Updated Map for Page Hill

Jesse has updated our trail map for Page Hill to include this years work.  A few of these trails need some finish work but they can all technically be ridden now.  We are up to about 8mi of trails and you can now get a nice loop in with a decent amount of vert.

We'll be looking to rotate this into our group rides more often next year.

Another one down!

Jesse and I met up at Page Hill this morning to try and punch through on Magikal Mystery Tour before the snow flies.

I'm happy to report that we were successful and the trail is now completely roughed in.  You could technically ride it now but it needs another pass with loppers to clear out some more face whippers and a wee bit of finish work here and there.  But we'll probably save that for next season.  We reworked a bit of the back half and added a bit of mileage from the original flagging and the climb should be a bit more manageable on that side now.

I walked back on the trail in the opposite direction from when I flagged and built the first half of the trail and as much as I would have liked for this trail to be 100% two way, I think it will really only make sense to ride it in the direction I flagged and built it.  There are maybe 1-2 spots that I think are guaranteed hike-a-bike.  They are very short and will be a hoot to ride down but I'm not sure they will be workable in the current layout.  But I'm ok with that for now and I'd like to wait at least a little bit to see if anyone can prove me wrong...

You access MMT by taking a left off of Bear Claw at the first major switchback (just before the new entrance to Hydra) and then another quick left will get you on the trail in the preferred direction and you will eventually loop all the way around back to that switchback.

Page Hill Trail Day Recap

Another huge chunk of progress made at Page Hill Sunday!

We had a modest sized crew but we diversified and managed to get a lot done.  It was a little brisk first thing in the morning but the weather came around and it ended up being a perfect day for trail work.

Grant finished up leaf blowing so all trails are buff and ready for Fall riding.  Bridge materials were brought out to Hydra and the bigger of the two bridges was completed to span a wet ravine area.  We also refined some bench sections on Hydra and used the ground pounder to bed things in a bit.

bridge work begins...

bridge work complete!

Kevin and Joe P. started work on 'Magikal Mystery Tour' and made a good chunk on progress on that front.  We haven't quite punched it through but it is close and we will most likely try and sneak in another impromptu trail day in the next few weeks to finish it off before the flakes fly.

Magikal!

Trail Day at Page Hill! Sunday 11/4

We've got a head of steam, help us keep that momentum going!  

Jesse and crew recently punched through on Hydra so we can shift focus to another new trail that Kevin recently flagged, 'Magikal Mystery Tour'.  MMT starts very close to where Hydra starts, at the first main switchback on Bear Claw.  MMT is about a .5mi loop that takes in the southeast corner of the property and returns to where it started.  With a large enough crew we could probably rough the entire trail in so please come out and help!

Registration will be from 8-9am in the grass lot on Murray Hill Rd. in Hill, NH. Paste these coordinates into Google Maps for directions: 43.533398,-71.768072 or search for 'Page Hill Trails'

Parking will be on the driveway, in the grass lot and along the road (same side as parking lot only).

A map to the work area will be left at the registration area after 9am in case you are running late and you need to find us. Tools and water will be supplied. Bring snacks, work gloves and you might also want to bring your bike to ride after. We hope to see you there! 

Hydra is through!

Thanks to help from Adam, Bruce, Chris R., Chris S., Mike, and Morgan we got Hyrda punched all the way through to the access road! We'll be out there in the coming weeks to refine a few sections, scrape off a little more duff and put in a few bridges, but feel free to put some tires on it now.

We'll be holding our last official trail day of the year at Page Hill on Sunday November, 4th.

Hydra

The trail we worked on today has the working title of Hydra thanks to this massive tree we found in the middle.  We undertook this Herculean feet with the help of many hands and the introduction of the rototiller.

 Jesse uses the tiller to rough in some bench cutting sections.

Chris sports his "don't-shoot-me" orange shirt.

Here's an example of some finished bench-cutting.

There's a fairy house in this rock wall.

 The tiller made short work of these sections.

 

 Rake and ride section with some of Mike's Franklin-Falls-Flow™

The trail isn't quite through yet, but we're hoping to complete it in the next couple weeks. We'll keep you posted on upcoming trail days!

Trailfest at Bear Brook Oct 6-7

Big weekend of trail work scheduled at Bear Brook the weekend of Oct 6-7th.  The Southern NH Chapter has some new singletrack planned as well as some cleanup.

