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Post by robeweise on Nov 6, 2011 12:28:57 GMT -5
Hi there. A friend of mine and I are planning a trip from Charleston for the day after Thanksgiving. I'm just starting to do my research and this seemed like a pretty good place to get pointed in the right direction.
First things first I want to make sure the trails will be open. Any hotel recommendations for downtown Augusta would be appreciated as well.
I'll keep searching around for info but any help I can get from you guys will be awesome!
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Post by Angela on Nov 6, 2011 22:31:18 GMT -5
Do you specifically want to stay downtown Augusta? There are a lot of hotels around Augusta but the only two that are actually downtown that I can think of are the Augusta Marriott Hotel and Suites on 10th Street and the Ramada Conference Center on Broad Street (this is a much older hotel). If you don't have to stay downtown you have many more options.
As far as being open - FATS will be open over that weekend unless we have torrential rain and muddy trail conditions develop to the point that the USFS would ask that the trails be closed. That is a heavy hunting weekend but being sure to wear hunter orange and staying out of the woods early morning and early evening dusk is a good idea. We have not had any incidents since FATS opened. There is no hunting at all on public lands in South Carolina on Sundays.
Feel free to email me at sorba.csra@gmail.com if you want and I should be able to get you the information you need.
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Post by robeweise on Nov 8, 2011 20:37:13 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. Was thinking about staying downtown so we could be walking distance to the night life. I have to admit, the hunting thing is a little bit off-putting. Kind of makes me want to wait until hunting season is over.
I'll have to discuss it over with my buddy. Thanks again for the help and I'll email you with any questions we can think up.
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Post by mudonthetires on Nov 8, 2011 20:57:40 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. Was thinking about staying downtown so we could be walking distance to the night life. I have to admit, the hunting thing is a little bit off-putting. Kind of makes me want to wait until hunting season is over. I'll have to discuss it over with my buddy. Thanks again for the help and I'll email you with any questions we can think up. If you guys put the trip off until after hunting season you may really miss some prime riding out at FATS and other trails in the area. The 2 or 3 trails that I frequent on a weekly basis are all open to public hunting, and I don't think twice about getting out there. Wear your safety orange and go have a blast. Everyone in the area is aware of FATS and what it is, not just mountain bikers. The hunters are aware that there are plenty of bikers out there, and in my experience I have never seen a hunter close to the trail. They don't want to wake up well before sunrise, hike into the middle of the woods, and climb a tree just to have someone on a bike scare aware their one good shot at a trophy whitetail / their dinner that night. Chances are they will avoid any areas that are close to the singletrack itself. Just to be safe haul ass too.....it's harder to hit a moving target! |
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Post by brianW on Nov 8, 2011 21:06:09 GMT -5
Been riding in the Augusta area now for six years and only came across two groups of hunters, and only one of them were at FATS. Each time it was a pleasant experience. Hunters, just like mt bikers, hikers, trail runners and the list goes on really are just enjoying the great outdoors. From my experiences here in GA/SC and up in New England the stereo types of "red neck" hunters is not the case.
January and February tend to be the months the trails are wet. Stick with your original time frame.
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Post by taycot on Nov 9, 2011 19:20:22 GMT -5
Hi All - This is another two guys planning a trip to FATS but we are coming this Friday the 11th. Anything that we need to worry about other than orange? From looking on-line the trails appear to be open and per the weather it looks clear and cool. Thanks for any comments before we hit the road on Friday morning.
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Post by robeweise on Nov 9, 2011 19:41:23 GMT -5
Thanks for the reassurance, I'm about to book our hotel room now. ;D
Honestly I've been waiting so long to do this trip I really didn't want to postpone it any longer. I'll go get an orange vest. Thanks again.
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Post by robeweise on Nov 9, 2011 20:12:38 GMT -5
Ok, now that I know for sure we're coming here's the annoying questions.
If I'm asking things that get asked all the time forgive me, if it's easier to just point me to a link somewhere then by all means link away.
I've found some directions online but I'm not real clear on how many trailheads there are. Will we be able to drive to one point and hit each trail from there or will we need to pack up and drive somewhere else?
Which trail would you guys recommend starting with? Maybe something easy to start with and work our way up to the harder ones?
I'll post more questions as they come to me. Tell me if I'm being annoying, just excited. We only have one day so I want to make it count.
