Hey friends! What a storm last night eh!? If you’re heading out for a ride at Hiawatha or anywhere really, PLEASE be very careful as there may be new washouts and hazards due to the extreme rain overnight. Some bridges have been affected. We haven’t been out to assess but have seen pictures and heard from others that some damage is out there. Please let us know if you find anything that should be addressed! Stay safe and have fun out there!!
Hey! Where’d the trail go?
Despite our best efforts, trail conditions can change over time. Changes can necessitate some maintenance actions like improving drainage, re-contouring the trail surface or removing fallen trees. However, there are times when the best course of action might be to put the trail in a different place. This was the situation for the southern end of Stickman Drive.
In the spring, the bottom end of Stickman descended into a seasonal pool of water and after about 10 meters, emerged out the other side. This is fabulous habitat for spring peepers and salamanders, but less so for mountain bikes.
So the club scouted the area to determine if there was a drier, less sensitive route to connect to the ski trail at the end of Stickman. A potential new alignment was flagged and mapped that avoided the areas prone to spring ponding. A proposal was presented to the landowner for the realignment and permission was granted for the work.
Clearing of the new route happened in August.
After the new section was ride-able, the old alignment needed to be made unride-able. Work happened over the weekend to naturalize the old trail. Trees, ferns and logs appeared where there had been none before!
The old alignment has been reclaimed for the frogs and salamanders, and the new alignment will develop in to perfect mountain biking habitat.
Gravel Season Closer Ride/Pub Night
It’s looking to be good weather, if a little cold, on Wednesday, Oct 2. We’ll have our closing ride of the season which will end at Outspoken Brewing.
We will meet at 6:30pm at the disused school on Avery Rd and ride out to Red Rock then back, ending at the brewery. Map: RideWithGPS. If there is interest and there looks to be time, we can do a little teaser of one of a) north from Red Rock, b) Pebble Beach trail, or c) Red Rock to Goulais River ATV trail & logging road network.
There will be a C group option to ride as far as the windmills, which will include all the gravel but cut out some of the pavement and much of the climbing.
Bring lights and means to purchase celebratory beer. We’re expecting a dry night and mild winds, but single-digit temperatures, so dress warm.
End of Season Gravel Ride Postponed
I know it’s not like me at all to postpone a ride due to weather, but I want to do the traditional end-of-season gravel ride (Red Rock and back ending at Outspoken) and feel like we’ll get more of a crowd out for it if we pick a day without lots of rain, so we won’t be holding it on Sep 25.
Stay tuned. Our end of season celebration may not be on a Wednesday as we chase a good day in among the days of slowly worsening weather. I’ll try to get the word out at least a couple days before the ride.
No gravel ride Sep 18
I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to host this Wednesday’s gravel ride as I have a whole bunch of bike wrenching to do before this weekend and no other time to do it. Regular gravel rides will resume Sep 25 and I have a special treat for you all. The roads we’ll ride that night, you won’t find on the map!