New Millenium Trail in April 2008, without eradication efforts
Today, March 28, the Mountains Restoration Trust will begin eradication of the invasive Mustard plants along the New Millennium Trail. Each year by early summer the mustard can choke off the trail and render it near-impassable. This is especially true after above-average rainfall seasons like we’ve experienced this year.
This picture from April 2008 shows how the New Millennium Trail will likely look again if no eradication effort is undertaken.
CORBA has provided funds to the MRT to help support their efforts. This will save many days of brush-clearing trailwork in the early summer, allowing us to concentrate on other trailwork efforts.
We thank the MRT for helping keep this much-loved trail rideable for all.
MRT
Most trails in our local riding area don’t respond well to rain. They have a high content of clay that turns into sticky, slippery muck that binds to everything it touches. It builds up on the tires, like a snowball rolling downhill, until it jams on the frame and the wheels won’t budge. Some models of clipless pedals refuse to yield when full of this mud, resulting in the bike and the attached rider lying sideways in a puddle.
On wet trails, bikes make grooves down the middle. These grooves collect water when it rains again, turning first into little channels to move the water downhill, then into little ruts, then large ruts that destroy the trail. You’ve heard about the beat of a butterfly wing that causes a hurricane? Then remember the tire track that turns a tail into one large rut!
And the mud is particularly hard to remove. It sticks to the bike and shoes, no matter the efforts to remove it, rubbing off on the bike rack, car carpet and floor pedals. Once home, it takes the careful use of a garden hose to remove the mud but not force water into the sensitive parts of the bike.
But if the trails are soaking, all is not lost if you need to ride! There are a few trails that hold up well when wet because they have more sand and rock that doesn’t hold the water. Here are a few you should know about:
