tell them you are going to Ray’s and give them our code number: Code# 5MTB - Rooms are $69 per night (INCLUDES ALL TAXES). If you fly into Cleveland, they offer a free shuttle from Hopkins Airport to the Holiday Inn AND will take you TO and FROM Holiday Inn and Ray’s FREE OF CHARGE!
Holiday Inn - Cleveland Airport
(216) 252-7700
4181 W. 150th Street
Cleveland, OH 44135

Heads up, Cyclist: Rock slide closes link to boat basins

Rock and mud slides along the Henry Hudson Drive seem to have been happening more frequently the over last few years. I remember last year having to dismount and walk along the edge of the rubble above a pretty steep drop to get around the a slide that was about 15 to 20 feet long.

This years recent rock slide has a portion of Henry Hudson Drive closed for construction.
The road is closed to all vehicles, including bicycles, from Alpine Boat Basin south to Englewood Boat Basin, according to a notice posted yesterday on the Palisades Interstate Park Web site.
Authorities say they don't know how long the road will be closed. The Web posting says the closure is expected to last about two weeks.

This 7 mile stretch of road from Fort Lee to Alpine is a great place to ride for Novice to Advanced Cyclist with the 1 mile climb from the bottom of the Alpine Boat Basin to the top of the Palisades being a favorite challenge of this cyclist. (I once did this climb 8 times during a ride trying different gearing and pedal cadences) this is a truly a great place to work on your climbing ability. The scenery is beautiful and it is unfortunate that the route is closed during the time when the trees are at their peak color.

Another Ride at Ringwood on the New Trail

Last week we did another ride on the new trail at Ringwood this time after some rain. The rocks were sweaty and slippery but the Dirt was tacky and hooked up great. This trail is challenging but great fun. (You can read a previous review with GPS here) Here are some pictures from the ride and a few pics of the bridges section.
Foutunately we didn't see any Snakes but this sign was a bit alarming. If you are out in the woods you are sharing the space with wildlife Snakes and Bears have been seen in Ringwood.

Doug and Ian at the end of the Bridges Trail before a Rocky Acent

Some Pictures from the Bridges Trail. This a fun section with a lot of twisty singletrack. The dirt was great and my tires hooked up great ,There are some rock drops the 1st and 3rd are the biggest the 2nd is not too bad especially if you stay to the right of the rock.

Of course there are some wooded bridges which is how the trail got its name

Jorba Bike Festival Pictures

Wanted to get these Pictures Up Today more to come:

What are You doing September 13th

The Jersey Off-Road Bicycle Association (JORBA) presents the
1st Annual JORBA Bike Festival - A Celebration of New Jersey Mountain Biking
Saturday, September 13th, 2008 - Waterloo Village Concert Field - Stanhope, New Jersey

The goal of the "fest" is to promote responsible trail stewardship and cycling advocacy and awareness in New Jersey. The festival will feature events and activities for all ages and multiple cycling disciplines; mountain, cruiser, BMX, unicycles, you name it. All are encouraged to visit and enjoy this fun filled day, for the whole family.

If you'd like to assist for part of the day helping us run the Fest, please contact bikefest@jorba.org.

Printable Flyer right here: FLYER << -- clicky

Local boy Jeff Lenosky will be killing it. (He used to do Demos in CT at the Jack Rabbit Run Race every year. It was 1st time I ever saw Trials riding and I was floored by his show)

Guided trail rides in Allamuchy, Deer Park and Stephens State Park for all skill levels, including womens only rides and a kids ride

A massive raffle, your local Bike Shops have outdone themselves! Grand Prizes: Giant XTC hardtail, a pair of his and her's Cadillac Eldorado Cruiser bikes, plus $500 in Cycle Craft Gift Cards! Others prizes TBA.

Pro demonstration by trials legend and local NJ rider Jeff Lenosky

A guided Mountain Bike Night Ride
Trail maintenance and trail building demonstrations by a certified JORBA Trail Wookie
"Skinny" contest!

Skills clinics for all ages by Cycleworks own John Nicholson

Demo trailers from Giant, Specialized (more TBA). Ride it before you buy it!

