I'm thinking I'm there. Let me check the funds once I pay off a boatload of bills and see what the deal is. Luckily Jiminy is a cheap trip.
Jiminy resurrection?
- Thread starter Sandwich
- Start date
jiminy is a cheap trip and I'm pretty sure there are people you can carpool with, hint hint.
i just ordered some fresh saint pads so i can go slower...yay!
i just ordered some fresh saint pads so i can go slower...yay!
When people start putting preconditions into the equation, this means usually means NO...
Just because of that, I'm going.When people start putting preconditions into the equation, this means usually means NO...
Sammich - I'm assuming you're taking the Masshole Pike? I usually head out on Rt. 2 since I'm right off it. It's a bit longer drive time-wise but it's so preeeeetty!
I usually take the massaqueequae pike, but Rt 2 is almost the same time especially since there isn't any traffic on it.Just because of that, I'm going.
Sammich - I'm assuming you're taking the Masshole Pike? I usually head out on Rt. 2 since I'm right off it. It's a bit longer drive time-wise but it's so preeeeetty!
I'd be willing to swing up rt 2 and then down to the pike or just out on 2, especially if we were carpooling. I have room for three bikes but 2 people in my car, Woody, if he goes, has room for infinity bikes and 2.5 people in his excab truck.
Retardless of what way we go, splitting gas makes things easier....
Problem is getting to the Pike from rt 2 (especially out near me) is a good 45 minutes. If anything, meeting somewhere right off the Pike due south of me would be the best option. The Pike is definitely a straight(er) shot for you, and I've never had issues with traffic on it once you get outside of the Natick area anyway.
internet is skitchy sketchy at my cabin in lake george, but its a clear day and I'm finally able to get on somebody elses network.
I don't have alot of other east coast bike parks to compare it to mind you, the only other east coast park I've ridden is highland. There was some pretty damn solid things going on with it, and some that could use improvement as far as general bike park wants and wishes go.
Things that could use improvement:
The lifts - I guess they only spin the big lift on weekends, and they keep the little lift at about 1/4 speed during the summers. We went on a weekend, which theoretically meant that we should be able to use the big lift the whole time, which they spin at 1/2 winter speed, but they didn't open it until 12:15 despite a line waiting for it.
It meant it took about 15 minutes to get high enough to do a 1:30 long run. It was just slightly faster then walking, but not by much. Maybe I'm just used to bigger resorts, where they are pandering specifically to biking (such as northstar) when they run the lifts, but it was a little disappointing to get there and ride for the day, and have them not actually open the lift till half way through the day.
The trails - sort of. I talked to Darrel, who is the head builder there, and we discussed trail width. I'm used to more wide open trails and burms, which is apparently what most of the east coast trails are going toward, but he was explaining that they were going for a little more of the old school fast singletrack there. They definitely had that going on strong, so no real complaints, but I definitely appreciate a little more balance in what a park has to offer, so it would be awesome to see a few more jumps integrated with the trails. They had a few natural jumps that were pretty awesome, but I only counted three jumps, a small stepdown, a wooden stepdown, and a really awkward G out jump that wasn't really that fun. I would have liked to see one or two trails with a few more jumps and features built in. It is always nice to have that one trail that has more burms and jumps for when you want to go flow, rather then just steep natural gnar.
Bushes at that side were a little problem in a few places too. I don't mind getting familiar with bushes with my elbows, but there were a few spots that some thorn bushes could have used some trimming.
- The things I thought were pretty rad
Trail crew was all pretty chill and nice guys. Darrel (head trail builder) ran myself and another guy who builds there occasionally through a trail, and he definitely knew what he was about. I guess he's been head builder there for some years, but its always been on volunteer time, he's never gotten paid for it aside from lift tickets, so whenever personal life comes in between, he has let the mountain go a bit. He's pretty clearly been doing some work, because we rode 6-7 trails and not one of them was an overgrown disaster that I had been worrying about after reading this thread. There were minor tweaks that could have made them slightly better such as trimming, a burm here, etc, but everything was in pretty decent condition to ride.
