in Group Rides, Bike Trips, and Events

I was thinking late afternoon. Maybe 4pm?

Anyone interested in joining me? Post up if interested, otherwise, I'll just do my own thing.

Hey Rick, did you wind-up going? Was it open? If so, how was it out there? CORP still has everything listed as closed.

It was open and wasn't bad, aside from those pointy rocks all over the trail.

If the forecast holds, the trails will probably be open this weekend. Phone first.

I just called and they are closed hopefully by the weekend they said. Is it just me or have then gotten to be super conservative with those trails? Seems like they don't want anyone on them at all. Last year they would open right after it rained in the fall. I don't get this years management philosophy, didn't realize it takes a friggin week for it to dry. Oh wait it doesn't. Even the rangers at kettle don't understand what they are doing. Losing revenue for sure.

Please take this as constructive;
The managers of these facilities are only trying to protect the trails.
There is a HUGE difference between last year and this year. They can not be compared in any way. Last year we were in a drought. This year to date of the year we have never had more precipitation than this year, not even during the floods of 2008. The soil is at the saturation point. It only happens because of the continuous large rainfall we are getting. Normally at CamRock you can safely ride 12 hours after a rain. Last year you could go out an hour later and it was fine. This year so far it is prolly only really dry about 36 hours after a rain if we get good drying weather. This is not at all normal. This is more like early spring conditions and it is already the middle of summer! Crazy and I hope this ends soon and we can get back to normal conditions.
Because the ground is saturated, the rain can't soak into the ground so as soon as it falls it starts running downhill. It is also not good for the trails and a LOT of erosion is happening. The trails are going to need more repairs than normal come fall, or whenever the weather comes around.

My $0.02 only:

Kevin Swenson (new park manager) is in a difficult position. The weather has been truly awful. We were, a few weeks ago, at 2x normal rainfall. As Chuck points out, that doesn't just mean more days with rain, the saturated ground takes longer each rain event to drain out again.

Like yourself stm, I was questioning Kevin's judgement. I went out to the park to do some work after a several (rare) dry days and looked at the trail. It was still too muddy to ride without churning it up and making a mess out of my bike. The bottom line is the man is doing his job.

Nobody is happy with the riding situation this year, but ripping on the park manager isn't going to fix the problem. Not saying you are at fault for being unhappy, but I've talked with several of the people at the park office, and they immediately tell me that people are yelling at them over the phone when they tell callers that the trails are closed. I can't think of a more effective way to turn the park employees against trail riders than to abuse them for doing their jobs.

My thanks to everyone who is behaving like an adult in these trying times.

Walt

perhaps the cure to the discontent is an impromptu group ride at Bluemounds this weekend, assuming the trails are open

I'm thinking the other direction. I believe a full court press on the trail care is in need before the group ride. I'm booked up with a weekend of photo shoots but will volunteer during a weeknight next week if we can coordinate the equipment.

Tom

I'm thinking the other direction. I believe a full court press on the trail care is in need before the group ride. I'm booked up with a weekend of photo shoots but will volunteer during a weeknight next week if we can coordinate the equipment.

Tom

Hi Tom,

Thanks very much for your offer of help.

Unfortunately there are a couple of problems. One is, I don't have much weed cutting equipment. Gonna take a moment here and shamelessly plug again that I need a Stihl multi-tool with hedge trimmer. I'm a total animal with the scythe, but there's a lot of ground to cover.

Second is I have no tool storage at Blue Mound and as a result no way to hand off tools efficiently. One would think that the bike trails are a low priority for the DNR or something...

Walt

Walt,

My full court press request means FULL COURT PRESS as in all hand on deck let's get it done now. We just need to get the stuff from CR and Fitchburg and get the woods clear. I wish I wasn't booked all weekend.

Let's see if others get behind my idea.

Tom

I'm available all day Saturday.

I've got a gas string trimmer I can bring.

Walt,

My full court press request means FULL COURT PRESS as in all hand on deck let's get it done now. We just need to get the stuff from CR and Fitchburg and get the woods clear. I wish I wasn't booked all weekend.

Let's see if others get behind my idea.

Tom

Maybe a morning work/afternoon ride?  I don't doubt the trail needs trimming, but we also have not had an organized weekend social ride this season yet.

It was still too muddy to ride without churning it up and making a mess out of my bike.
Walt

This is a comical statement for a mtb rider to make.

It was still too muddy to ride without churning it up and making a mess out of my bike.
Walt

This is a comical statement for a mtb rider to make.

Not really.  If people ride in conditions where they are "churning up the trail" and splattering their bikes in mud, the trails will get severely damaged and will soon become eroded and unrideable.