Shop vendors with lots of great deals Subaru/Saturn "donation" dollar dogs and sodas -- all proceeds go to JORBA

Kid friendly event, including kids rides

See Pat Povilaitis aka the Human Vise, 1 show, time TBA!

Cycle craft will be throwing in $500 worth of Gift Cards as part of the massive raffle.

What to bring, what to do?
The Concert Field is huge! We invite you to bring folding chairs, tables and popup (ez-up) tents and the whole family. There's plenty of room to spread out, so make the whole day of it, bike, relax, eat, repeat.
There is no running water at the site so we recommend that you bring water for your rides. That said, there will be water for sale,

Bicycle helmets must be worn if you plan to ride your bike. Our vendors will have bike helmets on sale if you want to purchase one.

Tentative Event Schedule
This schedule is subject to some minor changes, but for the most part this is how the day will roll:
7am - 10am ----------->Pre-Festival Set Up
10am ----------------->Registration Opens: sign in, waiver, bracelet
10:30am-2:30pm ------->Advanced Mountain Bike Ride in Allamuchy State Park
10:30am-2:30pm ------->Advanced Women's Only Ride
11:00am -------------->Jeff Lenosky!!!
12:00pm-12:50pm ------>1st Skills Clinic by Cycleworks
12:15pm-2:45pm ------->1st Intermediate Mountain Bike Ride in Stephens State Park (7-10 miles)
12:15pm-1:15pm ------->1st Kids Ride on the Morris Canal Towpath (1.5 miles)
12:30pm-2:00pm ------->1st Beginners Ride in Stephens State Park (4 miles)
12:40pm-2:05pm ------->Women's Beginner Ride in Stephens State Park (4 miles)
1:00pm-1:50pm -------->2nd Skills Clinic by Cycleworks
2:00pm --------------->1st Raffle
2:00pm-2:50pm -------->3rd Skills Clinic by Cycleworks
3:00pm-5:00pm -------->2nd Intermediate Ride in Deer Park (7-10 miles)
3:00pm-4:30pm -------->2nd Beginners Mountain Bike Ride in Stephens State Park
3:00pm-4:00pm -------->2nd Kids Ride on Morris Canal Towpath (1.5 miles)
3:00pm-4:00pm --------> "Skinny" contest
4:00pm-4:50pm -------->4th Skills Clinic by Cycleworks
4:00pm --------------->Jeff Lenosky!!!
5:00pm --------------->2nd Raffle
6:30pm --------------->Night Ride

Directions to the Venue
The Bike Fest will be held at the Waterloo Concert Field 10 Kinney Road Stanhope, NJ 07874
Look at this place, its massive!

What is JORBA?
JORBA is a group of New Jersey mountain bike riders dedicated to cycling education, advocacy and conserving New Jersey’s diverse natural resources. JORBA works with land managers, park officials and other trail user groups to gain and maintain access trails all over New Jersey. We are over 500 members strong with chapters throughout the state. Please visit http://www.jorba.org/ for more info and to become a member of New Jersey’s unified voice of MTB and sustainable trails.

Miles of New MTB Trails found in New Jersey

There is a New Place to ride in New Jersey with a mix of Twisty Climbs, Sweet Flowing downhills, lots of singletrack. Where is this Mountain Biking Paradise you might ask. Well it is in a spot familiar to most Mountain Bikers in NJ. Ringwood State Park. Due to the efforts of Art and Ellen White, The RVCC, and Jorba along with Landowners the group was able to add a section of singletrack starting right in the middle of the race course switchbacks. Today was my 1st time riding these newly cut trails but I am stoked. The new trails have much in common with some of the best features from other MTB Locales. For example there are alternate routes that run along the singletrack. These Provide some drops and other technical features similar to Blue Mountain. The Single track is twisty and makes good use of the space this was reminiscent of Jungle Habitat. There are some sections with offshoots to other trails reminding me of Kittatiney, and of course there are rock gardens which is a hallmark of the Skyline, Ringwood, Waywayanda trails. I have heard that the intent is to connect these trails with the Cannonball Trail off of Skyline (Which was reworked last year) This would create a trail network that would provide riders with some epic rides of 3-5 hours. We were out for almost 3 hours connecting the new trail with the "Secret" and Sections of the Red and Blue.
Below is a GPS Listing of the Ride and Some video of Stefan Koncz

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Cunningham Park in Queens New York

Cunningham Park in Queens New York

The Cunningham Park North Woods Mountain Bike Trails: The trails here were designed for people of all abilities, from the beginner (Green) to advanced rider (Black Diamond).