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Post by mudonthetires on Nov 9, 2011 21:04:30 GMT -5
Go to our homepage www.sorbacsra.org and look under the trails tab. I think you will find the answers to most of your questions here, including maps and driveway to trail directions. You can access all trails from the south trailhead, it just depends on how long / how much you plan on riding. Most find that Skinny is the least challenging (not as much climbing) you can hit Brown wave off of Skinny, and Great Wall is close by. Deepstep is your other trail quickly accessible from the south lot (probably most difficult of the 4) and then Tower and Big Rock can be ridden to from Deepstep. All trails are very well marked and it would be pretty tough to get completely lost. FATS is a big draw for most, but check out the other trails on the homepage, you can easily get to almost all of them within 20-30 mins (whether they are in Georgia or SC), and they all have a lot to offer. Modoc, Wine, and Turkey are close by and present a completely different ride / challenge. Horne Creek is also close and the SORBA CSRA chapter just held a 13 hour race there a few weeks back with a great turnout. I'll quit rambling now on all of the great opportunities that we have to offer here! |
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Post by Angela on Nov 9, 2011 23:21:38 GMT -5
Hi All - This is another two guys planning a trip to FATS but we are coming this Friday the 11th. Anything that we need to worry about other than orange? From looking on-line the trails appear to be open and per the weather it looks clear and cool. Thanks for any comments before we hit the road on Friday morning. You have picked a perfect time to come, the weather will be fantastic, the leaves are turning and the trails are in great shape! |
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Post by dgaddis1 on Nov 10, 2011 7:02:29 GMT -5
Ok, now that I know for sure we're coming here's the annoying questions. If I'm asking things that get asked all the time forgive me, if it's easier to just point me to a link somewhere then by all means link away. I've found some directions online but I'm not real clear on how many trailheads there are. Will we be able to drive to one point and hit each trail from there or will we need to pack up and drive somewhere else? Which trail would you guys recommend starting with? Maybe something easy to start with and work our way up to the harder ones? I'll post more questions as they come to me. Tell me if I'm being annoying, just excited. We only have one day so I want to make it count. How many miles do you guys plan to ride? If you want to ride it all in a day (37 miles) this is a popular route: Start at the main/south trailhead. Deep Steep CCW Big Rock CCW Tower (either direction - I prefer CW, but others like it CCW) Finish Big Rock CCW Finish Deep Step CCW Pit stop at the car to refill your bottles/pack and eat a snack Great Wall CCW Skinny CCW Brown Wave CCW Finish Skinny CCW That'll hit everything, and gets the toughest climbing out of the way early. |
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Post by wala on Nov 10, 2011 8:36:48 GMT -5
I had an out of town group come in to ride FATS for the first time last month. I was their local tour guide. We did the following route: Decided to hit the fast/easiest trails first instead of the climbing first.
Start at main/south trailhead:
Skinny CCW
Brown Wave CCW
back to car to refuel
Deep Step CCW to
Big Rock CCW
Tower CCW
Finish Deep Step CCW
Back to Car
They were to gassed to go back and pick up the Great Wall.
It was about 32 miles total.
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Post by taycot on Nov 10, 2011 19:17:34 GMT -5
What is the average ride time if you ride all 32 miles?
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Post by dgaddis1 on Nov 10, 2011 20:01:11 GMT -5
What is the average ride time if you ride all 32 miles? There is 37 miles total. I tend to average 10mph at FATS, maybe more if I'm feeling good. Lots of folks are slower than me, and lots are faster too. |
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Post by robeweise on Nov 12, 2011 8:03:32 GMT -5
All great information, thanks a lot.
Not sure how many miles we'll ride. We'll probably ride until we run out of daylight. I'm going to print some of this out and take it with me.
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Post by brianW on Nov 12, 2011 8:44:21 GMT -5
If you have lights bring them. Riding at night is a lot of fun. Also check out the trail section here. The other trails in the CSRA are a lot of fun and you will have alternatives in case the weather turns sour, which I hope it doesn't for you.
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Post by robeweise on Nov 21, 2011 17:30:25 GMT -5
Pretty stoked about Friday! Being a holiday do you guys expect it to be pretty busy?
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Post by Angela on Nov 21, 2011 21:08:59 GMT -5
I'm sure there will be plenty of people out for a ride on Friday (and all weekend long) - great riding weather with a projected high of 72 on Friday. During July and August the parking lot can get pretty full early in the day that peak 8 to 10am time frame but this time of year with the high peaking about mid-afternoon things get spread out well. Even when the parking lot looks full with well over 35 miles of trail we rarely pass many people along the trail. Sometimes if it just looks crazy heading to the northern trails (Big Rock and Tower) gives time for the southern trails to clear out some. Looks like a great weekend of riding ahead - just don't forget your orange vest!  |
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Post by Ironi on Nov 22, 2011 6:11:38 GMT -5
robeweise, from posts I read on this site its important all out of town riders let seenvic and nevin know what color your eyes are! Its for hunting purposes I think.
Dougie last week posted his were shi..... brown......lol....
Just kidding; Have fun; you shouldn't have to worry about hunters as long as your ride safe, not too early and not too late. All loops will take it out of you unless your Ted Stoddard.
I posted a spoof parking lot video from last weekend with serious comments from visitors from NC and Myrtle Beach. They were all raving how fun Sorbacsra's trails were. Kudos to all those trail builders; such a masterpiece and great flow!
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Post by dgaddis1 on Nov 22, 2011 7:40:32 GMT -5
How long are you guys going to be in town? Gonna be here Saturday? I'm hoping to do the Christmas Party Ride Saturday around noon, y'all are welcome to join me. Totally different than FATS. |
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