Rocky HIll Ranch Trail Conditions

[Ridenfool]

You know how it is, get near the end of a project and you find motivation to get 'er done. So, rather than stretch this out I went full Masochist and put in four to five hours each day this week behind loppers, McLeod, Pick Mattock, and a Silky folding saw.

Had to whup out the Ryobi reciprocating saw after having killed the Ryobi pole saw on this trail project. It is now in for warranty repair and wasn't even a year old. They put a three year warranty on it and I think it could be back for more rebuilds over the coming years if my use continues at this rate. It is a handy tool for clearing Yaupon at ground level, as well as taking out Cedar branches. But, I'm rambling, aren't I?

Today I did about five hours of bench cutting on two sketchy sections, taking out the worst of several off-camber bits. For those who enjoy a little challenge I did leave a few short off-camber sections just to keep things interesting.

The bottom line here is that Tea Party is finished. At least the first draft, as no trail is ever really done. Of all the trails I have made at Rocky Hill, this one may be my Magnum Opus. The terrain kept revealing fun new lines as I explored over the past several months, modifying the eventual track and using up as much of this space as possible.

A test pilot went out this afternoon to give it a whirl and report back, should he survive. We have been riding it as an out and back as work progressed, and he'll get to put first wheels on The Jabberwock TTF and the rest of the trail to where it ties back into the current loop. I hope to take a ride on it in the next few days to make sure there are no needed tweaks before opening it up to the public.

Signage will be in the works shortly.

I've got this one coming as well...

 

Edit: The test pilot survived and reports the new trail brings the total RHR loop to 14.7 miles. We should be over 15 miles soon.

Post Edit, Edit: That mileage total was TH to TH, and adding in the Start/Finish loop to the Pavilion would make it 15 wheel-miles now. (GPS miles will be less)

Edited November 20, 2022 by Ridenfool

[Ridenfool]

Took a ride Sunday, after nearly 1" of rain early Saturday. It was better than I expected. All that wind on Saturday blow-dried it I suppose. There were a few puddles and it was a little sticky in a few places. Overall it was quite rideable so soon after a good rain. Plenty of riders and campers were on site enjoying the day.

Did my first ride on the new Tea Party section to see how it fared. It drained well, but I did choose to walk down the Jabberwok TTF this time. There were also a couple of spots where I had wheelspin on a slight incline with exposure where it was prudent to do a stop and push. Once the trail is packed after a bevy of wheels traverse it this looks to be another one that will recover quickly from precipitation. Found a few places to touch-up before opening the trail.

Got both wheel and GPS measurements for Rabbit Hole and Tea Party. Together they make 1 mile of new trail. We've gone from 6.5 to 15 miles of trail in a year. Better yet, folks are saying good things about the new stuff.

Looks like a nice week ahead, clear skies, nice temps, and all the more reason to come get some at RHR.

 

 

 

[Ridenfool]

The riding public is cordially invited to enjoy a delightful Tea Party at Rocky Hill Ranch. Just go down the Rabbit Hole to get there...

Today, after a little more dirt work, the new trail has officially been added to the Loop.

(after a few wheels have been on it I'll see what other tweaks may be needed)

The Jabberwock TTF gets a sign as well.

 

 

Paul and I have both witnessed riders coming off of Corkscrew who were confused about where Mini Me started. The name sign was already on the tree, but they were looking up and down the road for the trail. So, I added an arrow sign below the name. Hopefully this will make it clearer about where to go. Also, did some trimming to make it more obvious.

 

 

[GFisher]

On 11/15/2022 at 6:08 AM, AustinBike said:

I checked with the folks as AB World Headquarters and they let me know that this trail conditions site is pulled from another kind soul who manages it. @crazyt owns that and he can tell you how to provide updates for RHR.

The API automatically updates every 5 minutes so if someone submits the status to his app, 5 minutes later, through a series of tubes, the new result magically shows up on my site.

Thanks John. Yeah, where I was going with that was it would be great if there was someone intimately knowledgeable about the trail conditions out there 😉. Are we to assume it is always open and just let our personal tolerance for riding mud and our best guess be our guide? I guess my impression is with so much new trail it may not be baked in very well and needs drying time like most places. Seems like more clay in the remaining terrain than some of the sandier stuff in the back of the original trail system. Any thoughts/tips are appreciated @Ridenfool!!

