TRTP Trail Conditions

[echiv91]

As I was riding early this afternoon I was stopped briefly at the top of the hill right after coming back from under the bridge. Someone in their early to late 40's came riding in from the crystal lake subdivision on a red Honda three wheeler. I flagged him down and attempted to explain to him that the park was for mountain biking and that ATV's were not permitted. He tried to tell me something about the 465 bridge being public land and that since he lived in the neighboring subdivision he could ride there.  He also said that he wasn't riding on the trail, but only in the woods by it so he wasn't causing any damage.  I eventually gave up and let him go as he didn't seem to care that much that some 17 year old was telling him that he wasn't supposed to be there. I am correct that ATV's shouldn't be there no matter what though, right?

[Paul_Arlinghaus]

The land south of 465 is owned by the Central Indiana Land Trust and is an Indy Park through a recreational easement.  Neither Indy Parks or CILTI allow motorized recreation.  I stopped by tonight and didn't see any signs of significant 3 wheeler activity. 

Please feel free to stop any motorized traffic.  There are cases of legit use.  Indy Parks, HMBA, Cilti, or the sign companies may at times take vehicles back there for work.  In now case should you see anyone tearing it up over there.

Those who are legit have should have no issue with you stopping and asking them who they are.

I am suprized that a working 3 wheelers still exist.  No one with legit reasons for being there would be on a 3 wheeler.

Typically anyone trying to ride over there gets tired of getting stopped and doesn't come back.  If they are riding aggressively, they are putting park users at risk, and you should call 911.  If you post on the forum, PM, or email me while it is happening, I have contacts at CILTI, Indy Parks, and the Crystal Lake subdivision and find someone to go out and deal with them.

Thanks for trying to talk to them and letting us know to be on the look out.

Paul

[jasonhilt]

Did some work today....Rebuilt one jump, added some berm to the corner on the new section at the big tree and added in a new jump/drop.  It's between the levee drop and the wood framed jump.  Pics below.  A little hard to see in the pics, but it's about 2 feet tall.

[Paul_Arlinghaus]

It is very important that everyone respects the trail closed sign.  Even if the gate is open or the conditions light is blue, "trail closed", means that the trail is closed to all trail users. 

If Hmba members know the trail is closed, and see the gate open, please email me.  We are currently having trouble with  the gate being opened while the trails ate closed.

When I find vehicles in the parking lot , I have to wait for them to come out before locking the gate.  I will start contacting park rangers to give tickets.  I also know all the places people like to park and sneak in when the gate is closes.  I will definitely calling the rangers to ticket anf tow these vehicles.

As a result of the increased effort to deter use when the park is closed, Hmba trail workers need to coordinate with me prior to going out for trail work.

[Dave Tozer]

Without an eyewitness all we can say is "red" means don't ride.  The humidity is 100% and the wind is practically nonexistent. That means no moisture will be evaporating. I'd be surprised if it were OK to ride today.

There are several folks that ride during the day, so we may here from them. If you go out to scope things out, remember that if you are leaving tracks on the trail or you see standing water anywhere, stop riding and report back that the trail isn't ready.

I was thinking about walking Town Run with a trail tool after work and see if anything is holding water. But then again, I have one car that needs a power steering pump transplant and another that is telling me it wants an oil and filter change.  I am leaning towards car maintenance since tomorrow is likely a better day to see if things are drying out.

Did the rain hurt the trail today? Monday is my only riding day right now.

[Zinjanthropus]

As silly as it sounds, and based on observing other trails firsthand, has there been any thought or maybe even attempts in the past to clear dry leaves from the trail with a blower? I don't know the true ecological impact, and obviously it may be a short-lived win against the blanket of danger-concealing leaves, but it would be interesting to see how long it would last.

Don't get me wrong, I welcome the challenge of remembering where each pointy flat-magnet broken root is hiding beneath them, and wet and slick is part of the "fun" of the sport, but for the sake of new riders, runners, even hikers and their safety it has merit if only short-lived. Weighing the time vs. return I'd say it falls in the L column but looking to know if it was done previously and how badly the battle may have gone.


