[TrumbullHucker]

Was there on Saturday... was really slick.. no lift line and fun as shit

the sun was very strong, and dried up the open areas fast. under the leaves it was still muddy.

 

[schwaaa31]

I rode this and last Sunday. Last Sunday was prime. This Sunday was still pretty slick. Upper Hawleywood opened up at the end of the day but was still too soft IMO. Lower was running really good. Badger was mint as usual. I hope they make some new trails on that side of the mountain. Great dirt/pitch. Juggernaut was drying out and fun as hell too.

 

[Sandwich]

cold is OK, dry is good. Wet and hot are the bad ones IMO.

 

[Sandwich]

okay, so anybody going? might be my one opportunity this summer to go DHing on a weekend...

 

[lobsterCT]

My wife and I would have liked to go, but we struck out on babysitting. Hope you have good conditions.

 

[StiHacka]

okay, so anybody going? might be my one opportunity this summer to go DHing on a weekend...

Did you get the DHR?

 

[schwaaa31]

I'm still planning on going.

 

[Sandwich]

@TrumbullHucker

looks like it might be nice and tacky...

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

If you had to pick to ride one resort...thunder or highland which would it be? Might have a window to be at either...Been to highland many times and absolutely love it. Never been to thunder but I am a creature of habit.

 

[StiHacka]

Thunder.

 

[Sandwich]

If you had to pick to ride one resort...thunder or highland which would it be? Might have a window to be at either...Been to highland many times and absolutely love it. Never been to thunder but I am a creature of habit.

Thunder would be my pick for overall experience, but I tilt more toward DH than park rat riding.
Highland has some great trails if you like and want to ride huge jumps, challenging drops, and your skill level is high. Their easier trails get a TON of mileage, and while they are well built, they tend to have some features that force riders to jam on their brakes, making tons of braking bumps. You literally have to ride on the morning of opening day to avoid severe braking bumps. They have like half a DH trail, ODB, which is really pretty fun, but it ends halfway down the mountain and then you have to laterally transfer to threshold to get more DH action.

Thunder is a bit different. The elevation is like double that of highland, so the trails are much, much longer and far less windy. They also balance jumps and DH pretty well, with a couple of blue squares, greens, and blacks/double blacks dedicated to DH. The main jump run, gronk, is set up so that riders do not have to hit their brakes at all, which reduces braking bumps. They just completed a bigger jump run which I have not been on yet. I wish the trails were a little less back and forth, and cut across the hill a little more so you could link up sections that you like and drop ones that are clapped out, but the build quality is top notch.

The ammenities are better at highland, with a better cafe and a decent shop. Thunder is getting there, and there's both a BBQ joint and taco bell on the way from boston, so that's pretty cool. I haven't been to highland in a long time as thunder is only half an hour further and offers better riding, imo.

 

[schwaaa31]

That's pretty spot on ^^^. One trail I'd add as a must do at Highland if you like natural DH, is Lunch Lady. I don't think it's on the map. It starts out with a steep long rock roller, dumps you across a fire road, back into the wood for a fast piece of singletrack with a few high speed kickers, into another rock roller, but it's off camber with a tricky run out into a small natural drop. That dumps you onto a fire road with a few offshoots into the woods, into another piece of singletrack in the woods and eventually into Threshold right above the Reef drop. I love lower Threshold, so that's one of my favorite trails to ride anywhere.
As for Thunder, I really wish they'd put in a trail like Bonesaw at Highland. There's nothing for drops at Thunder whatsoever. There was one on Hawleywood (big jump line), but they've made it into a roller. Same with the only decent size gap jump before it. They filled it in so you can just ride over it if you want. It seems that Gravity Logics M.O. Is to make DH tame again. IMO, Thunder needs a few more trails on the Badger side of the mountain. Also for food/beer, try The People's Pint about two minutes off the rotary in Greenfield. Great swimming spots on the river right around Thunder as well.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

Thanks guys, yeah I have been to highland 5-6 times and really do love the place. I do tend to more natural dh trails not the jumpy flowy stuff...Highland has some of that but not a ton. That's so funny you mention lunch lady, as I said I have ridden there a decent amount and found it on my last run this fall. I am a big fan of steep rock rolls but had taken a good fall in my previous run so was just up for a cruiser. That roll is pretty steep into the fireroad, just point and roll? Reminds me a bit of drop in clinic at whistler but maybe a bit more sketchy. So there is a second one after you cross the road?

