[littlemissmarz]

hey
this freeride park looks awesome ... questions though ....

I'm from NZ ...

1) where abouts in the states is this place exactly?
2) Also, seems like a lot of good downhill structures... but for those of us doing XC and freeride stuff (cos at the age of 27 you have fear unfortunately, haha) is there much there? I love pushing myself, but having only been riding since july last year I obviously dont wanna do something that's gonna kill me
3) is there accomodation such as backpackers or just tentsites that ive seen mentioned on previous posts in here?
4) what are the weather conditions like in september to mid october?
5) anyone spend a lot of time there who'd be willing to show a 27 year old NZ girl around a bit?

Sorry about all the questions, I tried looking thru the forum for the answers first but didnt find what i needed ... so i thought i'd just ask

 

[pinkshirtphotos]

1. located in Vernon, (northern) new jersey (east coast near new york city)
2. everything from fire roads, to technical rock gardens and some wooden features thrown in.
3. nope no camping on site, but there is a big castle hotel i bet you can camp in one of the rooms.
4. September to mid October are nicer in beginning of September. October gets a wee chilly. i would come in august myself because then you can ride midweek.
5 . i will gladly show you around.

 

[jcook90]

he's pretty much right. they got everything interms of stunts, you can not do any cuz everything has b-lines, and drops ranging from 2 to probably 15 feet if you so please.

 

[pinkshirtphotos]

I’ll give an example of a trail. Alpine is a small section of the mountain near the bottom. The trail gets SUPER brake bumps towards the end of the day and is nice during the morning hours when the due has kept the dust down. The trail has 3 or 4 berm in the beginning you can go almost horizontal if you please yet you can also ride them like any other corner. That leads you to a tabletop dirt jump you can roll or clear. Bringing you to the first wall ride. You can make this as technical as your imagination can make it or as easy and riding the brakes and treating it as a slow berm. That will bring you to another straightaway and a second wall ride that is just about the same as the first. Then you have a small gap jump you can treat this as 2 small rollers or a jump. Bringing you down a small hill to a fast berm. Another straight section to a really brake bumped section that I recommend you take slow because another trail merges in about 15 feet after the berm ends. After that you go through a last berm and under a foot bridge and your in a small and fast ‘rock garden’ if you will section. Now you are at the progression drops or the sram berm. Sram berm is very easy all you do is roll/jump tabletops get some speed and hold on. You’re now on a fire road that takes you to the lift. Be careful with your speed. Bunny hop the erosion dips if you can and stay to the left.

 

[littlemissmarz]

Cool cool. I think this place may have to go on my list of places to visit I'll be at summer camp til 26th august in NY state. Then generally I think I'll be hanging out in NY for the week after that. And I need to be in orlando for the 8th and 9th sep. So .... if diablo ends up on my list it'll be either those few days before i head to orlando .... or after i leave orlando.

apart from the hotel, which im guessin is pricey, is there any backpacker type accomodation nearby? And are there bike hire places? cos i wont be bringing mine all the way from NZ.

 

[littlemissmarz]

looks like you're pretty handy on the camera there too i checked out your myspace. if u end up showing me round maybe u can take pics that make me look like im good at riding, lol.

 

[pinkshirtphotos]

I will be shooting weekends only. If you come midweek I need some advanced notice.

 

[littlemissmarz]

well looking at the level of some of the tracks im sure there's plenty there that i cant do... but I still wanna come and play Even if I just do that lovely intermediate line on the trail map. At the moment I'm looking at doing 1st-4th september or something like that as the park then closes on the 5th and starts its "weekends only" opening hours. Will probably play it by ear til the last minute, but I think that's the most likely.

Also depends on accomodation ... doesnt seem like there's any hostel/backpacker accomodation nearby, and the cheapest I found in my look around online is like $120 a night! eek! I can't afford that on top of bike and gear hire ($124 a day just for that!). If you know of anywhere cheap let me know! otherwise i'll ask around I think

 

[pinkshirtphotos]

there is a hostel for backpackers at http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=st+thomas+episcopal+church+vernon+nj&btnG=Google+Search
give them a call. they are really friendly and mite let you stay. if you are there your only a 5 minute ride to diablo by bike. Hit me up on AIM at vernonrider90 and i can give you more information

 

[dirttastesgood]

girl from nz, seans slow and unatractive, i suggest someone else

 

[vernonrider9O]

i will show you around. there is a good polish deli in vernon. i can ask my mom, but you should be abel to camp in my back yard. its cool and we have goats and other animels.

 

[littlemissmarz]

haha, well camping without a tent wouldn't be much fun anyway. I don't know why every other city has hostels, its not fair :-(

 

[S.K.C.]

I think the whole concept of a hostel is more of a european thing that really hasn't caught on here in the states.

I stayed in a youth hostel once on a trip to Washington D.C. when I was a kid on a school trip, but that was the only one I've ever really been to, and it was really run down.

It seems to me that in other countries hostels have traditionally been a place for travelers or students - a place that is viewed as a nice place to stay. I've seen some, and they look to be well maintained.

