May MTBike Update

Greetings Bike Enthusiasts,

Well April was good for riding!...and now that we've endured nearly an entire month in May of lovely wet rainy weather, it seemed timely to send a quick update on the project at OHOC and the new Mountain Bike trail, in case you were also feeling a little damp...

Greg began some preliminary brush cutting and tree work around the first of May. We officially were granted permission by the landowners, Dartmouth, to move forward with the major parts of this project during the second week of the month. Greg moved his machinery in and started progress in earnest right away on the upper flow trail. Even during some of the heavier precipitation things were coming along up on the hill. Finally, last week the seeps and wet ground caught up and slowed things down a fair amount. The good news is we were able to see just what design measures for trail drainage were necessary. Remarkably close to what Greg already had planned. Overall, whats done looks fantastic and is going to be a total hoot to get down on!

At the moment the section of flow trail nearly complete is basically from Cutoff 1 on the ski trail, down to where the flow busts out onto the first of the original alpine trails, just below the granite bench. Two nice big berms, a few smaller ones and some whoops on a nice wooded traverse. The plan is to continue working downhill into the Upper and Lower skills area. He will likely jump back up and complete the top of the Flow Trail and Main Climb followed by the Pump Track, if all goes well.

So when can we ride it? I think Greg is willing to have sections of the trail open before the entire project is complete. Which looks like will make some sense based on the layout of easy entrance and exits. Might actually be sooner than later, but not yet. In the meantime, we will be working on lots of new signage for wayfinding, safety and risk management. Work in progress! Stay tuned for a soft opening of our first section of trail.

How can you help? Get the word out. Tell your peeps to sign up for our MTB newsletter HERE. Get you and your riding buddies to help finish this project off with any support you can muster by donating HERE. Be good trail stewards, happy riders and enjoy our resources!

Until next dry spell, happy spring,

The OHOC Team