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Fall Bike Trip

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,071
3,779
sw ontario canada
Gentlemen

A couple of the crew and I are trying to put together a quick fall trip.
If we can pull it together we would be leaving in about 10 days.
We have a week if needed.


Crossing into the basement from Canukistan at Buffalo.

Looking at doing a loop with several stops, or a single longer destination.

Long destination is Snowshoe.

Loop is open, but at this point looking at Highland, Blue and maybe SevenSprings.

Plattekill is out - not open when we are going.
Windham, one of the boys just rode a couple of weeks ago.

Anybody know anything about "Greek Peak as its "close" to the border and an easy on the way....

Trail wise, we like a mix of everything, but with my TBI / nerve damage, I am tending to more flow than raw, as I can visually process the smoother wider flow stuff better than the narrow rough tech, unfortunately. In other words I can ride the flow stuff decently fast, but the tech, I'm now slow and crash through stuff instead of gapping over it. For me double black and the tougher single blacks are now off the menu. If I can't ride them fast enough, it gets too dangerous crashing through shit.
Getting old and injured sucks.

So for the boys, anything goes, for me I will need some flowy stuff to recoup on.


Thoughts?
 
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jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,565
24,183
media blackout
Nope, we are talking about departing on Friday the 13, or maybe Thursday night.
Last time we did Snowshoe, it was about an11 hours straight shot.
roger that.

depending on what route you're taking down, Raystown / Allegrippis could be worth a stop. those trails are decidedly on the flow end of the spectrum.
 

schwaaa31

Turbo Monkey
Jul 30, 2002
1,431
1,018
Clinton Massachusetts
If time allows, head to Thunder. You won’t regret it. If you’re out as far as Highland, which is great too, you’re already in the area for Thunder. Killington has really stepped up its game too.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
you forgot to spend most of the day smoking bowls in the parking lot.
and lift and behind the shed, apparently.

Thunder is a great stop, and if it's on your way- Jiminy used to be a lot of fun. Not really hyper tech but really flowy natural trails and a lot to explore. Not sure if anything is still maintained but it was one of my favorite places to ride. I love the vibe at platty (SPLATTY) but the trails are....plattekill. Killington was a bust, but that was a VERY long time ago and the park is different now.

tl;dr thunder is worth the trip
 

schwaaa31

Turbo Monkey
Jul 30, 2002
1,431
1,018
Clinton Massachusetts
and lift and behind the shed, apparently.

Thunder is a great stop, and if it's on your way- Jiminy used to be a lot of fun. Not really hyper tech but really flowy natural trails and a lot to explore. Not sure if anything is still maintained but it was one of my favorite places to ride. I love the vibe at platty (SPLATTY) but the trails are....plattekill. Killington was a bust, but that was a VERY long time ago and the park is different now.

tl;dr thunder is worth the trip
I saw recently that there was a crew maintaining the trails again at Jiminy. Tough for me to drive past Thunder for almost another hour and chance it.
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,071
3,779
sw ontario canada
This is proving to be a bit harder than I thought.

MSS and Bromont are only open on the weekend.
Platty is closed when we would be there.
Killington is 2/3 closed for an obstacle course race (Spartan)

Snowshoe reopens on the 12th so a go there, but acoms - Damn. The room that cost us 120 a night 6 years ago is now 300 a night.
Highland prices are not too far behind.
With a 30-35% premium on $'s, that gets from bloody expensive to no fucking way fast.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,565
24,183
media blackout
This is proving to be a bit harder than I thought.

MSS and Bromont are only open on the weekend.
Platty is closed when we would be there.
Killington is 2/3 closed for an obstacle course race (Spartan)

Snowshoe reopens on the 12th so a go there, but acoms - Damn. The room that cost us 120 a night 6 years ago is now 300 a night.
Highland prices are not too far behind.
With a 30-35% premium on $'s, that gets from bloody expensive to no fucking way fast.
yea, platty doesn't have a regular operating schedule anymore.

if you're passing nearby, windham would be worth a stop. they don't have a ton of trails, but the ones they do have are good. although i don't know if i'd necessarily go out of the way for it.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,190
19,156
Canaderp
This is proving to be a bit harder than I thought.

MSS and Bromont are only open on the weekend.
Platty is closed when we would be there.
Killington is 2/3 closed for an obstacle course race (Spartan)

Snowshoe reopens on the 12th so a go there, but acoms - Damn. The room that cost us 120 a night 6 years ago is now 300 a night.
Highland prices are not too far behind.
With a 30-35% premium on $'s, that gets from bloody expensive to no fucking way fast.
Bring two cars and camp at Burke.

Then you get cheap accommodations and can shuttle the mountain. I believe Monday-Thursday, you don't even need to pay to use their trails.

NO breaking bumps at Burke!!!!!!
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,625
12,917
Cackalacka du Nord
if you're coming all the way down to snowshoe you could also his massanutten in VA. and if you bring trail bikes there's lots of riding around roanoke (VA) and harrisburg (VA), not to mention other parts of WV.

if you say eff it and decide to come all the way down to Pisgah, there's lots to ride in NC, including Beech, Sugar, and Bailey as gravity-oriented stops.
 

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
Avoid killington during the spartan race at all costs. There’s nothing good to be had during that shit show. Worth a visit otherwise.

Thunder is fun and there’s great trail riding in area too.

Go to North Conway NH.
Some great trail riding, good shuttle/pedal descents and attitash is supposed to be back to its full crippling glory.
Pretty cheap area to lodge and eat too.

Highland does nothing for me.
 
Avoid killington during the spartan race at all costs. There’s nothing good to be had during that shit show. Worth a visit otherwise.