[Ridenfool]

That's what I hoped posting the weather link would help with. Looking at rain history over the preceding week can offer some baseline to calculate from.

My rule of thumb has always been to give it at least a day or two after 1/4 to 1/2 inch (with no previous rain) and if there has been more than an inch, give it at least two or three days. If the humidity stays above 80% it can take longer. If it has rained several times over the past week it can take longer. If there is wind, higher temps, low humidity, etc. it can dry quicker. All this can be extracted from the historical data on the Berdoll Farms weather station next door, but who, besides me, is ever going to go through that hassle?

The new stuff I have built is designed with drainage in mind. This forethought should help things to fare well in the wet and to dry quicker. Whenever possible I try to avoid building long runs across ground that holds water. But, it still rains and we have to give it time if we don't want to eat up chains, brakes, and have a bike covered with... stuff.

I have a new theory that opening a new trail is like buying a new bike in the eyes of the rain gods. My plans were to take multiple runs on the new trail section tomorrow, but RHR had about a quarter inch of the wet stuff today. Maybe Sunday afternoon...

Edit: and yeah, it is open 24/7 and a mere volunteer trail builder has no say over whether people ride or not. Fortunately, the trails are resilient for the most part and the most damage is that done to the bikes of those who choose to ride in the muck.

Edited December 3, 2022 by Ridenfool

[Ridenfool]

After having made several runs on Tea Party now it seems to be shaping up nicely. Better yet, I've had great feedback from riders who have given the latest mile that is Rabbit Hole and Tea Party a whirl. Many speak of the challenges and exposure they offer to spice things up. One rider said if I've named the one feature (Jabberwock) I should name one other on Tea Party as well. It will be getting a sign calling that "Cheshire Cut" TTF. It offers some skill building fun as it traipses across a side-slope, then U-turns onto an extended climb back out giving a view of a stock tank downstream from The Wall. These new trails won't be part of the upcoming Chuck's Big New Adventure, though once they have been established with traffic expect them to be included in future events.

 

We've been doing some housekeeping in prep for the race coming up later this month. Several of the legacy sections that have needed a trim for a while are getting their corridor wallowed out.

A section of Tristy that used to be part of Karaway has been tremendously improved through the volunteer efforts of a racer from Dallas who came down to help out. He was also responsible for doing a lot of work on the end section of Corkscrew last time he was down. Thanks for the help!

Paul went through the rest of Tristy with a leaf blower and, once uncovered, applied loppers with surgical precision to clean up a hundred or so toe-catching Yaupon and Cedar stubs left over from the building of that section.

The section from the Ventosa rest stop that runs down to the Grind has had the sight lines opened up and face-slappers trimmed back.

More work is planned on Switchback, Y-knot, and a legacy section that became part of Lemonade. This should be completed before race day and hopefully will last another year or so before needing more attention.

 

The trail surface is excellent right now and the Fall tribute from the trees have made it look completely different. This time of year trail spotting skills pay off to find the path under the blanket of fresh leaves. Riders in Chuck's Big New Adventure ought to blast them thoroughly so get by before they are gone if you like to experience that sort of seasonal flavor.

This afternoon @Talltexan stopped by during our post-ride libations and visited for a while after riding a lap. It was a pleasure to meet you and I hope to see you out there again soon.

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by Ridenfool

[Albert]

I'm out here now for the first time in a while!  However, the bathrooms are locked with a combination lock. If someone has the code and can send me a message, that would be appreciated. Assuming that's something they give out to those using the ranch. Otherwise kind of lame that they are locked. 

Thanks!

[Albert]

They are doing some serious construction along the side of Lemonade. Building a new road?  They have dumped a giant pile of dirt right at the end of Lemonade. I had to dismount to get around it.  I would not be surprised if that happened today, as there's big excavator in the area right now. 
 

 

[Ridenfool]

Thanks for posting that up Albert! I was out there yesterday afternoon and there was no dirt pile on that stretch.

They are putting in a new pipeline and, despite workers seeing riders going by for the last several days, signs on the tree, picnic table, berm, etc. don't seem to realize that there is a trail there.

I've passed this on to Paul who will contact them tomorrow to fix this. Hopefully will be done pronto so his event isn't impacted. A few folks have been pre-riding the course on weekdays I've been out and there should be a bunch of them over the weekend.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Ridenfool

[Ridenfool]

2 hours ago, Albert said:

I'm out here now for the first time in a while!  However, the bathrooms are locked with a combination lock. If someone has the code and can send me a message, that would be appreciated. Assuming that's something they give out to those using the ranch. Otherwise kind of lame that they are locked. 

