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Sat ride update
November 14th, 2019 by Johnny in EverythingKaren just said “we will go like heck for 58 minutes”!! The older you get the longer your birthday ride!!
Saturday B-day ride!!! (and trail report)
November 14th, 2019 by Johnny in EverythingSaturday is going to be Karen’s B-day ride. We will start at 3pm for likely an hour long short-and-sweet ride. Karen is currently training for a 1/2 marathon and ran 18km on Friday in the snow so she deserves a break. I will be heading out at 2pm for a “pre-ride” and then hooking into the 3pm ride so feel free to join me if want along ride. Social to follow at TVG headquarters after and we will take it from there. If you wish to come to the social only let me know…
FYI there is 14 km of well ridden single track open for Fat Biking…no skinnies!
Trail Report
November 8th, 2019 by Johnny in EverythingDCF trails are definitely fit for a Fat Bike ride this weekend. We have enough snow to justify bringing out the Fat Bike for sure! No worry about the trails being “wet” as that doesn’t really happen much here in DCF…need somewhere to ride? Come on out :).
Ken’s/Steve’s Trail full update
November 3rd, 2019 by Johnny in EverythingBuild it Saturday…Ride it Sunday!
An incredible group of people showed up Saturday morning and put in a solid full day of work to get the logged section cleared, some trail cleaned and more trail designed, built, tamped and finessed.
Reconstructing a trail section that was basically unrecognizable from it’s previous state was a difficult task. The trail was fundamentally gone, the entire Forest had changed and there was debris and ruts everywhere. Nothing looked the same and many people couldn’t even figure out where they were on a trail they have ridden for years.
But off to work everyone went. You just had to start somewhere. As the hours went by a trail started to become apparent, lines where reworked and enhanced and by lunch we had a clear path that could be followed from one end to the other. After pizza lunch (and some super yummy treats by Sarah C, yum!) the “Gerty-ing” started followed by heaps of raking and shaping of the trail. Log overs where built, rock-stump rides appeared, berms were being tamped in and many other really cool, unique trail creations were evolving. People were spread out over the entire section all focusing on creating their own little section of trail adding in their signatures everywhere. By 4:30 we started wrapping things up and then did a group walk from one end to the other. Most people had no idea what was happening at the other end of the trail all day. As we all walked the trail it was amazing how everyone working on individual sections managed to create a very homogeneous trail from one end to the other. Everyone was impressed by each other’s work. The new trail was not just a “clean up” so it has changed…it is not the same as the “old trail”. It can’t be as the entire section of Forest has changed. So we have had to change with it.
The logging went on for a few weeks and with every passing day more and more of the trail was no longer there. Then the last day finished of the east-west section completely. It was literally not there. A lot of us watched this happen day by day. Then the group got together…Cyclists, local residents that hike the trails, Equestrians, parents with sons & daughters. The trail was recreated and reinstated, ready to ride…one day. Done. Awesome.
We rode it today (Sunday) and it did not disappoint. It seemed like a lot longer section when riding it and it made you realize how much work had been done in one day. It has already seen a lot of traffic and it’s going to pack in very nicely, just in time for winter. Then next spring we will be reminded about all the hard work that was put into it.
Thank you to everyone that came out to help, and to the County for allowing us to enjoy this Forest. What an awesome day.
Quick numbers…
34 people x 7 hours = 238 hours (that equals 6 solid 40 hour weeks of work by one person)
15 large pizzas, dozens of Sarah C’s chocolate chip cookies & bars
4 “Gertys”
Over a dozen rakes & shovels, 2 chainsaw operators, 6 tampers, a pile of orange flags.
All equals the new Ken’s/Steve’s section. The workers all hope you enjoy it.
2pm ride-Sunday….new Ken’s (aka Steve’s trail)
November 2nd, 2019 by Johnny in EverythingI’ll do a full update later but long and short of it is Ken’s/Steve’s trail is open and completely good to go! We are riding tomorrow at 2pm and definitely riding the new trail reconstruction…for sure!!
See you there, time to pack in all the incredibly hard work by everyone today….stand by for a full update, the amount of work done today was incredible. It’s AWESOME!! Go see…..
See you tomorrow!
Ken’s trail clean up…go time! Please read this if you are coming tomorrow
November 1st, 2019 by Johnny in EverythingSetting up the “team”!!!
We are still on for tomorrow. I have been out today flagging the old trail. In some places it is going to be a full rebuild. At least we will have some direction tomorrow.
The weather is not as great as forecasted (surprise) but still not a bad day for working in the Forest. Any rain is not expected until the afternoon and if any at all, it’s just going to be drizzle (under 1mm). We have 30 people out to help and hopefully we will make short work of this. The most difficult thing will be keeping your hands warm. I suggest bringing a spare pair (or a few) of gloves to change into especially during our break time. Dry hands are warm hands.