Green Circle Blaze Trails These trails are relatively smooth and wide, providing a great xc biking experience for the beginner. These two loop rides also give you a good overview of the park habitat and a chance to practice some basic mountain bike skills. Several laps of these two loops make for a fun, fast warm-up for more experienced riders. The Clearview Expressway splits the park in two. The wide white-blazed trail connects the two loops, crossing a bridge over the Expressway.
The trail on the west side of the Clearview comes to a large clearing in the woods at one point, with evidence of improvised dirt jumps and other BMX features. Stay to the left to find and continue on the green trail.

Blue Blaze Trails For the intermediate rider, these loop trails offer fast, tight and twisty singletrack. Short steep sections, canterlever turns, rollercoasters (whoop de doos) and technical rock and log features make the ride interesting. City residents (others welcome) now have a place to hone their technical skills, or just get in a good workout after school or work. Even with elevation changes of no more than around 40 ft. a good fast, challenging workout awaits!

Black Diamond Trails: These trail spurs offer the advanced rider steeper and tougher terrain. Expect a ride with continuous non-stop challenges!
Note: Use caution when crossing the bridge over the Clearview Expressway. Last time we were there (beginning of July 2007), there was LOTS of broken glass and glass bottles and cans strewn about, decorating the walkway and fence.
For more information:
The mountain bike trails at Cunningham Park were developed in partnership with C.L.I.M.B (Concerned Long Island Mountain Bikers), an organization dedicated to the growth and safe enjoyment of mountain biking. They advocate environmentally sound and socially responsible trail use.

Directions:
Take I-495 (Long Island Expressway) to Exit 27S, Clearview Expressway South. Get off at first exit for 73rd Ave. Turn left (east) onto 73rd Ave. Turn left (north) onto 210th St. Trailhead is at 210th St. and 67th Ave.

Public Transportation: F train to Jamaica/179th St. Ride bike east on Hillside Ave., turn left on 188th St. (Saul Weprin St.), right on 73rd Ave., turn left onto 210th St. Trailhead is at 210th St. and 67th Ave.

Click here for a high resolution map of the park

Hartshorne Woods - Middletown NJ

Hartshorne Woods - Middletown NJ

Pretty big group today about 9 riders we had a few stops for pictures but after Thanksgiving celebrations I needed a few stops.

Hartshorne is a great place to ride with some really fun down hill sections, rollers, banked turns, and lots of things to jump. There are a few steep climbs but none are too long. You can really rip at this place. There were quite a bit of leaves on the ground which made some sections a little sketchy but if you threw out a leg you could get a great 2 wheel drift (YeeHaw)

GPS Link: Hartshorne Woods

Video:

Annual WayWayanda - Thanksgiving Day Ride

Annual WayWayanda - Thanksgiving Day Ride

What a great day for a ride last weekend we had snow today the temps got up to 60.

The warmer temps made for a great turnout I would say about 40+ riders. As Usual the rides split into different skill levels so that everyone has fun. Found a new trail today as I have on previous rides (one of the things I like so much about this ride) It was a rocky ridgeline that was made a little more difficult by the rain that we had overnight.

Our route started out on the race course going backwards (riding past the dam) then going up a climb (on the GPS you will see that we went up a bit then turned around there was a little confusion over which route we were going to take) There was plenty of climbs and rocky sections, some technical crossings made up of rock bridges and logs. Some really fun descents and a few Oh S#@* ones that got my adrenaline up. Overall a great ride.

Cant remember everyone that I rode with today on the last part of the ride but you guys are alright in my book hope we can get together again.

Thats all for now the tryptophan is starting to kick in.

