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Post by Angela on Feb 5, 2012 19:26:21 GMT -5
After a great afternoon of riding - this weather is unbelievable - we stopped off near the tower on the Tower Trail to drop in and take care of the tree that was down. Daniel had the opportunity to try out his new Dakine Builder's Backpack - it worked great - and we were able to get in and out in under an hour! This won't work with his big daddy chainsaw but perfect for lighter work! Some people probably wonder why I've started posting pictures of trail work. I just want to make sure everyone knows the amount of volunteer effort that goes into keeping these trails in good condition - there are no elves clearing the trails! Many of our members are out doing trail work on a regular basis and there are many other volunteers out there doing other trail work that might never even be noticed. If you aren't a SORBA-CSRA member but do enjoy these trails and the work that is done on them (maybe you come to ride several times a year, maybe you ride every weekend but aren't a member, maybe you hike or run these trails......it takes a lot of effort and it can be costly to keep the equipment running). There is a donation button on the front page of our website sorbacsra.org any help would be greatly appreciated! Even better, we would love to have you join us - how involved you become is up to you but at the very least your membership is important to us when we work with land managers and your membership dollars help keep the equipment and volunteers mobilized www.imba.com/join You'll need to select Georgia or South Carolina as your territory and then Augusta, Ga and Aiken, SC (CSRA) as your chapter!
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Post by money on Feb 12, 2012 9:03:01 GMT -5
Rode great wall and skinny yesterday. Big shutout to everyone that helps maintain the trails. They were in great condition.
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Post by Angela on Feb 12, 2012 13:49:25 GMT -5
And on that note in case someone has missed the posting under Work Parties .....we plan to give some love to the power crossings at Fats next weekend and could use some additional help! Check it out and if you commit 3 or 4 hours next Saturday to help us just send me a note to sorba.csar@gmail.com
Thank you!
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Post by dpom on Feb 19, 2012 11:55:00 GMT -5
Hi, I am planning on biking FATS tomorrow (Mon, Feb 20th) and was wondering if there has been too much rain today. I will be driving from Savannah, so want to make sure it will be worth it. Thanks! Derek
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Post by Angela on Feb 19, 2012 12:49:07 GMT -5
We've had a lot of rain over the past 18 hours so the trails will be too wet for a ride on Monday - the ground is very saturated! I suspect it will be Tuesday afternoon at the earliest before they are firm enough to ride.
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Post by Angela on Feb 22, 2012 0:43:52 GMT -5
Road the Skinny tonight - was in very good condition except for a few wet spots. There was a little rutting showing in the areas where we disturbed the dirt during last weekend's work party which was not unexpected but as long as riders stay in the middle of the trail these spots should work themselves out as the trail dries up. Wednesday and Thursday also look great for a ride before the rain is back!
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Post by john224 on Feb 25, 2012 18:42:51 GMT -5
Did you guys get any rain today? I'm thinking about heading out there from the savannah area for the first time. Thanks
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Post by dameontheman on Feb 25, 2012 21:05:58 GMT -5
Nope, no rain today, should be in good shape. And on a side note, I'll be heading to savannah on monday, small world!!
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Post by john224 on Feb 25, 2012 22:11:39 GMT -5
Thanks! Hopefully it'll hold up tomorrow
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Post by bigtime on Feb 26, 2012 12:21:49 GMT -5
Can someone.confirm the trails are.good.today? Thx
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Post by Angela on Feb 26, 2012 13:40:46 GMT -5
I made a couple of phone calls but can't get a confirmation. We are heading out there to check things out - but people who rode at Conyers yesterday during the Southeast Bike Expo said the trails were in great shape so it was hard to believe significant rain came through. We had just over 1/2 inch here so good chance that if they don't get heavy traffic the trails might be okay this afternoon. If anyone has information please post or email a report to sorba.csra@gmail.com Thank you!
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Post by Angela on Feb 26, 2012 17:43:20 GMT -5
Talked to some friends in the FATS parking lot and here is the skinny: - tree down and a couple of wet places but Deep Step in good condition
- tree down and a few wet places on Great Wall but trail in good condition
- upper Skinny had a couple of soft spots and a few seeps but otherwise in good condition
- lower Skinny really should not have been ridden today, too many wet/muddy spots
- we rode Brown Wave - trail in great shape with no trees down and a few slightly soft spots and only two wet sports
Looks like they are predicting more rain for next weekend - always wait at least 24 hours this time of year before riding a trail after rain - and at FATS the trail that dries the slowest and should be the last to resume riding is the lower Skinny. We let some riders know the lower Skinny would be too wet today (they thought it would be officially closed if it was too wet). Just a reminder - the US Forest Service will not close and open trails in a short space of time (close it today, reopen it tomorrow for instance). If we let them know a trail needs to be closed and they close it, it will be for a longer period of time. So it's best to spread the word among mountain bikers to stay off the trails if they are too wet or ride other trails that don't have that level of traffic.
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Post by brianW on Feb 27, 2012 19:24:47 GMT -5
I drove by Saturday afternoon and the lot was packed. IMO was to wet to ride. Had an inch plus the day before.
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Post by kconner on Feb 27, 2012 20:12:56 GMT -5
Parked in the lot this afternoon/evening and rode the forest service roads, and was the only vehicle in the lot. First time I've seen the parking lot deserted. However, I peeked in on Skinny/Great Wall at some of the bailout points, and the trail getting some traffic. Good news is that it didn't appear to be terribly fresh.
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Post by Angela on Mar 6, 2012 21:58:44 GMT -5
Rode the Skinny tonight (there were a few other night riders out too) to see how the crossings have held up with the rain. They are actually holding up quite well but to be honest with all the rain there are a lot of seeps on the lower Skinny - some of the seeps run the length of the trail and are 50 to 80 feet long....quite a few on the either side of the 4th crossing (CCW) and some around the 5th crossing.
Not too many muddy spots but it probably needs to dry another day or two and some of the seeps might continue to be there with the water table up from all the recent rain. Thanks again for staying in the middle of the trail when going through wet areas. Seeps come and go and move around so they will not be armored unless they become persistent. We saw seeping areas tonight that we've never seen before.
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Post by Cadillac on Mar 9, 2012 16:50:04 GMT -5
Hi gang. Nearing time for my annual pilgrimage. As always, I love this trail and what ya'll do to keep it up. Angela... if you will be around the trail Masters weekend maybe I'll see you again and can hit you up (again) for a FATS sticker for my Thule faring. Cheers!
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Post by Angela on Mar 9, 2012 18:40:53 GMT -5
We will be here for a portion of the week......sent you a pm...glad you are heading back down!
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Post by Ted S. on Mar 15, 2012 13:55:48 GMT -5
Big tree down at the top of Big Rock. If going clockwise it would be a few hundred yards from the very top. It's a bhig mess the mid part of the tree is across the trail. The Tower and deepstep were in great shape. THE SPIDER WEBS ARE BACK!
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Post by tzeaser on Mar 16, 2012 6:57:29 GMT -5
Saw the first snake of the year last night on the trail. Summer's here.
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Post by oddcouple on Mar 17, 2012 23:12:25 GMT -5
Big tree down at the top of Big Rock. If going clockwise it would be a few hundred yards from the very top. It's a bhig mess the mid part of the tree is across the trail. The Tower and deepstep were in great shape. THE SPIDER WEBS ARE BACK! To whomever cuts this tree (the wife and I rode Big Rock yesterday) Please look UP there is a half a tree just hanging above the fallen tree.Please be CAUTIOUS.
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