Tharawal-Appin area

[crank1979]

Placing large stones at the start of the trail will not stop motos, i ride motos aswell (on a full licensed track, trail and motocross track of course) if the guys on the motos are any good they can get up anything the same size or slightly larger than their front wheel (this is what i have seen in person) and they could just lift their bikes over anyway. You would need something very tall, vertical faced and slippery with a vertical drop on the other side too, anything short of a small stone wall and they could still get over it. If the large stones are theones in the picture i would have no problems getting over them, to the point that i could probably still do it at a moderate speed. Just my 2c.

You're right. It's the best we could do at that particular point today. We are only blocking that point to try and allow some vegetation to regrow as that line isn't used anymore. We're hoping it will stop some of the kids on their little pocket bikes who do seem to get on the singletrack. If we could make the track tighter and twistier at that point so it becomes too difficult and unattractive to motos that's what I'd like to do, but it's not going to happen until a bit further up the trail where the space is available. Definitely appreciate the advice from a moto rider.

 

[dcrofty]

Grant how's the track conditions? Thinking of coming out tomorrow and seeing some of your handiwork but don't want to trash anything. Will it be ok to ride there tomorrow?

 

[crank1979]

It should be pretty good. There might be a bit of sand still on some sections, especially if it rains again tonight. I'll be out there in the morning testing out the new bike. It would be good to get your thoughts on a few sections.

 

[dcrofty]

Sweet. Hopefully I'll catch you out there.

 

[Carl-23]

Making it tight wont make much difference either! The feeling of whipping past the trees brushing branches and stuff at moderate speeds is quite exhilerating for a moto rider, my favourite moto trail has points where i have to turn the bars to fit between trees, lie flat on the seat to get under trees and tracks the width of my front wheel. To make it unbearable drop large branches all over the trail, try to block its path if possible with bushes and also try to cover the entrance with a fallen tree at head or handlebar height so they cant get the bike under. Im actually thinking of riding this trail on my pushy anyway, would a 100m travel giant stp be able to get around this trail? I think so, im a good rider. Only way to get there is with my dad.

 

[crank1979]

Next maintenance day is again the 3rd Saturday of the month, the 18th of February, 2012.

 

[crank1979]

8am, 18th February

This month we are probably looking at creating a new section of trail on the first climb to get around a pretty worn section at the 'Extra Track' point on the map. Some drainage clean up from the carpark to the top of the hill going in the reverse direction could also be on the cards.

 

[MarioM]

Won`t be able to make this one , i`m rostered on to work .

 

[Wiffle]

I'll be away in Queensland...

 

[burkie]

Keen to come and give a hand, working on the 18th unfortunately. Had a look at the "Drop and B line" option you are talking about when I was up there recently. Only thing is, you would basically land on anyone riding down the chute. Maybe block the chute, and have the drop as A line and the proposed c-line as the b-line?

 

[crank1979]

Keen to come and give a hand, working on the 18th unfortunately. Had a look at the "Drop and B line" option you are talking about when I was up there recently. Only thing is, you would basically land on anyone riding down the chute. Maybe block the chute, and have the drop as A line and the proposed c-line as the b-line?

I had thought about that and I think there is enough space to the right of the chute/B Line to make a nice landing area including a ramp. If not then it just doesn't happen.

 

[crank1979]

I went out this afternoon to check the track out. It is in okay condition but there has been a bit of trail widening at some points where people have ridden around puddles and scarey rocks or tree roots. :dejection:

I'll be out tomorrow afternoon for a walk around just to clean out the drains if anyone is interested in joining me at around 4:15pm. Bring a McLeod. I'll probably just walk the first half to the bridge. I might do the second half on Friday afternoon so we can work on the reroute during Saturdays maintenance session.

 

[crank1979]

Still on for tomorrow, 8am start. Bring some tools if you've got them. I'm looking forward to cutting in a reroute. A bit of trimming needs to be done too and the second half of the track needs to have the drainage cleaned out because I didn't get out there this afternoon.

 

[Ivan]

I'll try and make it out there.

Are you meeting in the carpark? I don't know my way around that well.

 

[crank1979]

Meet in the carpark. I'll be in a white ute with a red rack in the back. There should be a few people from the club there as well.

 

[crank1979]

7 people turned up today!

We got a little more done than I'd planned for which was a great effort. The Extra Track section has been cut in and everyone who rode it while we were working said it was excellent. There are a few nice little features and instead of going straight up the incline the new sections now snake across the old trail a few times before getting back on just before my 'Drain' marking.

We'll see how it rides in and make adjustments as necessary but I'm really happy with what we got done today. It has definitely inspired me to mark out another reroute on the other side of the track but that one is going to be a much bigger job than what today was.

 

[crank1979]

It's on again!

8am, 17th March

This month we are probably looking walking the track and tidying up the drainage. I walked it last week and trimmed all the overgrowth back.

Besides helping to fix the trail a bit, it's also a great way to find some sneaky lines for the races. Everyone has one or two little sections they like to ride differently the main line, so come along and chat while you work and gain a few seconds on your mates during the club rounds.

 

[crank1979]

Spent a few hours this morning exploring options for a reroute at the Fall Line mark on the map. 2.5hrs to work out 700m of track but I'm hoping it works out okay when I get a few people to have a look with me before we do any work. I've really only got one area of concern with it but the reroute won;t work at all without it.

A lot of people riding out there today as well. A few said they didn't think the track would be too wet! Despite WMBC cancelling their club round due to the track conditions with the creek crossings being up and water still running down the track in places!

 

[Ivan]

Good stuff Crank1979. Its a shame about the riders in the wet.

 

[crank1979]

I went out mid morning today to flag the potential reroute I'd walked yesterday. I took the McLeod and a bow saw because I'd planned on doing a little bit of work as I walked the second half of the track. I got more done than I thought thanks to the soft ground.

The FixACloseBOpnC section has been done with the A line already done a while ago I just made the rock face a little more friendly, how it was when it was the original line on the track. The B Line is closed off, very obviously with plenty of branches across and a line of caution tape. The arrow now points to the reopened C line. Now if you are racing at a club round or just your mates the C Line, which is now the B Line, is significantly slower than the A Line up the rock face.

I dug a drainage channel and built up a grade reversal at the Grade Reverse? point. The grade reversal is a little soft and needs some sun to help firm it up, but the drainage channel should go far enough beyond the corner that the water doesn't get onto the track at that point, continuing down the firetrail instead.

When I got to the entrance to the reroute I pulled out the gps and realised I forgot to reset it from yesterday so it had lines going all over the place. When I went to reset the gps I forgot to uncheck the box that would leave the route in that I'd uploaded! So I deleted everything and then had no trace to follow.

While walking around I spoke to a few people who were riding and I started to notice a common theme. A few today and in the past have said they came out to ride Mt Annan but because it was closed they've come out to Appin. Maybe Appin's status should be linked to Mt Annans!