If you ride Bear Brook often head down and lend a hand!

http://www.nemba.org/nembaevents/trailfest.htm#bearbrook

Page Hill Trail Day Recap 9/16

  A smaller but efficient crew of 7 got to work today on Trail #9 (AKA Hydra) that will connect Bear Claw down to the Access Rd. and offer a nicer way to work your way back to the parking lot after having completed Spring Trail.  Once its done Page Hill will have a complete perimeter(ish) loop of around 7-8mi.

fuel for the troops

We didn't quite complete the trail today but we did get the brunt of the heavy lifting done.  A fewer longer sections of bench cutting and a stream crossing or two got roughed in.  Much of the rest of the trail will be rake and ride.

One more trail day for Page Hill is planned for this year.  We are hoping to be able to finish Hydra off and complete our loop as well as begin looking into work on Trail #12 (AKA Magikal Mystery Tour).  Always work to be done!

Ramblin Vewe!

We got a great tour of some of the new stuff going in at Ramblin Vewe Farm in Gilford last night.  Great terrain, lots of potential and already riding in nicely.  We were able to get all of it in without needing lights (barely) but our Thurs rides will probably be transitioning into 'lights required' in the very near future.

I believe a new Trail Map for the Farm is in the works once everything gets squared away.  As soon as all of that gets figured out we'll get the map up here.

Also of special note, I cleaned the Hill of Doom on my SS.  It hurt terribly and I saw stars at the top but it is possible.

Don't forget we've got our Trail Day at Page Hill this Sunday.  We're so close to having a nice big, awesome loop to ride there.  Come help us finish it off!

Trail Day at Page Hill

September 16th

Help build a NEW trail!

This new trail will start at the lowest switchback on Bear Claw and take a gentle route to the bottom of the Access Rd. It will be a nice addition that isn't a gut-busting climb.

Registration will be from 8-9am in the grass lot on Murray Hill Rd. in Hill, NH. Paste these coordinates into Google Maps for directions: 43.533398,-71.768072 or search for 'Page Hill Trails'

Parking will be on the driveway, in the grass lot and along the road (same side as parking lot only).
A map to the work area will be left at the registration area after 9am in case you are running late and you need to find us.
Tools and water will be supplied. Bring snacks, work gloves and insect repellent. You might also want to bring your bike to ride after. We hope to see you there! 

Alchemy at Page Hill

Chris R. and I kept the Thursday ride alive for this week, despite the grim forecast.


We started the ride in clear weather and rode out to west end of the Dude Abides. We stopped there to spend about an hour completing another little section of rock alchemy (transforming the unrideable into the awesome). I didn't get any pictures, so you'll have to ride out there to see it.


It started raining lightly as we stashed the tools to continued riding. The rain never got heavy and traction stayed great for the entire 3 mile, 500ft descent back to the parking lot. Although there are still a few hike-a-bike sections remaining on the west end of the Dude, the descent heading east is a blast.

Woman's Ride

The Wednesday Woman's ride has been very successful. We're seeing new faces almost every week and are having a lot of fun riding with such supportive great ladies! Since the Friday ride is always at FFD we've settled into exploring the Laconia and Gilford trails. Our last ride included trying the new single track at Ramblin Vewe Farms, which I personally think is fantastic! The Chain Line Cycles Trail Crew are already busy building another trail there which is improving this great place to ride.

Next Wednesday is 4th of July so we're opening the ride up to men for that ride since its a family day. We'll be riding 4:30 to 7:30 or so, starting on Growth Road in Gilford.

Updated Page Hill Trail Map

The Page Hill trail map has been updated to show the lower section of Spring, which was added on June 3rd. Spring trail will eventually extend all the way to the junction of The Dude Abides and Page Bypass. For now, it completes some nice loop options using the Dickinson and Clough doubletracks. For an adventure, loop through the Dude Abides. For a more tame ride, take the Page Bypass. Both loops work pretty well in either direction.

The middle of the Dude Abides still has a few hike-a-bike sections near the top, but there is some really fun stuff on either end that makes it worth slogging through the middle. Also, check back often as we transform those hike-a-bike sections into fun rock work! 

Thursday Ride at Page Hill

Great ride last night at Page Hill!

Group of 9 with some new faces (Matt and Luke) got some wheels on the new stuff just put in a few weeks ago.  Perfect riding conditions as well.  Unfortunately I gashed my front tire on some of the craggy ridge riding up on the Dude Abides.  Sealant was having a hard time doing its thing so I turned it around and starting making my way back to the cars.  Bummed to completely miss out on Spring Trail but at least everyone else got their wheels on it.