Mike

GPS Link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=90387&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=4490007

Mahlon Dickerson

Location: Mahlon Dickerson
Date: 11/18/2007
We got a bit of a Surprise today - The first Snow Ride of the season. A good turnout with 8 riders The ride was made up some really technical sections around Saffon Pond with Rock Gardens, Bridges, and limited lines. There Is a Long singletrack Climb a little way past the pond that has some big rock sections and some small log jumps. There are some decent downhill sections with a few surprises.
Post Ride:Afterwards we grabbed lunch at the Thirsty Moose Thanks to everbody who showed to celebrate my Birthday

Directions: From Interstate 80
Exit for Route 15 -NORTH. Proceed on Route 15 NORTH 5 Miles to Weldon Road Exit - Take Weldon Road and travel approximately 4 miles - EAST - the Reservation is on both sides of the road.
From Interstate 287
Take exit for Interstate 80 WEST, follow until you reach exit for Route 15 NORTH - proceed as instructed above.

Website:http://www.morrisparks.org/aspparks/mahlonmain.asp

GPS Link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=90387&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=4470058

Graham Hills Park - Pleasantville NY

Graham Hills Park - Pleasantville NY
This is a great place to ride Great Climbs and and singletrack with lots of fun obstacles and jumps. Some really fast downhills, bridge crossings, a little bit of off camber in short a little bit of everything Graham Hills is about 1/2 from the GWB.

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Directions From GWB
Merge onto I-95 N/US-1 N
Take exit 1C-3 to merge onto I-87 N toward Albany
Take exit 5 to merge onto Central Park Ave toward White Plains/RT-100
Turn left to merge onto Sprain Brook Pkwy N
Continue on Taconic State Pkwy N
Take the RT-117 exit toward Pleasantville Turn right at Bedford Rd/RT-117
Continue to follow Bedford Rd
Sharp right at Locust Rd t Rd
Turn right at Central Ave and arrive at Graham Hills County Park

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Map of the Park

Some Pictures from ride with Katie

High Mountain (Wayne NJ) - Blue Trail

High Mountain - Blue Trail

This is a good somewhat unknown Local trail in Passic County right off of Valley Road the trail head is accessable off of Valley Road By Turning Right onto Point View Pkwy off Valley Road North then Make the 1st right on Chicopee Drive Follow to End Blue Trail Blaze is on the right.

The Trail is Comprised of rocky sections with some good climbs and technical rock Gardens there is also some Smooth Flowing Double and Singletrack. The main issue with this trail is that it is not ridden enough so at times you can loose the trail but there are an abundant amount of Blazes to keep you on track. This is a great Local trail and should be checked out.

I will Post another High Mountain trail Later and then join the 2 of together making this a place where you can get a quick Lunch Ride or a few hours out on the trail.

Post Ride: Preakness Mall - Startbucks, Gourmet deli, Trader Joes, Preakness Diner

GPS Link to Blue Trail

Rides for the Whole Family

Family Recreational Ride Information

Patriots path
If you enjoy recreational activities like biking, horseback riding, cross country skiing and hiking. Patriots' Path is the place to visit a gradually developing network of hiking, biking and equestrian trails and green open spaces linking several dozen Federal, state, county and municipal parks, watershed lands, historic sites and other points of interest across Morris County.Patriots' Path stretches from East Hanover which connects with the Lenape Trail in Essex County to Allamuchy Mountain State Park in Sussex County and the Village of High Bridge in Hunterdon County.

Delaware and Raritan Canal and More...
The historic towpath along the main canal from Bakers Basin Road (Trenton) to New Brunswick has a natural surface for hiking, jogging, horseback riding, and biking. From Mulberry Street to Bakers Basin Road, the trail is crushed stone. Horse trailers may be parked in some of the parking areas located along the main canal. The trail along the feeder canal is made of fine textured crushed stone and is for hiking, jogging and biking. Nor horses are permitted on the feeder canal trail. Motorized vehicles or ATV's are not permitted on trails in the park.

New Jersey - Recreational Rides
Information about Trails and Paved Roads by county in New Jersey along with other cycling related resources

Rails-to-trails wikipedia
A List of rail trails in New Jersey that are former railroad right-of-ways that have been converted to trails for public use and proposed rail trails.

