CRAMBA: Pontiac Lake

[Todd Scott]

Post trail conditions and problem reports for the trails at Pontiac Lake SRA

[Mr. Bojangles]

Rode it tonight. Rideable but slimey and slow. other wise a blast!!!!

[thejode]

Pontiac Lake is almost perfect right now. No mud. No obstacles. Nothing. The trail is very tacky and not even a little slippery (except one spot, see below). But that might change after the rain this week.

There are a few spots where you have to be careful. One is the first of the two downhills at the end. Make sure to stay to the middle left just like last year. The other is at the very end. It's a little slippery on the final shot onto the road and it is unexpected because the trail has no other slippery spots so don't get too *beep* there.

The short climb after the little switchbacks is a little slippery but not dangerous at all. It's just frustrating to not make it because the back wheel spins out ever so slightly. Oh well. Next time.

Enjoy.

[KLydesdale]

PLRA is in absolutely prime riding condition as of the evening of 4/2/04. I've never seen it in better shape for this time of year.

[MotoMannequin]

I 2nd that - PLRA is dry and tacky. No dust, no mud.

[Corky]

Pontiac is in great shape. It is now dry and the ground is solid under the tires. Some corners are starting to get loose.

[Dave60]

The trail is in great shape!

[fz4vgq]

Friday, April 9th.....Rode PLRA for my first outdoor ride of the season and like others above noted it was/is in the best shape I've seen. There was a large fallen tree (about a foot and a half in diameter) across the trail in a pretty fast spot (somewhere after the park road crossing) that has been chainsawed but is very narrow between the two halves. You could see where pedals have hit on both sides. I also had a first today for PLRA.....I saw 3 large wild turkeys, very neat hearing them gobble. Oh almost forgot to mention, there was a large group of kids/adults? in the parking lot when I arrived. These same people were out running/sneeking around on their hands and knees in full camo outfits on the last mile of trail (fast section before the last killer climb) I nearly ran right into one at about 25 mph when he ran right out of some bushes, scared the bejeezus out of me.

[abbeytrails]

Rode the trail for the first time this weekend. I found out that the trail was in better shape than I was! No real huge muddy spots that you could not handle...It was an awesome ride for an awesome day.

[Tom_L.]

PLRA is pretty muddy in places. I did a quick trip around the back part tonight (part between Maceday Lk. Rd. & White Lk. Rd.) and there were no trees down but there were <I>dozens</I> of small mud pits. PLRA normally drains very well this time of year but there were a lot of mudpits which were in places I've never seen mudpits before. The one place that's always muddy near where Blonske's hill used to be had mud around 8 inches deep. There is also noticeable erosion in spots where the heavy rains ran downhill <I>on</I> the trail.

Be prepared to fry your rims and brake pads, if you have rim brakes like I did tonight. It's probably best to give it a day or two to dry out after this next coming round of rains.

5-24-04

[Joz]

For the good of the MMBA community I'm going to make the sacrifice of taking a long lunch to check the conditions of the Pontiac trail with my brother.

I don't do this because I want to, I do it because it must be done.



I'll have a update later today.

[SANTA_CRUZ]

Hey Joz, please let us know the findings from your mission, I
would like to ride out there this coming Memorial weekend, but
riding in mud sucks and is not good for the brakes/drivetrain.

Looking forward to your report brave scout.

SC

[Tom_L.]

For the good of the MMBA community I'm going to make the sacrifice of taking a long lunch to check the conditions of the Pontiac trail with my brother.

I don't do this because I want to, I do it because it must be done.



I'll have a update later today.

That was the ONLY reason I was out there the other day on the muddy trails too.

[jozwikjp]

We ended up going to Holdridge.. It was a wet and poor choice.

jozwikjp

[Joz]

Hey Joz, please let us know the findings from your mission, I
would like to ride out there this coming Memorial weekend, but
riding in mud sucks and is not good for the brakes/drivetrain.

Looking forward to your report brave scout.

SC

Sorry Santa, I had thought I had already edited my original message. We went to Holdridge in Holly at the last minute and took our bikes for a swim on the west loop. The bridges were washed out (though some were actually just floating. That was a surprise.)