I was able to get the tire to seal just before the powerlines, hit it with some air and was able to ride out.  It held long enough for me to quickly lap Bear Claw and steal Hugh's Strava KOM.  (Sorry Hugh, had to be done).

Next week is Concord Hospital, come on out and shred while the daylight is long!

Page Hill Trail Day June 3

Spring Trail

Chris and Matt working hard!

Mike

Page Hill rock armor

Mike and Matt busting through the rock wall

Page Hill Trail Day Sunday, June 3rd!

Come help with building the new Spring trail or with some major improvements on the Dude Abides. We need to get these done so we can move on the next four exciting, new trails that have been approved for construction this year!

Registration will be from 8-9am at the base of the driveway to the cabins on Murray Hill Rd. in Hill, NH. Paste these coordinates into Google Maps for directions: 43.533398,-71.768072
Parking will be on the driveway, in the grass lot and along the road (same side as parking lot only).

A map to the work area will be left at the registration area after 9am in case you are running late and you need to find us.

Tools and water will be supplied. Bring snacks, work gloves and insect repellent. You might also want to bring your bike to ride out to the work area; it is a ways off the road and would be accessed quickest by bike.  We hope to see you there!

Mighty Chicken just got MIGHTIER

I know, I know. You are saying to yourself, how is that even possible?...those guys built it so perfectly the first time.  But there is always room for improvement and Sunday a smaller but elite crew of trail warriors got to making the runout from Mighty Chicken that much faster and more fun.

we were thinking about going with "In the name of love" but went with "Trail work in Progress" instead.

Projects for the day were digging out the hump just after the first drop, so that it is actually a bit more 'dropable' for the brave and a much smoother transition for the not so brave.

Next order of business was taking some of that dirt we removed to build a berm and another nice little launch for the brave heading into the next little drop, as well as smoothing the transition a bit heading into the final turn.

 two words. SHOW FACE.

And last but not least was a super berm in the final corner before exiting onto Beltline Rd. followed by a little table top.

 This is just the first half, it wraps around the entire turn

We had some great soil/clay to work with and we are hoping that it beds in real well and lasts for years to come.  But the most important thing it needs now is wheels!  So get out there and get on this stuff.  Let us know how it rides so we can makes tweaks if necessary.

And now that we have this modified run out I bet we can squeeze out another few seconds in the Strava KOM battle and I'm probably going to have to update my tribute video for accuracy and posterity and such.

Sunday May 6th Trail Day - Franklin Falls

Registration 8:30-9am at the Ranger Station on Federal Dam Access Rd in Franklin, NH.

Working until we run out of steam (probably around Noon or a bit after).  We have a few smaller but important projects planned.  We'll be improving the run out of Mighty Chicken with some sculpting and berm work and time permitting improving some of the switchbacks on Salmon Brook as well.

We are looking for spade shovels and some wheelbarrows.  If you have one and can transport it please bring it.  Don't forget all the other essentials like water, gloves, etc.  You guys know the drill.

We hope to see you out there!

Organized Trail Work Begins!

Our first organized trail day is this Sunday the 22nd at Ahern State Park in Laconia!  No major trail work on tap just a leaf cleanup / maintenance day.

Meeting at the parking lot on the entrance road (Ahern Park Rd.) near the two orange gates.  Check Upcoming Events for the exact Google Maps coordinates if needed.

Registration is at 8am.  Water, some type of snack, and coffee will be provided.  Bring your own rake or leaf blower if you have it.

We'll be at Franklin Falls two weeks later on Sunday May 6th.  More details on that to come soon!

Some of our Best Work is Impromptu

Nothing beats a big crew on an organized trail day but sometimes those impromptu days with a lean and mean crew can feel like you accomplish just as much.

Jesse sent out a feeler email looking for some company this weekend on some continued work on 'The Dude Abides'.  My weekend had some wiggle room and Chris and Morgan were also able to show up.  We rode out to The Dude via Bearclaw and Hardhat and cut up and over via Page Bypass (clearing some blowdowns as we went, still a few bigger ones that need additional chainsaw attention though) to the far end of The Dude.

