Jewell Update (7 July)

Big Thanks to Kory for bringing out his saw this morning.

All fallen trees discovered this weekend have been cleared so you can ride uninterupted. One low hanging tree marked with orange tape, tall riders need to duck pretty good.

All the creek crossings are rideable once again.

Recommend you wear your favorite flavor of bug juice because if you stop the mosquitos will hunt you down.

Jewell Update (5 July)

Jewell has a fair share of trees down that interupting the flow of things. The Trail Leader is probably still out of country for a while so if anyone wants to help out post or add a comment with contact info.

Besides a couple dismounts to go over some large logs or ride around them the trail is in great shape. Weeds are in check.

A few folks have been riding there this week doing some excessive skidding going into just about every downhill corner. Definitely a few corners its nearly impossible not to skid but we need to encourage folks not to do it all the time if possible.

Its a fun ride.

Jewell's Looking Good

Saturday evening I did a full walk-thru down at Jewell for the first time in quite a while, and she's ripe'n ready for action. I came there expecting a good 4 hours worth of work, and wasn't disappointed. I rebuilt the log bridge again, cleared away 4 downed trees(and built up one trunk that wouldn't budge) macheted some weeds with my hand saw, chopped a bunch of overhangs, and tossed a plethora of branches and assorted crap.

I built a couple more debris dams like the one pictured below to keep tree turds from constantly flowing onto the trail. This involves laying some tree limbs above the trail, usually anchored by trees, at a spot where lots of debris is moving down the hill onto and over the trail. If this is some kind of trailbuilding no-no, just tell me and I'll stop. I haven't noticed that it causes any problems, and it cuts down on my workload quite a bit. Branches get caught in the dam, while water and leaves flow through it.

I also got growled at by a cute young raccoon, and eyed suspiciously by some protective momma deer.

As of this writing, all of the downed trees at Jewell have been dealt with. The trail is clean and the dirt is nice and tacky and 99% rideable. There is one spot at the entrance to the lowlands that is muddy and should be walked for a couple days. The weeds are just starting to get annoying. One thing that is causing me concern is the north side gravel road climb, which is almost too eroded to ride across. The new parking lot is ready but it's still blocked off for some reason.

"Debris dam" above the trail shrinks the workload:

Jewell Update

I took a ride at Jewell yesterday, and tossed a lot of tree turds along the way. The new parking lot was being poured as I rode. I don't think it'll be done for a few days, because they were just getting started on the curbs. The dirt was nice-tacky but not soft, with only one greasy spot. There's a big ugly treefall blocking the trail in the area just west of the cemetery. I pulled off some branches to crawl around it, but saws will be needed. Also, it looks like someone jacked with the new bridge. It's been moved out of the spot where it was dug in.

Jewell Update

Jewell's in wicked decent shape right now. Being ever the antisocial one, I snuck out there during the race on Sunday for a couple laps, including a clean-up lap. It's super clean now and the dirt is perfect. Someone ran off with the section of concrete pipe I was using as a mini-bridge/jump. The logs are still there and they look pretty stable. They still make a nice little jump.

Jewell update........

Jarrett, a coworker of Steve's, and myself set the new bridge in place today. We dug out and set the footings with gravel and worked the approaches smooth. Turned out nice. It's a little damp in the gully area but should be fine this afternoon to ride.

Double Whammy: Jewell Report plus Manawa

I pulled a Sunday double header, so here's the scoop: Jewell is in good shape. It was a bit soft but very rideable. NO RAIN NO RAIN NO RAIN. The last bridge is getting ridiculous. There's a new bridge waiting there to be installed. What's up with that? All else is well. See the full report here.

Manawa's dirt is perfect, but there's two trees down. It's also got some overhang problems, plus the usual debris. I hope that doesn't discourage anyone-I had lots of fun.