LOHS - Lake Orion High School Trails

[tfelix]

I'll try and make it out there. I'm on a plane to AZ right now so I'll keep a eye out on the ride announcements when I get back.

[Steve_Kinley]

Trail building this Friday at LOHS at 10:00. We have a .4 mile section we have started and partially cut in. Still need to cut the small stuff and rake it out. Park at the upper lot and follow the flags down the hill around the pond and to the new section. Bring loppers and leaf rakes if you have them.

It shouldn't take too long. Bring your bike and a we can ride after we are done.

[Steve_Kinley]

The LOHS singletrack was in good shape this afternoon. Just a few greasy areas but mainly in the fields. We have added a .4 mile section to the trail that is ridable but still needs some of the small stumps taken out. We found a way to extend it another one to two tenths and we will be working on it. Once complete we will block off the old trail and force riders on to the new section. Thanks to everyone that came out today to help.

[Steve_Kinley]

The new trail, open for business now with the addition expected to be finished this week. Green is the old trail and the red is the new trail. It will add about .5 miles of singletrack. The ziz zag line will be more of a sustained climb that will replace a shorter, but steeper climb .

[Steve_Kinley]

I finished the climb in the new section this afternoon, trimming, raking and blowing off the trail. It is ready to ride once it has a chance to dry out (or freeze). Several sections are off camber as you ride across the face that we will be bench cutting as we get a chance. And exposing soft, fresh dirt means it will be slick for a while. Hopefully we get a chance to ride it this Friday night.

[Steve_Kinley]

Rode the trail this morning and it was mainly frozen but won't be for long today. Some sections still had 2" of snow on them and others were bare. I removed all the deadfall of consequence but there are two trees blocking the trail that the school will have to remove. The first is after the 3.0 mile marker and the other is about 3/4 of a mile later. Both are easily seen.

[Steve_Kinley]

The trail is great riding right now, as long as it is frozen. Make sure you try the new section a little way after the .5 mile marker. It is a little rough in sections until we get a chance to smooth it out but it adds about a half mile of singletrack, including some switchback climbs.

[KLydesdale]

If you ride today be on the lookout for deadfall, I cleared a lot of little stuff off the trail but there's still a few larger trees down, including a one almost completely blocking the trail a bit after mile marker 2. I can't give exact locations for the others because I was riding parts of the trail in the opposite direction of how I usually do. And I don't know about anything before Mile 2 because I didn't do that section.

The trail was pretty frozen and good to ride but that was with overnight temps that dropped substantially below freezing.

[Steve_Kinley]

I rode this morning and noted the position of three trees down, two of which can be ridden over. The school should have them cleared after next week, the grounds person is on vacation.

Tough ride as it was on frozen mud crystals that gave no traction in the corners.

[Steve_Kinley]

LOHS trail is in spring thaw conditions right now. I was there on Christmas day doing some trail work and the trails were super slick with frozen ground under 1/4 inch of mud. I did scout out potential for some new singletrack that might add a few tenths to the trail.

[Steve_Kinley]

The trail condition this morning ranged from barely covered frozen dirt to 3" of crusty snow. The school has cleared the fallen trees so get out and ride while the trail is still frozen.

[Steve_Kinley]

Trails were OK for riding as of this morning. I cleared any dead fall from yesterday and the trail is in Cap'n Crunchy condition this morning from the raised and frozen dirt. There are still a few soft areas that should freeze over by tomorrow.

[RQ1]

I rode about 6.6 miles of trail today. Not sure how I missed the new section, but I'll be back to try again soon. Zero trees down, so thanks for that. I wasn't going fast enough to do any damage if I had run into any, though. That crunchy ground makes it a slow go. More fat tire riders should flatten it out.

The only snow on the trail was there purely for aesthetic reasons.

I look forward to some night rides out there soon. The reflectors are nice and easy to spot, so it should make it real easy to navigate.

[Steve_Kinley]

The crunchy stuff does make it slower and more tiring, sort of like riding on gravel. The newest section is in the first 3/4 mile as you wind your way up from the bottom of the football field descent. The current trail curves to the right, the new section goes straight but it is a little wet immediately after entering the section. I marked another section that is about .5 miles but it is very thick and would require too much work to make it worth the effort.

We try to ride on Friday nights at 7:00 from G's restaurant on Lapeer road but the weather has been against us, it has been too warm. I think this Friday will be the same. Keep an eye on the ride forum for updates.

[Steve_Kinley]

Good shape tonight. Should be good for the next few days.