Sounds like next time I am up that way I'll be checking out thunder. Maybe try to do both.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

Beers at highland after a good day of riding is pretty awesome, btw.

 

[schwaaa31]

Yeah, for sure. Just point and roll. It has a good transition at the bottom. The second one was easier for me hitting it blind. It's a tough approach and a pretty tough roll out at the bottom as you have to take a sharp right or you'll tag a tree. A pretty nice natural berm has built up though. You go right into a maybe 4' drop to flat. Also, Thunder has their bar open at the bottom now with a nice new big deck overlooking the mountain. A lot of great local beers on tap.

 

[TrumbullHucker]

@TrumbullHucker

looks like it might be nice and tacky...

Thanks for the shout out.. me and a friend are going to Blue this weekend

Def will be at Thunder soon though

 

[Em_Ef_Er]

Heading up to Thunder tomorrow if anyone wants to rip some laps

 

[Inclag]

Look what just made Dirt's front page....

My 30,000 ft perspective

• I ride at Thunder
• Nobody is hurt badly so that is good
• Bike parks that don't have the infrastructure/rider base of a Whistler, Queenstown, etc. need to find a different method of patrolling their parks. There are not enough advanced riders available that are willing to bum it for ~$10 to $20 an hour. This assuming that they are being paid in a similar fashion to Ski patrol...
• Dirty secret, I do actually get enjoyment out of jumpy trails sometimes
• I think having a strong base of beginner and intermediate trails are healthy for bike parks in order to help grow the sport
• I do not believe that trails that are supposed to be considered advanced should be sanitized to the point that beginners can ride them at brake drag speed.
• I believe advanced trails ought to have filter features at the beginning.
• I think filter features can be done thoughtfully. Slow entries to features of consequence as opposed to high speed and blind is a good way of doing this.

I'm not the gnarliest or fastest rider, I am for inclusion in this sport, but I get concerned when watching videos like this.
I don't want this to be taken as a keep all beginner and intermediate jabrones off the trails and I also don't want this to get turned into a skill labeling thing. That is not my intent. Mountain biking is rad and so is Thunder. This video depicts a situation that could have ended very differently. It's lame it is on Dirt's website and that it was sent to them by what I would assume was the rider, but maybe a productive discussion can come of it? I'm not a lawyer, but I do know we have a messed up legal system here and it seems like if things turned out differently maybe some bad legal things could arise from similar situations.

Is it fair to discuss these things?

Is it reasonable to ask about trail design and the pros & cons of having a trail that are advanced but inclusive to the point that one or both riders in the above video are comfortable enough to go down it at what is their comfort level?

 

[bengxe]

This is why I always wait a while at the top of hawleywood, to make sure I'm not dropping in behind somebody wearing a pack.

 

[jonKranked]

Look what just made Dirt's front page....

My 30,000 ft perspective

• I ride at Thunder
• Nobody is hurt badly so that is good
• Bike parks that don't have the infrastructure/rider base of a Whistler, Queenstown, etc. need to find a different method of patrolling their parks. There are not enough advanced riders available that are willing to bum it for ~$10 to $20 an hour. This assuming that they are being paid in a similar fashion to Ski patrol...
• Dirty secret, I do actually get enjoyment out of jumpy trails sometimes
• I think having a strong base of beginner and intermediate trails are healthy for bike parks in order to help grow the sport
• I do not believe that trails that are supposed to be considered advanced should be sanitized to the point that beginners can ride them at brake drag speed.
• I believe advanced trails ought to have filter features at the beginning.
• I think filter features can be done thoughtfully. Slow entries to features of consequence as opposed to high speed and blind is a good way of doing this.