The flow of the trails was also fun. Most of the trails I rode could be ridden competitively chainless, aside from those by the windmill, where there was some flattish traversing. Even those trails were pretty fun though. There were also some nice steep sections - no cause to panic, its not SLO, champery, or some of the other steep ass trails out there, but its as steep as I've seen at a bike park. There were also no abrupt 180 degree turns in those, which is another plus, because there's nothing I hate more then getting into the flow of a really fast steep section going balls out and then having to panic break because its a new trail and suddenly there is a sharp 180 degree turn. All the turns fit with that particular section of trail. If it was rocky and steep, you could expect some turns. If it was steep with few rocks, you could expect fast flow and no surprise turns. If it was flat, you could expect some natural drops to speed you up.
At 26 bucks, it was pretty damn cheap lift ticket. Maybe thats normal on the east coast, but coming from a land of 40 dollar lift tickets, that was pretty rad. The trails were relatively well maintained, no glaring problems, the volunteer trail crew was nice (gave us a master link for a broken chain and a beer) it was pretty well worth it. Its not super wide bike park wide open jump trails, so if you're looking for something a little different its fun.
I guess the only glaring downside was that I couldn't find any of the mythical east coast rox
Nice review....Jiminy is not rocky compared to Plattekill or Diablo...there are some rocky chutes on the rider's right but it's honestly not bad. Glad to hear you mostly had fun. Jiminy has never been a "bike park" like Diablo or highland, at least in my riding time there- they just have nice clean DH trails rather than bermz and drops. The biggest problem in recent years has been drainage and trail elimination due to other summer park activities...but you say the maintenance was up? The lift is usually pretty quick, so that's too bad it was slow for you.
Enjoy lake George...see if you can get up to whiteface while you're out here.
Enjoy lake George...see if you can get up to whiteface while you're out here.
Yah, we're doing whiteface tomorrow, should be fun. Drainage was fine, no idea about trail elimination, but they had several fun flowy fast trails so good enough for me as far as different trails to ride, and maint was good enough that all the trails were very very rideable. Biggest problem with lack of trimming was in trail transitions, and it really wasn't a big deal there. Definitely worth checking out, I have no regrets about my 26 bucks going there, and I'd be interested to hear what people who have ridden there before think.
As long as you don't turn a blind switchback corner at about 25mph and ram into a 3' diameter down tree laying across the trail, I'm happy. One time of that was enough for me.
That's why I'm lettin' you go 1st on all runs Sat!
The early bird gets the worm, but the 2nd mouse gets the cheese.
are there any Jim M lines at Jiminy?That's why I'm lettin' you go 1st on all runs Sat!
The early bird gets the worm, but the 2nd mouse gets the cheese.
Note to self: Jim Mac seems like an asshatThat's why I'm lettin' you go 1st on all runs Sat!
The early bird gets the worm, but the 2nd mouse gets the cheese.
Jonny Cakes: Jiminy M lines....get it right, son.
Crabby: not as much an asshat (well, OK sometimes, but it usually involves verbally torturing JonKranked) as I am excited to finally ride the DH bike again.
Being a verbal asshat to JK is par for the course.
I, too, am excited to be back on the DH bike again. It's sat untouched in my garage since I rebuilt it last winter. Pretty sad.
Yo crabhands stretchjammer, Woody is doing his own thing this weekend...do you want to carpool? Tell me where and how and I'll do my best to make it happen.
I'll probably just head there myself. Where you're coming from and where I am doesn't really make sense to try to carpool. You can wizz out on the Pike and I'll head out on Rt 2.
I am definitely going though.
I am definitely going though.
It was nice meeting all you guys and riding for the day! The trails were awesome and the weather was great! Hope to ride w/ you all again, it was a great time.
Mike
Mike
Ditto! Super fun day. Awesome weather, awesome trails and awesome dudes to ride with. We need to do it again.
I posted a ride report but it has to be moderated first. I'll link to it shortly. Basically, Jiminy is back to where it was before. Hopefully with a little help from the DH community, we can push it forward. There's a shedload of potential there (steep as platty, more dirt like Killington, less trail restrictions than many mountains)...but it needs some support as the all-volunteer trail crew can't handle the whole damn thing themselves.
I loved it and it was great riding with JimMac Crabjoe Woody and Ragdoll, plus other random guy.
I loved it and it was great riding with JimMac Crabjoe Woody and Ragdoll, plus other random guy.
Was he on a blue faith?
all indications point to an ESC race in 2012. Mickey we should meet up in the fall and scope some potiental tracks.
Jiminy trails were in great shape for the most part, it's too bad that I wasn't! 