Thanks!

The employees who live there are supposed to open those up each day, along with the sign-in shack. I've sent you a DM in case you are still on site.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Ridenfool

[Albert]

53 minutes ago, Ridenfool said:

The employees who live there are supposed to open those up each day, along with the sign-in shack. I've sent you a DM in case you are still on site.

Thanks for that, I am now back at the "saloon". Yeah, the sign-in shack was closed as well, but it wasn't locked, so I was able to open it up. I did close it when I was done, as I assumed that it was supposed to be closed. 

[Albert]

1 hour ago, Ridenfool said:

They are putting in a new pipeline and, despite workers seeing riders going by for the last several days, signs on the tree, picnic table, berm, etc. don't seem to realize that there is a trail there.

Yeah, the workers definitely saw me, especially as I stopped a few times to take photos. Some even waved. There's no way that excavator operator didn't see that trail he dumped the dirt on. The signs are also right there and he would have seen them as well. And, like you said, the picnic table with the water jug on it. 

[Ridenfool]

13 hours ago, Albert said:

Thanks for that, I am now back at the "saloon". Yeah, the sign-in shack was closed as well, but it wasn't locked, so I was able to open it up. I did close it when I was done, as I assumed that it was supposed to be closed. 

Glad to know you got the DM in time to get into the showers okay. I think they've had a problem with random folks who aren't legit RHR visitors using the restrooms overnight during the week.

0ther than the insta-hill you photo'ed above, what did you think of the rest of the trail modifications since your last ride at RHR?

[Ridenfool]

The dirt pile was fixed today, and Paul talked them into dropping some of it on the berm there to build it up a little.

Who doesn't love a happy ending?

 

I rode a partial lap with loppers and folding saw. Taking care of Yaupon encroachment on Switchback and Lemonade, and a bunch of toe-catchers were cut down as well.

Paul has taken a leaf blower to several of the trails so riders can see where it goes now. On the last ride out there I missed a turn because of the leaves. On a trail I built! How embarrassing.

[Ridenfool]

Sunday Morning: RHR got 2.4 inches of rain overnight. I'd suggest folks not ride the trails for a couple of days.

Should be about perfect for the event coming up on Saturday.

Edited December 11, 2022 by Ridenfool

[Albert]

On 12/9/2022 at 10:08 PM, Ridenfool said:

The dirt pile was fixed today, and Paul talked them into dropping some of it on the berm there to build it up a little.

Who doesn't love a happy ending?

That's great!

On 12/9/2022 at 10:08 PM, Ridenfool said:

I rode a partial lap with loppers and folding saw. Taking care of Yaupon encroachment on Switchback and Lemonade, and a bunch of toe-catchers were cut down as well.

Paul has taken a leaf blower to several of the trails so riders can see where it goes now. On the last ride out there I missed a turn because of the leaves. On a trail I built! How embarrassing.

Oh yeah, I was going to mention, there are TONS of leaves out there, and I had to be cautious at times (especially at speed) so I didn't run into a hidden rock, dip, root, or something else that may have been hidden!  I did notice two trails that had already been raked or leaf blown, which made a HUGE difference, so I was able to go much faster on those trails (maybe Tristy and some of Lemonade?) 

Also, on the initial trails that run up the hill with the tall grass/weeds, there were a million crickets jumping all over the place as i was riding through.  Amazingly, they seemed to all miss me for the most part.  I also noticed a TON of big holes all over that section of trail, what's that about?

There were at least five miles of trail new to me since my last visit, which was a while ago.  Rather impressive how much trail you've been able to squeeze in that space!  Is disappointing to see how much open space there is now, but at least you've been able to do some interesting things with it.  Litterbox was fun, going from tree to tree with the large piles of rocks/gravel/dirt around them.  Reminded me of the big open fields at Reimers near the end that pretty much do the same thing, tree to tree so you can a tiny bit of respite from the sun.

I had also never seen the Freeride 512 area before, that was rather impressive to behold.  Not something I'm personally interested in (don't need to kill myself doing jumps), but I'm sure people have a ton of fun on everything there.  Thanks for all the work you and others have done!