I'm not the gnarliest or fastest rider, I am for inclusion in this sport, but I get concerned when watching videos like this.
I don't want this to be taken as a keep all beginner and intermediate jabrones off the trails and I also don't want this to get turned into a skill labeling thing. That is not my intent. Mountain biking is rad and so is Thunder. This video depicts a situation that could have ended very differently. It's lame it is on Dirt's website and that it was sent to them by what I would assume was the rider, but maybe a productive discussion can come of it? I'm not a lawyer, but I do know we have a messed up legal system here and it seems like if things turned out differently maybe some bad legal things could arise from similar situations.

Is it fair to discuss these things?

Is it reasonable to ask about trail design and the pros & cons of having a trail that are advanced but inclusive to the point that one or both riders in the above video are comfortable enough to go down it at what is their comfort level?

"don't stop in the middle of a trail" is just basic trail etiquette, bike park or not. goes double for any feature.

 

[Sandwich]

I don't know why following guy continued to follow the patroller bro if it was so obvious that he was so slow...FG should have pulled to the side to let the patroller go, if he couldn't get his attention, or patroller bro should have (more reasonable) pulled over to let FG go.

Still, PB should have known WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than to stop on the landing of a jump...ever. I came across a kid who had snapped his ankle on gronk so I set my bike before the berm and stood at the top of the first jump to warn riders coming down. Not rocket science.

Honestly I feel that patrolling slow is the way to go (what on earth are you going to do at mach chicken passing somebody knocked out in the woods) but you should always yield and be cognizant of people behind you.

I think this was just an accident, and the limey brits suck at journalism, which is saying something for the bike media.

 

[schwaaa31]

Hawleywood had the filter features at the beginning of the trail when it first opened. There was a gap jump, and then that drop was an actual drop. Then everything was filled in so it can all be rolled. Anyone can go on that trail, and in my opinion, that's more dangerous than having gaps on some jumps and drops. That is a seriously high speed trail if you want to clear the tables. There's no way you'd see someone rolling slowly down a landing if you were hitting one of the jumps fast enough to clear it. I put a post on their Facebook page questioning the filling of all gaps when they did it and got a lot of heat for it. I stand by it, I think it's more dangerous the way it is.

 

[Sandwich]

re: trail design-
advanced trails should have a filter feature. thunder is built leaning way towards the easy side- you'd think you can ride anything riding there for half a day. It's not until you get into the schist or too easy that you start to realize how dangerous things can get. Hawleywood should have a nice 6ft drop to kick things off and scare away dudes on proflexes, but it is honestly labeled well.

 

[Electric_City]

Platty has you "watch" a video before selling you a ticket.

@Sandwich, this should be a thread on its own.

 

[StiHacka]

The patroller messed up, that's for sure, but the dude should have slowed down seeing a rider on the side and the patroller stopping to assist.

 

[Sandwich]

Platty has you "watch" a video before selling you a ticket.

@Sandwich, this should be a thread on its own.

ASSUME THE DOWNHILL POSITION

GOD I need to get back to platty. maybe the october weekend?

 

[Electric_City]

I'm dying to get up there. The first 2 weeks of July I was sick. I wanna get up there every time they're open this year.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Look what just made Dirt's front page....