You could see a good effort there, especially as it's an all volunteer run trail crew.
Good times, let's do it again!
You could see a good effort there, especially as it's an all volunteer run trail crew.
Good times, let's do it again!
Nope, random guy was on a kitted out M9 with Avy cart in a Boxxer and woodie/ti spring. He met up with us while his kid was dangling from the ropes course, but I never really caught his name.
I hope they do get an ESC race. The mountain could use the hype and I think people would be impressed. I'd avoid the touristy area at all costs though, make sure the course ends over to the rider's right. It sounded like Darrel had a connection with a local campground to keep cheap digs available, as parking lot camping was unlikely (come on, that lower lot is perfect!). Whatever the course is, I hope it includes the one absolutely zany steep section 3/4 of the way down, I think it's "I". Beginners can go around it.
I hope they do get an ESC race. The mountain could use the hype and I think people would be impressed. I'd avoid the touristy area at all costs though, make sure the course ends over to the rider's right. It sounded like Darrel had a connection with a local campground to keep cheap digs available, as parking lot camping was unlikely (come on, that lower lot is perfect!). Whatever the course is, I hope it includes the one absolutely zany steep section 3/4 of the way down, I think it's "I". Beginners can go around it.
This is great news. I may try to head up there soon. It's was always a fun place to ride.
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=244641
Jiminy ride report finally moderated for approval.
Jiminy ride report finally moderated for approval.
So..........when's the next trip??
Hmmm, possibility of Sunday 8/28 or Sun 9/4 for me, maybe even Monday 9/5.
this weekend and the next I'm out of town.
sep 4 is plattekill labor day race...i wouldn't mind getting back for that, but I'd probably prefer a freeride day at platty over a race weekend.
Sep 9 is whiteface, I'd like to make that
The following weekend I may have to work, if not I'm game.
Beyond that, outside of Monkeyfestdeux, I'm game. Had a lot of fun and got to sleep in my own bed.
sep 4 is plattekill labor day race...i wouldn't mind getting back for that, but I'd probably prefer a freeride day at platty over a race weekend.
Sep 9 is whiteface, I'd like to make that
The following weekend I may have to work, if not I'm game.
Beyond that, outside of Monkeyfestdeux, I'm game. Had a lot of fun and got to sleep in my own bed.
Slow down there, racer boi!
I just got back from Jiminy. Not he best choice of days to go, but hey, its not all rainbows and unicorns all the time. I have to say, despite riding int he rain all day, they have some great trails there. This place is definitely worth a trip for anyone. Some of the trails are a little washed out, pretty typical of erosion at Platty or WF, but they are super fun to ride.
I will be back for sure...when it's dry.
I will be back for sure...when it's dry.
We had some good luck there in regards to the storm last week, especially compared to how some of the other resorts fared with all the rain and wind. A couple of the steeper trails were hit hard with erosion, but we did a lot of work on a couple of them on Saturday and they're actually better than what they were like before the storm. The easier trails on the right side of the mountain (by where the touristy stuff is) actually didn't seem to take any damage from the storm and are totally fine. In the next few weeks we're planning on smoothing out and reviving a jump line section which right now is really bumpy and sketchy at speed.
Schauss...great job there. I had a great time. Can't wait to get back to ride it when it's dry and get to know some of the trails some more. So many fun features.
anyone have helmet cam of the trails?
I do. I have to upload it and all... give me a few days. lets just say the trails are freaking sweet!
I am going up in the morning! So pumped
see you there!
I am so freaking stoked that people are getting pumped on Jiminy after 6 years of boosterism!
Remember- Jiminy is built and maintained by volunteers(of which there aren't enough). Talk to people and consider volunteering to throw in a shovel or two every once and a while. Just like a set of dirt jumps, maintenance and riding go hand in hand.
My hand is just starting to heal up. So stoked to get out a few times before the lift stops spinning.
Remember- Jiminy is built and maintained by volunteers(of which there aren't enough). Talk to people and consider volunteering to throw in a shovel or two every once and a while. Just like a set of dirt jumps, maintenance and riding go hand in hand.
My hand is just starting to heal up. So stoked to get out a few times before the lift stops spinning.
wow today was freaking awesome! This place is so much fun to ride, the trails are very similar to pkill but much more dirt and no shale. Its stupid fun! go go go! Ill post videos later on!