And finally, great job on all the signage, it's really nice to see that.  And I appreciate seeing some of the old sculptures and other items on these new trails.  🙂

[Ridenfool]

Paul and I built some new berms today, taking advantage of the soft ground after the rain. There is now a long berm on Litterbox at the turn by the Lizard metal art, another on Karaway and a few more flow-inducing improvements.

I also did some smoothing on a couple of annoying undulations on Litterbox and Y-Knot, and a little trenching on a section of Tristy that always holds water after a rain... during which work I broke the handle off my MacLeod. Fortunately, my ridin' bud has a welder and successful reattachment surgery was performed this afternoon. The patient is resting comfortably in my van. Hopefully it lasts another ten or fifteen years.

There were actually a couple of riders out today. It couldn't have been much fun and I'll bet their drivetrains didn't appreciate it. Soupy and mushy in all the low spots. Maybe it'll be better by Wednesday or Thursday. There is a lot of water making its way slowly downhill across several trail sections.

Edited December 13, 2022 by Ridenfool

[AntonioGG]

14 hours ago, Ridenfool said:

There were actually a couple of riders out today. It couldn't have been much fun and I'll bet their drivetrains didn't appreciate it.

RHR is a trail that punishes those that dare ride when they shouldn't be which is cool IMO.  I've had to replace the whole brand new driveline after a 24hr race when conditions were bad.

[Ridenfool]

Hey @AustinBike, today I fixed that spot near the end of Litterbox with the blue boxes that we had talked about when you were out for the free weekend. It should flow mo' bettah now. I've arranged to get a few hundred wheels on it tomorrow to establish the new line.

Also, several new berms were created or improved in the past week on Litterbox, Karaway, and Y-Knot, along with drainage management for several wet spots, and lots of trimming back growth for improved sight lines.

The board section (Shart Cut) on Black Trac has been closed for evaluation after significant erosion from last weekend's rain. Fortunately, we had expected this and a bypass was already in place.

Lots of good feedback from riders on all the new stuff. Got a couple of local volunteers coming out to help polish a few rough spots on Tea Party next week.

Edited December 17, 2022 by Ridenfool

[AustinBike]

I'll need to get out there, need to let things warm up a bit. When it is this cold I'd rather just ride local.

[Albert]

4 hours ago, AustinBike said:

I'll need to get out there, need to let things warm up a bit. When it is this cold I'd rather just ride local.

Let me know when you go out there if you want some company. 

[Ridenfool]

7 hours ago, AustinBike said:

I'll need to get out there, need to let things warm up a bit. When it is this cold I'd rather just ride local.

Cold?

You are from Chicago, right? This is balmy weather for Texas. It should be a cake-walk for your genetics.

It was 56 out there this afternoon. I was peeling layers and sweating. Okay, I was digging trenches with a MacLeod while "working" the event as a safety person.

You could consider putting on a few pounds of insulation in preparation for Winter riding. 😉 (says the guy with plenty of insulation)

Happy trails!

[AustinBike]

Yeah, I got a short ride in today, World Cup is eating up all of my free time.

I did get a ride while the sun was out. Maybe between xmas and new years.

[Ridenfool]

Headed out today to do more dirt work and fine tuning of some lines on Tea Party. May even have cajoled some local volunteers to come out. Fingers crossed.

Paul tells me Rabbit Hole and Tea Party will be part of Bluff Creek Ranch's annual Excrutiation Exam in January. This Masochist-only event starts at BCR Warda, rides back roads to Rocky Hill and does a lap, then goes back to BCR for a lap.

If that dirt work goes quickly I'll then apply efforts to some of the swampy bits the recent rains revealed on Karaway and Tristy. Will likely get the owner's skid steer involved to raise the grade eventually, once things dry out. For now we've been trying to increase the drainage rate. Exploration of re-routes is another option that will be further evaluated.

Other than those three or four swampy places the trails are in fantastic form. Last Saturday's race did a good job of further establishing the tread and bedding in several new berms and other improvements.

The coming Christmas present of brutal cold (sort of a lump of coal in the stocking, I'd say) will preclude both riding and working out there for several days, so I'm going to do what I can and take advantage of great working conditions while high temps are still in the balmy 50s,

[Albert]

3 hours ago, Ridenfool said:

Other than those three or four swampy places the trails are in fantastic form. Last Saturday's race did a good job of further establishing the tread and bedding in several new berms and other improvements.

As always, thanks for the updates.  How many people showed up for the race?