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Post by Angela on Aug 8, 2012 6:27:40 GMT -5
It rained for over 3 hours out at FATS last night, the trail is going to be too wet to ride - more rain is predicted today!
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Post by Angela on Aug 10, 2012 5:51:18 GMT -5
FATS received more rain yesterday and today and tomorrow there is probability of more. Please opt for other riding options until the trail dries out some. The heavier rains have already caused some erosion that will need repair. Riding it while wet just damages it more.
Other options are the miles and miles of gravel roads in our area, a road ride, the Greeneway in North Augusta, the paved trail from Evans down to Savannah Rapids Pavilion, and if we don't get more rain today the other trails in our area (that don't get the wheels FATS does) can take the wheels.
We've had 3+ inches of rain here in the past week!
Thank you!
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Post by Mark Y. on Aug 10, 2012 8:59:05 GMT -5
FATS received more rain yesterday and today and tomorrow there is probability of more. Please opt for other riding options until the trail dries out some. The heavier rains have already caused some erosion that will need repair. Riding it while wet just damages it more. Other options are the miles and miles of gravel roads in our area, a road ride, the Greeneway in North Augusta, the paved trail from Evans down to Savannah Rapids Pavilion, and if we don't get more rain today the other trails in our area (that don't get the wheels FATS does) can take the wheels. We've had 3+ inches of rain here in the past week! Thank you! I rode the loop of Greeneway combined with Palmetto Parkway Wednesday, and that is a good option when trails are wet. I modified it on the top end by cutting through neighborhoods to minimize HYW 25 exposure, which really had me encountering very little road traffic. The nice part is there are several places to bail out if you wish to shorten the ride.
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Post by dgaddis1 on Aug 10, 2012 11:43:22 GMT -5
I rode the loop of Greeneway combined with Palmetto Parkway Wednesday, and that is a good option when trails are wet. I modified it on the top end by cutting through neighborhoods to minimize HYW 25 exposure, which really had me encountering very little road traffic. The nice part is there are several places to bail out if you wish to shorten the ride. Here's a link to the full loop for anyone interested in doing it. There are sidewalks on HWY-25 if you're not comfortable riding it, or just get out that at a busy time (early mornings are mostly traffic free). You can obviously link it to the tow path for even more mostly-car-free miles. Greeneway/Palmetto Parkway Loop
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Post by brianW on Aug 10, 2012 17:53:29 GMT -5
8 min frm FATS and at my house we had 4.25 inches this week.
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Post by Ross D on Aug 10, 2012 21:41:54 GMT -5
Also, there's always some good gravel road riding as well...
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Post by Angela on Aug 11, 2012 10:47:10 GMT -5
Looks like it is finishing up now but a deluge hit FATS starting just after 8am this morning and it rained pretty hard and steady for nearly 4 hours! A week with no riding has been disappointing but we need to let the trails dry out before riding. Thanks!
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Post by brianW on Aug 11, 2012 16:18:10 GMT -5
Since this morning 88.3mm (3.47inches) of rain at my house. 7 3/4 inches for the week.
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Post by Angela on Aug 11, 2012 18:04:34 GMT -5
And there were already a lot of mushrooms everywhere!!!
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Post by Angela on Aug 12, 2012 10:10:43 GMT -5
Came out to take a spot check on FATS since Bush Field reported over 4 inches of rain yesterday. Was so disappointed to see vehicles in the parking lot! Spoke to a couple of riders coming off the trail and could see by their bikes that the trails were very wet. Talked to some others getting ready to ride to let them know what happens when the trails are ridden wet also about options other than FATS. Ill post some video I took when I get home.
FATS should not be ridden at all today - the 24 hour rule is okay when we have had normal rain. This week has had an unbelievable amount so common sense needs to prevail.
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Post by dsquaredmsquared on Aug 12, 2012 10:38:41 GMT -5
Did those just heading out, heed your advice?
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Post by Angela on Aug 12, 2012 10:39:12 GMT -5
I'm sure the entire trail is not exactly like this but I can tell you it is very wet and slick (both the tread and roots) I nearly busted it walking down to get this video.
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Post by Angela on Aug 12, 2012 10:43:29 GMT -5
I'm not sure if they did or not (they did not leave before I did) - if I were going to guess I would say probably not since they had taken the time to load up and go out there but they were all nice guys and I suspect they will think about it before they head out next time when we've had such heavy rain less than 24 hours.
Also told a couple of them to sign up for Twitter since we give good updates about rain, etc. Hopefully I did a good job of explaining the whys and there will be another handful of educated riders!
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Post by kconner on Aug 12, 2012 10:58:52 GMT -5
that's unfortunate to say the least. I parked at the North Trailhead today to ride some gravel roads....no tire tracks on big rock, but someone has dumped a load of trash/yard waste in the parking lot: Overall though, there's plenty of fun to be had on the gravel roads, and some good views as well: Who says there's no elevation change in the CSRA?
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Post by Angela on Aug 12, 2012 13:43:01 GMT -5
Stopped by FATS to do some posting and happy to report there were only 5 cars in the parking lot. Keep spreading the word!
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Post by Angela on Aug 13, 2012 23:22:15 GMT -5
Rode FATS this evening (after 7pm) down the top of Skinny and Brown Wave. Considering the trail received a lot of rain last week and then the coup de grace 4+ hours of rain on Saturday, the trails were in good condition. There were some wet spots along the top and also on Brown Wave but the trail was fine to ride. There was some debris but not an exceptional amount. A few will need a handsaw to remove off the trail and one will need a chainsaw. Hard to tell we did any mowing or lopping in June. If you are riding CCW on Brown Wave and come to the start of the long downhill section (you'll be just over half way around at this point) that heads down to the river just note that there is a tree across the trail that needs to be removed, it is a small tree but it is up off the trail a bit (if you are bombing down that hill just be aware that it is there)! Here is the tree - So as long as the trees are still leafed out and pulling water out of the ground and the temps are higher looks like after a rainy week and 4+ inches of rain the trails - 48 hours after the last rain and the trail should be dry enough to ride. The two exceptions will be lower Skinny and Great Wall which stay wet the longest (I don't have a report on those trails yet). Just be prepared that if you get out there and it has been 48 hours and if the trail is still too sloppy, make the commitment to leave and ride elsewhere (one of our older more seasoned trails) rather than going ahead and riding and adding to the trail damage. Thank you!
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Post by Mark Y. on Aug 14, 2012 11:11:20 GMT -5
Why the hell people WANT to ride a muddy trail, I don't know. The last thing I want is to ride through mudholes, slinging mud up on me, front and back. I have absolutely put my bike back on the truck and went somewhere else after seeing people coming off FATS with mud everywhere.
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Post by Angela on Aug 14, 2012 12:28:35 GMT -5
Some people actually like it (or so I've been told) I think many of the others don't understand they are damaging the trail and that it can ruin it and cause time and expense to repair the damage, and then there are the others that simply don't care and will ride it anyway.....fortunately I think those are in the minority.
Just a heads up - it rained for about an hour just before noontime out at FATS today. It's hard to believe looking at all the mushrooms in the forest and the complete overgrowth as if we didn't mow or lop it at all in June we are still in a drought but that is what they are saying.
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Post by brianW on Aug 14, 2012 18:21:42 GMT -5
I rode GW this afternoon (did now know it rained today) Bottom had a lot of soft spots and some of the section had what looked like knew ruts forming from all the rain we had.
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Post by harvey796 on Aug 15, 2012 15:33:57 GMT -5
Has anyone been out to FATS today? A buddy and I were planning on heading there a little later on today for a ride if the the trail is dry enough.
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