~Yet another Dave

[Paul_Arlinghaus]

Leaf blowing is a long debated topic, there is no clear answer and the best tactic is likey different for each trail.

There are 2 issues to cover.  One is user experience and the other is trail maintenance. 

User experience is a mixed bag. So users like to see the changes to the the trail as the seasons change.  Others don't like the added challenge of leaves on the trail. 

The other thing to consider is the impact of leaves on winter trail riding.  Having leaves covering the trail insullates the ground and can delay onset of freeze/thaw conditions early in the winter. In late winter and early spring the leaves can slow down the thaw drying of the trails, and if they start to decompose, can mix into the dirt and create a thin slick layer of dirt.

I doubt that we could keep up with blowing the leaves off the trails this time of the year.  And the Fall is a great time of the year to build trails.  I would rather put our resources on building new trails that blowing leaves.  Once the leaves are down, some trails do get leaf blown.  Others don't.  It is up to the local trail leaders.

At Town Run, we typically get so many riders on the trail that the leaves get knocked off of the trail or packed down, such that they are not an issue.  So, I do not see us blowing the leaves off of the trail.

If you are interested in blowing leaves on a trail, please contact the Trail Stewards first.  Some will welcome the effort, and others would be quite pissed off if you blow the leaves off of their trail.

[jasonhilt]

Checked out the north half - flood plain part - of the trail today.  Pretty messed up with the river deposit mud and debris piles.  Going to be awhile before its opened.
On the way back I walked the levee side.  It also flooded.  Here's two pics of the trail that were under ice.

[Steve King]

Dave Tozer, I'm relatively new to mountain biking and the scene around here but would love to get involved in working on trails. How do I find out about it?

Welcome!!!  Work days are posted all over the Forum, on our Calendar, and on Facebook. 

For Fort Harrison.  Usually we work on Wednesday's.  But looks like this week also Tuesday.
http://www.hmba.org/smf/index.php?topic=12469.15
http://www.hmba.org/smf/index.php?topic=11325.60

Some Camping and Trail work weekends coming up at Brown County.
http://www.hmba.org/smf/index.php?topic=12740.0

Some regular Thursday work days at Southwestway.
http://www.hmba.org/smf/index.php?topic=12770.0
http://www.hmba.org/smf/index.php?topic=12306.45

Work sessions at Rangeline.
http://www.hmba.org/smf/index.php?topic=1803.180

On the right side of the Home Page, below the "Trail Status,"  see the link "Join our Trail Building Mailing List."
http://www.hmba.org/wp/

Also on the Home Page see the "Volunteer with Us" link.
http://www.hmba.org/wp/volunteer-with-us/

Join our Facebook page.  Events are also scheduled via Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hoosier-Mountain-Bike-Association/384333460060?fref=nf

Also on Facebook -

The Town Run Trail
https://www.facebook.com/groups/60024611414/

Brown County Mountain Biking
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BCSPMTB/

Southwestway Trail Park
https://www.facebook.com/groups/204530125309/

[Paul_Arlinghaus]

Thanks Mike, Dave, and Eric,


Its not to often we get a mud hole like the ones we dealt with in the early days of Town Run. 


Here is what we started with last week.





This is a two work session mud hole.  On the first work session we put some rocks in place to allow rides to cross the muddy area and drained the water and muck.


Tonight things were dried up enough to do the  finish work.

[pmanderson]

Today at noon, approx 14°F the trail was very icy and rutty... especially on the last 3rd in the woods. For me, I took it extremely slow. However it was still fun.

[ERJ-Drvr]

Checked out TRTP today...everything North of "Talking Tree" is green.  But the Crystal Lake crossing is flooded and a section of the South Bound trail just before the I465 underpass has collapsed into the river!  Paul would you consider opening the trail North of "Talking Tree"?

[Dave Tozer]

Downed tree. Not far past the "Smile" sign. 

[Dave Tozer]

Here are shots of the tree that covers the trail in two places

[jasonhilt]

I was wondering when the rest of that tree was going to come down when i cut it the first time.