We will be splitting into two teams which I will just call out tomorrow. I have also listed them below so check that out in advance to make it easier tommorrow. Please try and be there by 9 as we will starting very soon after that. We’ll be playing this by ear as the day goes on regarding how this gets done as this is not a “normal” trail build. If you are late, please try and find me.
Parking…This did not work out as planned. I had hoped that the loggers would of graded the road allowance to the staging area where I thought we would park. This didn’t happen. We cleaned it up a fair bit today but it may still be a bit soft tomorrow. If you have a truck or 4wd you will have no problem. 2wd as long as your car is not too low will be ok on the road allowance but may not be able to get off to the side. So going down the road allowance will be ok but you may get blocked in. So if you need to leave before we are done or you don’t want to chance it, you can park at the road no problem. Then just walk in as it’s not far at all. (500m?). There are blue flags along the road allowance then orange ones leading you into the Forest and to the trail on your right (west). The 9am meeting will take place at the orange flags. Hope that makes sense.
It should be a really fun and rewarding day as this trail is not passable the way it is. Thank to everyone helping out tomorrow…see you in the morning!!
Johnny
Team 1:
Andy K, Jennifer, Joe, Kathy, Ed, Brian H, Chris W, Paul S, Peter, Eric, Brian K, Rose, Janet, Tyler2, Mike D, Roy, Derek
Team 2:
Paul L, Andy L, Brian G, Lisa N, Lori, Karen, Glen, Carli, Shawna, Doug N, Zak, Vince, Wayne T, Lisa, Jim
Ken’s Trail Clean up Details for Sat
October 30th, 2019 by Johnny in EverythingKen’s clean up Saturday is a go! Here’s the plan..
9:00 am start time. Head to the location on the 20th side rd and Mulmur/Toss. townline. From there turn south on the old road allowance. I’ll mark the way with blue flags. The road should be passible but if you don’t wish to drive in it’s only a short walk in. There should be room to park in there.
12:30 pm TVG Pizza Lunch!! Pizza will be delivered to the site…cool…if you are coming and wish to have TVG feed you I need to know by Thursday night to place the order. Please indicate if you have any Pizza preferences.
3:00-4:00 pm finish time?? Happy hour at TVG headquarters after if time permits.
You will be able to come and go as you please so if you can’t stay the whole day, that’s ok. Any help is appreciated . Please remember you must be a FDCF member (see link below) or fill out a FDCF waiver. Please do this before hand.
What to bring: Bright clothing for visibility, safety glasses, gloves, water, snacks, change of clothes for when you finish. Pruners, hand saws, rakes, shovels and tampers will be helpful.
The weather so far looks great for a work day. It may be chilly when we start so dress appropriately. Don’t wear your favourite outfit…we are dealing with pine trees. Think sap on your clothes and gloves.
Thanks to everyone helping out & see you there. It’s going to be a great day! If you are joining in please RSVP so I know who is coming in order to organize the numbers, food and teams.
Location:
FDCF form:
https://www.dufferincounty.ca/news/friends-dufferin-county-forest
FYI birthday ride!
October 29th, 2019 by Johnny in EverythingThis Wednesdays night ride is Colin’s birthday ride! If we get rained out then next weeks weds ride is Colin’s birthday ride….
Hopefully see you all tomorrow.
Trail Conditions & Hunting
October 29th, 2019 by Johnny in EverythingI’ve seen a lot of folks checking into the “Trail Condition” tab.
Two conditions to report:
- Ken’s trail–don’t bother unless you know your way around as 3/4 of that trail no longer is passable. See Ken’s Trail post regarding clean up/rebuilding coming up on Saturday. It’s a bit of a disaster.
- Trail conditions are awesome, despite the rain on the weekend. I rode every trail out there last night (Monday)(including Ken’s) and did not encounter one puddle or bit of mud. So don’t be concerned about the rain, it’s all good to go out there.
Please be aware that hunting is happening from now until the spring in the Forest. Please try and wear brighter clothing and pay attention. Refer to the County website for details…
https://www.dufferincounty.ca/forest/hunting
Enjoy the Forest!
Fat Bike info
October 28th, 2019 by Johnny in EverythingAs I noted last night we have achieved our goal for fundraising for the Fat Bike groomer. 67 people pulled together to provide what will will benefit everyone fat biking out there for years to come.
I’m so proud of our community. Donations came from near and far, from FB’ers and non-FB’er, from local bike shops (Cycling Elements) and it’s very clear that FB is no longer a “thing” but a rear desirable recreational activity which helps keeps people outside enjoying and appriciating the Forest. This has so many benefits including both physical and mental heath benefits, especially during the winter months.
So thank you to everyone who contributed to this very optimistic goal. As always, this little group of riders has come together to achieve something remarkable that will provide benefits to many.
Further donations will still be accepted and put towards operational costs (fuel, maintenance, buying the FDCF operators some warm lunch and warm beverage after they spend hours out grooming) so anyone can still feel free to pitch in at any time to help out.
Again, I cannot stress enough how proud I am of our cycling community. Thank you all.