Hey folks,
I'm going to be in Albany this weekend and was wondering if anyone has any riding recs up there. Would love to hit up a solid 2 hour ride. Info is appreciated.
Thanks all
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Hey folks,
I'm going to be in Albany this weekend and was wondering if anyone has any riding recs up there. Would love to hit up a solid 2 hour ride. Info is appreciated.
Thanks all
I'm sure there's something closer, but 40 minutes north is SMBA in Saratoga Springs. Super rocky, not much elevation, classic northeast trails. That's an option if you can't find anything else.
Thanks. 40 min would probably be doable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yeah!
It's definitely worth the trip to ride SMBA. If you post to the saratogamtb.org or capitalmtb.org forums, or to the SMBA facebook group, you can probably get someone to lead you on a ride. Which, this time of year, I would recommend. I'd show you around myself, but I'll be out of town until Sunday afternoon and I think I'll be getting back with too little daylight left for a solid ride.
PM if you want a more detailed ride route recommendation.
I'll echo what they said - SMBA trails are some good shit. Only been once, and got a good tour. Try and get a tour if you can - much, much better that way.
Pretty sweet looking trailmap: http://www.saratogamtb.org/index.php?page_id=96
I wish we could get something like that in PA (it probably exists...)
Definitely get a tour. All trail networks, even mapped and signed ones, are better when led by a local. You'll have fun. SMBA is some good chunky trails. Kind of a never-ending problem with rock gardens galore.
Heh... "a never-ending problem." That's a pretty good way to put it. FWIW, you'll probably have better luck finding people to ride with on Sunday. I think a lot of guys that ride get tied up with their kids' sports or honey-do lists or whatver, and seem to find their way out there more on Sundays than Saturdays.
If you do decide to roll without a guide, a few things to know...
- The new Backstretch trail is fun, but it takes a long ass time to get out there. It'll take two hours to get out there, ride it, and come back.
- I don't know what you usually ride, but Dam humbles me each and every time I give it a go.
- For a serious challenge without the time commitment, Pulaski and Sybil are the way to go.
- For a good mix of everything, Bee and Here to There are my favorites. Just keep an eye on the trail marker signs.. there's a few spots it's easy to get turned around with the leaves on the ground covering the actual lines.
- If you venture out to the northernly portions of the map, the quickest way back to the trailhead is the western spur of the Carriage Trail. But heads up, all the leaves are covering some chunky-as-hell rocks on some portions. So it'll probably look inviting to bomb down it, and that's still probably the best way to ride it...but stay alert.
Thanks for the info. Not sure what time I'm going to get up there on Sun, otherwise I'd try to convince you to ride with me :) What are the conditions like right now?
Any other trails I could hit driving north towards Albany from PA? I don't think I've ever ridden in NY.
Thanks
Which way are you driving up? I think there's supposed to be some new stuff around Oneonta if you're driving on 88. There's actual a decent resource here for trails: http://www.fatsinthecats.com/?page_id=37
If I was going to be back in town any time during daylight hours I would ride with you on Sunday. And if it wasn't going to be so damn cold, I'd suggest a night ride at one of the easier trail systems.
You could try PMing tbatt... He's been around SMBA with me a couple times now. He doesn't know his way around quite as well but I don't think you'd get lost either. Of course, I think he may be out of town this weekend as well.
Trail conditions should be good on Sunday though since it seems like the ground will freeze and harden up the muddy spots. The leaves are still the big challenge in my opinion.. it's easy to miss or forget the best line in some sections. Or if you're me, it's also easy to stick your front wheel in any number of camouflaged large gaps between rocks and go flying over the bars.
Have you checked out Trailforks? Grafton Lakes/Pittstown is about a half hour east and looks like it has a bunch of trails.
Have you checked the date of the last post???Quote:
Originally Posted by Peruvian