Jesse has done some great rock and bridge work on that end of the trail and with a 4 man crew we decided to continue doing some rock work in a few spots on that side of the trail.  I missed the last trail day when a lot of the other work on this section of the trail was completed and I was impressed.  It's going to be a lot of work but we are going to be able to hang out hats on this one when its completed.  I can't wait to ride it (or try to ride it) from point A to point Z.  And let me be the first to say this trail is going to WORK you.

First section of rock work. Filling in a flow sucking divot between boulders.

Rolling a large boulder ramp on logs down slope into place.

Almost there.

There.

Still lots of little finish work to be done on a few outcropping sections to smooth lines out.  Lucky for us there is a lot of great rock to work with in the area and once were done these sections are going to not only ride great but they are going to look great too. SHOW FACE! (sorry, had to be there)

We've got some organized trail days coming up so check our calendar and come on out!  And if you ever want to get involved with some of these impromptu days at Page Hill or your 'local spot' drop us a line here and get in touch.  There is always work to be done!

Time To Ride

In case you've just emerged from a hole somewhere, the winter never amounted to much and as a result, the trails are fantastic everywhere.  Our weekly ride series is starting up in full swing this week with the intermediate (faster-y) ride on Thursday night at 5:30PM.  We'll be kicking off the season at Franklin Falls.  All the trails have been waxed and buffed and are in great shape.  Feel free to bring your best white pants, because there is zero mud.  Of course, it looks like there may be a bit of rain forecast between now and Thursday, so you might want to rethink your attire.

On Friday, the advanced beginner ride series with more of a laid back pace is already in their second week.  Since Chris first started it up earlier last year the turnout has been growing steadily and Franklin Falls is a good venue to introduce your significant other to mountain biking.

The Friday rides are on the schedule for the whole summer, but we haven't put together the full schedule of Thursday rides yet since we travel around a bit.  We'll get those posted in the next few days.

Happy riding.

Like Cruising the Coast?

Who doesn't! but why not do it for a cause.

Breathe New Hampshire
27th Annual Seacoast Bike Tour
May 19 & 20th, 2012

Join in the excitement and ride for one day or two! Folks of all cycling levels can join in the fun and raise funds to support healthy air quality and help those who are living with chronic lung conditions. Whether you are a casual rider or an experienced cyclist, there’s a scenic coastal route for you spanning from Portsmouth, NH to Ogunquit, ME!

To register as an individual or as part of a team, visit www.breathenh.org/biketour or call (800) 835-8647.

Page Hill Open for Business

We went up to Page Hill  yesterday to do some spring cleanup. We were greeted with dry trails and no major blow downs on the singletrack. Bear Claw, Hard Hat, and The Dude Abides are all cleaned up and ready to ride.

We did encounter a few large trees down across Page Bypass. We didn't have a chainsaw with us so we'll need to hike out there with one to get that job done. For now, either ride The Dude as an out-n-back to avoid the Bypass or be ready to stop and lift your bike over some trees.

Impromptu Trail Work at FFD

A small group of us took some time Saturday morning to assess the conditions at Franklin Falls, do some light Spring cleanup as well as a bit of work on Salmon Brook.

We're happy to report that the trails are in great shape for late March with most everything riding quite well already.  There are a few mushy spots here and there but they are few and far between.  Use caution in those areas please.

Most everywhere else you will find freshly leaf blown trails ready to shred.  Be on the lookout for weekly rides to start soon as weather permits.

Mud Season FYI

How about this weather?!  80's in March...weird.

Even though things have been gorgeous lately please continue to be wary of mud season and the current conditions of trails.  Things got warm fast and what little snowpack we had all melted quickly so there is still some mud out there and trails will still be trending on the soft side for a bit.

Some locations will be better than others so broad closures are probably not warranted, but your best judgement surely is.  Get in some base road miles or if you just can't wait to check a spot out there is no shame in walking some of the early soft spots, you'll thank yourself later this season.

Speaking of trail conditions our trail days have been penciled in for this season.  Come out and lend a hand this year!  (More details will be posted here and on our Events Calendar as these dates get closer)

April 22nd @ Ahern
May 6th @ Franklin Falls
June 3rd @ Page Hill
July 29th @ Franklin Falls
Sept 23rd @ Page Hill 
Nov 4th @ Page Hill 

NEMBAfest at Kingdom Trails!

I think it goes without saying.

JUNE 22-24. Mark your calendars, this one is going to be AMAZING.

http://www.mtbadventureseries.org/mtbadventure/NEMBAfest2012.htm