Thunder is fun and there’s great trail riding in area too.

Go to North Conway NH.
Some great trail riding, good shuttle/pedal descents and attitash is supposed to be back to its full crippling glory.
Pretty cheap area to lodge and eat too.

Highland does nothing for me.
North Conway is on my hit it list... used to go there to visit a friend during my hippie days.
 

cecil

Turbo Monkey
Jun 3, 2008
2,064
2,345
with the voices in my head
Greek peak is about an hour from me it's ok and if your headed to blue mountain pa on RT 81 it's only 15 min off the highway I would say it's worth it

I've been to Windham a half dozen times this season they have added some trails near the bottom along with a couple new drops the trails are long no lift line no brake bumps
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,071
3,779
sw ontario canada
OK, things have changed a bit, has been scaled back, but is still a go.
One of the guys has joined a trip to Whistler...
One of the guys now has to work (a customer in the Bronx needs some help pdq)
He has his own company, and being he is on business, we can slip our accoms thru him, but that means we we gotta do something in the area so he can build in some leeway over the weekend. That means 3 guys and two vehicles. At this point Mountain Creek and Blue are the candidates.

On his last trip to the Bronx he rode Windham, and asked the locals, and he said he was told they prefer Mountain Creek to Blue.... He has ridden Mountain Creek and has no issues going back, but the idea of something new is always appealing. The other guy has ridden MC but when it was still Diablo. I have ridden neither.

Contrary to that opinion - from the :monkey: we have a vote for Blue over Diablo.

What say you - thoughts?


<edit> ...and yes I know the Bronx is not the closest. He would get a hotel, do his business thing, get a place closer to the riding spot for the weekend, Nate and I join him for the ride, then he goes back to the original hotel to complete the job. He has to be there for better part of two weeks, so with his own company, he does not care if he splits the hotel between work and weekend.
 
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mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,071
3,779
sw ontario canada
Join the Whistler trip.
Hopefully next fall.
After the trail-bike build, the new toys for the DH bike, and a backed-up sewer (ugh) in the basement I'm digging in the couch and checking the drier for pennies toward a weekend car-trip, the left coast just ain't in the wallet at this point.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,289
5,028
Ottawa, Canada
Avoid killington during the spartan race at all costs. There’s nothing good to be had during that shit show. Worth a visit otherwise.

Thunder is fun and there’s great trail riding in area too.

Go to North Conway NH.
Some great trail riding, good shuttle/pedal descents and attitash is supposed to be back to its full crippling glory.
Pretty cheap area to lodge and eat too.

Highland does nothing for me.
Is there good riding around Killington other than the bike park? I'm planning on spending a couple of nights out there at the beginning of October. Bringing trail bikes. Will ride the park one day, but would also like to ride elsewhere. Trailforks indicates there could be good trails in Rutland (Pine Hill Park?). We're doing two nights around Killington, then one night at the Lareau Farm Inn in Waitsfield and plan to ride Perry Hill in Waterbury.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,190
19,156
Canaderp
Is there good riding around Killington other than the bike park? I'm planning on spending a couple of nights out there at the beginning of October. Bringing trail bikes. Will ride the park one day, but would also like to ride elsewhere. Trailforks indicates there could be good trails in Rutland (Pine Hill Park?). We're doing two nights around Killington, then one night at the Lareau Farm Inn in Waitsfield and plan to ride Perry Hill in Waterbury.
@johnbryanpeters told me to go do Green Mountain Trails which is just north of Killington. Drove by it and it looked cool, LOTS of bikes on cars in that area, but didn't get to ride.

Have you been to Killington before? If all three lifts are open, you could easily kill a few days there. Its a large place and lots of fun. Nice variety of trails. Went a few weeks ago and had a blast.
 

Fool

The Thing cannot be described
Sep 10, 2001
2,761
1,471
Brooklyn
Yea, we rode Green Mountain xc trails and Killington on a trip up that way a few years ago. Looking back on the ol' dork logger, we did about 13mi and about 2100ft of climbing.

edit: if you are looking to get some trail riding in along the way, I'd recommend Elm Ridge, which is near Windham and/or Round top
 
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dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
Is there good riding around Killington other than the bike park? I'm planning on spending a couple of nights out there at the beginning of October. Bringing trail bikes. Will ride the park one day, but would also like to ride elsewhere. Trailforks indicates there could be good trails in Rutland (Pine Hill Park?). We're doing two nights around Killington, then one night at the Lareau Farm Inn in Waitsfield and plan to ride Perry Hill in Waterbury.
I'll need to defer to @johnbryanpeters as I haven't done any trail riding in the area.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,289
5,028
Ottawa, Canada
@johnbryanpeters told me to go do Green Mountain Trails which is just north of Killington. Drove by it and it looked cool, LOTS of bikes on cars in that area, but didn't get to ride.

Have you been to Killington before? If all three lifts are open, you could easily kill a few days there. Its a large place and lots of fun. Nice variety of trails. Went a few weeks ago and had a blast.
thanks!

Yeah, we went to Killington maybe 4 years ago for an ESC enduro race. It's the only enduro I ever raced. It was fun, and I'm happy to go back.

Perry Hill is probably my favourite place to ride in the world, I try and do an annual pilgrimage there. There's something about Burning Spear and Rastaman that just draw me in. It's the perfect combination of tech and flow. They're just awesome.

We rode those trails in Pittsfield in 2016. We weren't blown away, but I can't remember why. I think maybe they were a little too "flowy". lots of climbing, and a really quick return to earth. I remember something about the soil too... maybe all gravel or sandy or something? hmmm

I for one certainly wouldn't be against riding in the resort for two days. But I'll see what the other guys think.