Tranq - South hill warning

The city has resumed work on the south hill and is moving quite a bit of dirt. In all this, we have lost some trail. The trail crew is working on a re-route for the area and should have it cut in and rideable by the end of the weekend. Please give the city workers room to work and avoid the areas they are working in. Thanks!

very successful L&C trailday

No pics? We were too busy moving trees and dirt to take pics.
First timers Melonie, Craig showed from previous invitations while they were walking or riding L&C.
Brandon W. came out to ride but helped with Brian H. for the time they had available.
Steve D. saved the day bringing his saws. Very little would have been accomplished on the reconnector otherwise. His dog Cody was tracked over 7 miles while there.
Joshua S. and his dog ? added a little Kansas flavor to the mix.
Chris "earthmover" P. did his thing grubbing in the dirt.
Todd M. ran the saw to provide a corridor for tread grubbers behind.
Paul N. brought the beer, weedwacked, and sunk entrance trailmarkers with Chris.
I think there were one or two more but my mind is drawing a blank.

Afterwards Kyle (first timer at L&C), Scott N. (old timer at L&C), Todd, and I rode our work. I dubbed/fell 4 times on the 300 yard reconnector. The tread is soft in places and there are several steep ups to power through.

We also finished all of Supermodel, the final reroute of Neverest. I didn't expect to clean it my first time. It's not Neverest because there are short flats between short, steep switchbacks; but I like it better because its more sustainable, and it feels more like a twisty mtb climb than a straight up motorcycle climb. About a half mile of trail was added to the whole loop since the race in August.

We still need more signage and an updated gps map, old L&C map here.

Trail starts and ends behind the park entrance gate.
Follow sign down west trail.
At bottom, now go left instead of old right turn. The addition goes along the railroad track about 1000' before doubling back to near the new T intersection to continue the loop.
Go past the Neverest hard right turn and then right on Supermodel.

Enjoy the ride!

L&C trailday this Sunday, Oct 17

Hey guys and gals, imo, this trailwork is as good as it gets. We're adding trail in sculptable dirt and increasing the overall difficulty in a sustainable way. If you ride L&C, join us in putting some sweat equity into this trail.

When: Sunday, Oct 17
Where: L&C parking lot
Time: 13:00-16:00

Work to do:
- Finish Supermodel (switchback route up Neverest hill)
- 100-150 yard addition to reincorporate part of the trail along the railroad tracks

Tools: rogue hoes, mcleods, loppers, shovels, already have two chainsaws.

Long pants (moving dirt, thorn bushes), gloves, safety glasses

Supermodel is almost done, just a little finish work and removing the downed tree blocking the entrance left.

The bottom addition between the railroad trail and current trail is more hilly than either with many downed trees and thorn bushes to clear from trail corridor. Fortunately, the dirt is easy to move. Should have 7 or 8 rogue hoes, plus about the same number of mcleods to sculpt tread.

Let's get 20+ people and try to knock out this addition in one trailday.

Entrance to Supermodel:

Supermodel switchback 1

Supermodel switchback 4

Looking down at switchback 4 (35% grade):

Switchback 2 has a bailout to Neverest in order to bypass the two 30%+ climbing switchbacks. Supermodel only is the most difficult route. Supermodel-Neverest-Supermodel is easier than Neverest-Supermodel because one is able to carry momentum into the climb instead of almost stopping for Neverest's entrance.

Bring Your Kid Mountain Biking

Photos of the THOR Family Day are posted on Tom's photo site. Eventually some of them will find their way onto the THOR Web Site. Some touch-up will be done before posting (and e-mailing) to the web site.

A great time was had by all. Just awesome weather, fun on bicycles for kids of all ages, good food, and good company.

Trail Closure at Swanson Park

The old trail North West of the Fire Department training area is officially closed by the City of Bellevue in both directions. The new trail that parallels the fence line is still good to go. The old closed off trail is on private property and the land owner wants everyone off their land.

THe City has made the decision to block the trail with fencing and post No Trespassing signs and Posted Private Property on behalf of the owner. The areas are well marked with caution tape.

THOR leadership is engaged with Bellevue officials to maintain a good working relationship and keep and open dialog with regards to this matter.

Please honor the land owner's wishes and stay out of the old trail. If you see someone tearing down the new fences or signage please report it to the authorities.

Take the time to educate other riders of the situation, respect the land owner's rights and wishes, and spread the word quickly.

Lewis and Clark Trail Day

Hi All!
I was hoping you could join the devoted for one last Trail Day at Lewis and Clark.
I've had some contact with a person with the Geologic Society and have maps with defined boundaries. This could help us in making some decisions about any re-routing we might want to do.
Please plan to gather on
Sunday - October 17th1:00 pmLewis and Clark parking lotWhat to bring: axes, hatchets, chain saws, weed wacker, loppers, Rogue Hoes!, hand trimmers, anything to help clear a trail.
And Gloves! Don't forget gloves!
Pray the weather holds -
See you there