Highbridge Park Mountain Bike in Manhattan

Location:Highbridge Park
Directions:From NJ take the GWB, then Exit North on the Henry Hudson. Exit on Dyckman Street, cross over Broadway and continue several blocks until you pass under the #1 train tracks. Take a right under the tracks and park on the Ft. George Hill

Park Website

http://www.nycmtb.com/

Directions: From South: Route 9A to 9 North. Exit at Welcher Avenue; turn right and follow to park entrance.
From North: Route 9 south. Exit at Welcher Avenue; turn left and follow to park entrance.
By Subway from New York City: You can take the subway to Grand Central Station, then take the train to Peekskill and the Reserve on the Metro North Railroad, you'll need a metro bike permit. (Call the Metro North Railroad 1-800-METRO-46).

General Description: Blue Mountain Reservation is a 1,600-acre park in the northwest section of Westchester County. The park isn't big but good things come in small packages. It features miles of trails for mountain biking, strolling and nature study, and offers challenging hikes to the tops of two large peaks, Mt. Spitzenberg and Blue Mountain.
The park consists of diverse habitat containing beautiful woodlands, spectacular rock outcroppings of Hudson Highlands granite, and scenic freshwater ponds and pondscapes sprinkled with geese. This region went through geologic faulting causing the Spitzenberg and the Blue Mountain to grow 700 feet above sea level. Subsquent erosion during the last ice age left distinctive rock outcroppings along the trail.

The Trails:
One of best places to ride that's located approximately 1 hour from midtown Manhattan.
The seven+ mile bike trail system at Blue Mountain Reservation is geared toward three levels of skill. Follow the color markings along the trail which best fits your riding ability: yellow for beginners, orange for intermediate and red for advanced. Official trail maps can be found at the Park website. (link provided below).
Beginners can enjoy riding along wide, gently rolling carriage roads. The more advanced riders can opt for a cardiovascular and technical challenge by climbing tough, rocky hills through dense woods. The routes travel through diverse habitat and interesting rock outcroppings can be seen along the trail.

For more information:
Blue Mountain Reservation: Welcher AvenuePeekskill, New York 10566Phone: (914) 737-2194 or (914) 242-PARKTTY: 711 (AT&T National Relay) Website: Blue Mountain Reservation

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GPS Link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=90387&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=2602703

Location: Skyline Drive - Ringwood NJ
Date: 12/31/2006
Riders: 7 (Ride Led by Peter Rodriguez)

Directions to Trail: From GWB 4 West to 208 North to 287 South to Skyline Drive Exit Trail Head at the top of Skyline Drive Parking Lot on right Hand Side (The lot at the Bottom of Skyline is not the one you want)

Trail Description: (Cannonball and yellow trail) This is a fairly technical course pretty rocky but you can find a nice line through most of the stuff. Some steep downhill sections, nice singletrack flow sections, Rock Gardens, and some good climbs (not lung busters but you know you have been working)

Rating: 3 out 5
Points off because I had to walk a few more sections that I would have liked 3 Flats in the group
Points for finding the balance between fun and oh Sh@# definetily a challeging ride.

Post Ride: Tony's Brothers Pizza

GPS Link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=1816247 (Link from Doug's Ride - 1st MTB Ride with his new toy)

Location: Stillwell Woods - Syosset, New York
Date: 12/24/2006
Riders: 5 (Chris Veros Leader)

Directions:
I-95 N Over George Washington Bridge
Continue on Cross Bronx Expy Ext
Merge onto I-295 S
Merge onto Cross Island Pkwy S via the Cross Is Pkwy exit to Eastern L I
Take the Long Is Expwy/I-495 E exit 30E to Eastern Long Is, keep following signs
Merge onto I-495 E/Long Island Expy
Merge onto RT-135 N/Seaford-Oyster Bay Expy via the RT-135 N exit 44N to Syosset
Merge onto Jericho Tpke/RT-25 E via the RT-25 E exit 14E to Woodbury
Turn left at Southwoods Rd/S Woods Rd

Description: Stillwell is not too technical but does have some tricky places. There are a few black diamond alternate routes on the back side that are fun. The climbs are short but moderately steep with a good deal of sand to they can be tough if you're not in the right gear. Stillwell links up to the Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt trail to the south. The greenbelt is an easier trail, but it's good to add a little distance onto your ride after doing a loop of Stillwell. also, check out more Long Island trails info on the C.L.I.M.B. web site. www.climbonline.org

Rating: 4 out 5 (for fast/fun Singletrack with some interesting trail features)

Post Ride: Egg Sanwiches and Coffee at the Local Bagel Shop, Corner Diner.

GPS Link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=1808328

Location:Blue Mountain (PEEKSKILL NY)

Date: 12/17/2006

Riders: 10

Directions: Get on Palisades North. Take this to the end. Watch close for left hand exits by 18, make sure you stay on the Palisades. At the end of the Palisades cross the Bear Mountain Bridge. After the bridge make a right and continue along side of the mountain with the Hudson River on your right. At the bottom follow signs for Route 9 South. Take this to Welcher Avenue exit. Make a left at the bottom of the ramp and continue straight through the next intersection. This is the entrance of Blue Mountain.

Description: Great Place to ride Lots of twisty Single Track, Rocks, Roots, and some Carriage roads. Some good Climbs and down hill sections, Lots of Technical sections with Ride arounds if you change your mind.

Rating: 4 out 5

GPS Link:http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=1760032

Location: Hartshorne Woods
Date: 12/3/2006
Riders: 10 Riders (Ride Split into A/B Group - Special Thanks to Stephan for Leading the B ride and Sharing his riding knowledge)

Description:
The trail system includes about 15-miles of well-maintained and marked double-track and some fire roads. 3 miles of paved paths closed to vehicular traffic are located in the Rocky Point Section. The trail classification system was designed with mountain bikers in mind. Green Circles are easy (mainly walking), Blue Squares are moderate multi-use trails. Black Diamonds are challenging with steep grades and obstructions.

Ride Rating: 4 out of 5+ (Bonus points for the fun factor)
Good overall riding - Great place to ride aafter a rainy week (Soil is sandy and drains well)
Medium Technical Small Logs (but quite a few) and some small drops (None over a foot or two)
Good BMX style Bermed Turns Primarilly Rolling Terain with a few Longer climbs
- Overall Course Length too short about a 9 mile loop and not enough variety

Post-Ride: Coffee and Donuts/Bagels

GPS Link to Ride:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=1704986

Lance Armstrong will ride in Leadville Trail 100:
The rumors are true: Lance Armstrong is scheduled to ride in the Leadville Trail 100's mountain bike race in August 2007. Yes, that Lance Armstrong,, the seven-time winner of the Tour de France. Leadville Trail 100 race director Ken Chlouber confirmed, after speaking with Armstrong's coach, that the race was on Armstrong's schedule.

http://www.leadvillechronicle.com/home.php?content=article&article=1910

Location: Allaire State Park
Date: 11/26/2006
Riders: 10 (Usual Suspects + a few new riders)
Description: Warm up loop is a microcosim of the trails with some twisty singletrack steep chutes some technical crossings, roots and logs then a nice climb with a few places that you have to hop up. This place is good place to work your skill especially high speed stuff (because it can be fast if you want it to be) Nothing too Technical and usually soft stuff to land on if you do stuff it
GPS Map of the ride - Sorry Some stuff we so much fun we did it over and over

Video Link from Allaire

Location: Mahlon Dickinson
Date: 11/12/2006
Riders: Mike, Doug, Dan, Andy, Carlos, Pete, Nina, Ballard
Description: Ride started out with a warmup down a long fireroad there were a few points along the way to shoot up into a short section of singletrack that dumped you backout onto the fireroad (There was a ot of that - we would find some great singletrack section but then it was over pretty quick this was on the side across from weldon pond) Lots of Climbing and some technical rock gardens and bridges after that we crossed back over to the Weldon Pond Side. After traversing a very technical section that wraps around the pond we were back on some fire road we followed this to a long singletrack climb that went to the top of the mountain (By far the best singletrack of the day)

Post-Ride: A few of us went for lunch at the Thirsty Moose for Burgers and a Beer Good place to stop (Service is a little slow)

Ride Rating: 3 out of 5
+Great sections
-Lack of connected trails breaks of the flow (This is probrably to our lack of trail knowledge at this location)

GPS Link to Ride:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=68941&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=1626668&backgroundDatasourcePk.pkValue=11