My 30,000 ft perspective

• I ride at Thunder
• Nobody is hurt badly so that is good
• Bike parks that don't have the infrastructure/rider base of a Whistler, Queenstown, etc. need to find a different method of patrolling their parks. There are not enough advanced riders available that are willing to bum it for ~$10 to $20 an hour. This assuming that they are being paid in a similar fashion to Ski patrol...
• Dirty secret, I do actually get enjoyment out of jumpy trails sometimes
• I think having a strong base of beginner and intermediate trails are healthy for bike parks in order to help grow the sport
• I do not believe that trails that are supposed to be considered advanced should be sanitized to the point that beginners can ride them at brake drag speed.
• I believe advanced trails ought to have filter features at the beginning.
• I think filter features can be done thoughtfully. Slow entries to features of consequence as opposed to high speed and blind is a good way of doing this.

I'm not the gnarliest or fastest rider, I am for inclusion in this sport, but I get concerned when watching videos like this.
I don't want this to be taken as a keep all beginner and intermediate jabrones off the trails and I also don't want this to get turned into a skill labeling thing. That is not my intent. Mountain biking is rad and so is Thunder. This video depicts a situation that could have ended very differently. It's lame it is on Dirt's website and that it was sent to them by what I would assume was the rider, but maybe a productive discussion can come of it? I'm not a lawyer, but I do know we have a messed up legal system here and it seems like if things turned out differently maybe some bad legal things could arise from similar situations.

Is it fair to discuss these things?

Is it reasonable to ask about trail design and the pros & cons of having a trail that are advanced but inclusive to the point that one or both riders in the above video are comfortable enough to go down it at what is their comfort level?

And look what got pulled as fast as it was published...

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

So what happened now that the vid was pulled?

 

[schwaaa31]

And look what got pulled as fast as it was published...

Still on their site? https://dirtmountainbike.com/videos/watch-heres-dont-stop-jumps.html

 

[rollertoaster]

I wholeheartedly agree that trails like hawleywood should have a filter feature. The speeds that can be reached on that trail can make things dangerous when there is traffic. Plus a squirrel catcher would decrease the amount of maintenance required due to the formation of braking bumps from the joeys.

 

[StiHacka]

Paging @SuspectDevice , to the white courtesy phone, please!

Apparently Gronk has just been bastardized. They've removed a few jumps and modified landings on a few others so they are less steep. The whole jump trail now feels slower and more sluggish. Any inside scoop why that happened, @SuspectDevice?

 

[Sandwich]

Did you ride it or hear it? That’s lame, gronk was great the way it was

 

[StiHacka]

Did you ride it or hear it? That’s lame, gronk was great the way it was

It was closed until 11:30AM (they were working on it), then I rode it a bunch of times.

 

[Sandwich]

SAD!

 

[SuspectDevice]

I haven't been in charlemont since Tuesday, but Gravity Logic machine operators are doing some tweaks in a few areas to help with some long-term maintenance issues that the hand crew have noticed and/or finishing up things that they wanted to do during the initial build in Spring 2015 and didn't have time or weather for.

Give the edited stuff a little time to firm
up and you'll forget that it ever changed.

 

[Sandwich]

WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE

I'm headed out on Friday with @w00dy and @StiHacka. Anyone else care to freeze your nads off while slipping around on deadly rock faces?

 

[Jim Mac]

Bring yer snow tirez!

 

[lobsterCT]

WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE

I'm headed out on Friday with @w00dy and @StiHacka. Anyone else care to freeze your nads off while slipping around on deadly rock faces?

I've got the day off and would like to join you guys. What time are you getting there? Weather is predicted, as of early this morning, to be 15 to 20 mph wind there on Friday. Will they keep the lift open for that?

 

[Sandwich]

I've got the day off and would like to join you guys. What time are you getting there? Weather is predicted, as of early this morning, to be 15 to 20 mph wind there on Friday. Will they keep the lift open for that?

I don't know. I'm going to ping their facebook to see if they will remain open despite the cold and wind.

I think we'll get there at right 10 or a little before hand to set up. It's a shorter day so I can't imagine getting there any later. Plus with the cold, it may be two runs and done, or it may be all day (with a ski parka on). PM me and we can text, or just look for the overweight guy in a blue Rav4 and green Fury.