Hostels are usually cheaper than hotels and a bit more spartan in creature comforts correct? In the states it's all about money. Over here, a hostel isn't part of a national or international chain (Hilton hotels for example), so the owners are not obligated to live up to a specific standard as far as maintainance or guidelines of habitation are concerned. So, in order to maximize profit, the owners won't bother investing any more money than they have to in upkeep and won't have strict rules about who stays at their hostel or what behavior is permissable on the premises. Eventually places that fit the previous description usually become predominantly occupied by vagrants, drug addicts, and the like.

So no city council or board of directors is going to want one built in their town/city/jurisdiction - therefore: no hostels in the states.

Just a theory though - I could be wrong.

 

[littlemissmarz]

there's heaps of hostels in the states actually ... just not where i wanna go. typically theyre places with either dorm rooms which sleep 6-12 people, or twin rooms in some places.
Well I'm sure I'll find SOMETHING by the time i come to visit. I've got 4 months to figure it out

 

[S.K.C.]

I don't travel as much as I used to, so I was just going on what I have seen in my area.

Hope you find a nice place to stay - I'll talk to Shawn, the manager of Diablo to see if we can come up with something for you in the meantime.

 

[littlemissmarz]

arrrgh plans just changed and now I'm torn. I've been asked to stay on for an extra week at the camp/performing arts school im teaching at, so my travel time doesn't start til the afternoon of the 2nd sep.
i now have 2 mtb parks I want to visit ... Diablo, and this one www.downhillmike.com
Problem is ... they are both only open on weekends, so i need to plan the rest of my trip around getting back there for weekend riding, and I dont know if I can do it ... i risk running out of time for the rest of my trip :-(
I COULD go to diablo for the 3rd and 4th sep as it seems its open those days on the calendar, but I think I have friends expecting to see me in NYC those days. *sigh* Too many decisions :-( I want to fit in both places into my travel but we'll see. It sounds like it could be a mission with transport to both.

 

[pinkshirtphotos]

diablo is only around 45 miles from nyc

 

[littlemissmarz]

yes but its only open on weekends by the time i finish at my camp, transport there doesnt seem too easy, and accomodation is pricey. :-( I'm trying to work stuff out on my calendar to see if I can make it work cos I do want to come there and play.

 

[billcosby]

i will show you around. there is a good polish deli in vernon. i can ask my mom, but you should be abel to camp in my back yard. its cool and we have goats and other animels.

I love this guy

 

[littlemissmarz]

hmm anyone know what the closest amtrak train station is?? i'll probably be coming from philly. although i can go all the way to NYC and then get another outgoing train from there.

 

[littlemissmarz]

here's the new jersey options i have...
1. Newark Airport, NJ (EWR)
2. Metropark, NJ (MET)
3. New Brunswick, NJ (NBK)
4. Newark, NJ (NWK)
5. Princeton Junction, NJ (PJC)
6. Trenton, NJ (TRE)
7. Atco - N J Transit Station, NJ (ATO)
8. Absecon - Nj Transit Station, NJ (ABN)
9. Cherry Hill - N J Transit Station, NJ (CRH)
10. Egg Harbor City - N J Transit Station, NJ (EGH)
11. Hammonton - N J Transit Station, NJ (HTN)
12. Somerdale - N J Transit Station, NJ (LDW)
13. Atlantic City - N J Transit, NJ (ACY)

 

[JRogers]

Wait, how are you getting to Diablo? Do you have a ride or something. None of those stations are exactly close to Vernon.

 

[jbogner]

You need to find someone who will drive you either from Philly or NYC. There aren't any viable public transportation options out there to Diablo. Closest public transportation is NJ Transit bus to West Milford, NJ or Warwick, NY

The good news is that there are carloads of people heading out to Diablo from NYC and Philly on any given weekend, so bumming a ride shouldn't be terribly hard. Just hit up the local forums- brooklynbikeriders.com and nycmtb.com for NYC- a week or two before you'll be in town. No one plans this far ahead.

The hiker hostel mentioned earlier is your best bet for lodging. Can't beat the price of free.

http://stthomas-vernon.dioceseofnewark.org/2006annualreport/hikerhostel.htm

Although staying with your friends in NYC, and just going out to ride for the day, is probably your best bet.

 

[littlemissmarz]

ok so why the hell is this place so hard to get to??! lol. It's kinda annoying.

Alright, so general concensus from everyone ... am I better to go back to NYC and stay there, and just find people going out to diablo to give me a ride? I'm just worried that as I only have 2 days to go there, and I wanna go both days, I don't want to miss my chance if I don't get a ride. But if you reckon it'll be easy to do then maybe that's the best option. Beats paying $150 a nite for accomodation too! And I'll have people to ride with hopefully.

If that's the best option ... do you know where most people come from, or what area of NYC is best to stay in (ie: where most people will drive past anyway)?

Cheers everyone, thanks for your help
PS: if everything goes to plan i'll be there 15th and 16th of september I'm heading to the states in 28 days but I've got a summercamp to do first.