2010

Well the 2010 trail season is wrapping up with Fall digging beginning and only a few more (if any) sessions left before the ground freezes. While not being as productive as it maybe could have been, our first year at this new spot saw the creation of a good solid 10 pack, the start of a branch-off line, and some other bumps scattered throughout the woods.

Location wise, the spot has existed without too much of a hitch but it is yet to been seen how the winter affects that. If we do last the winter into next spring, good things should be a-coming. With the work that is currently going in at Pitney (night digging?!) it may not be too bold to say that 2011 will be a good year for trails in Lancaster County. We will definitely be looking to have more people out next season so look for a jam or two to happen next summer. We are also going to look to get a contest going at the Quarryville skatepark in the Spring of next year to try to raise some funds for some additional ramps. More on that if SECA is cooperative...

End of Season?

Tooth to Over Pedal Grind!

United Nathan Grip Promo from Channel 4Down on Vimeo.

Fifth

A few pics from yesterdays riding. Despite continued dampness from the rain a couple weeks ago the trails are in the best shape they have been in all year. All five in the main line are rolling with a berm on the way. Come on out this Sunday for a little jam; nothing big or special, we are just going to be out enjoying one of the last sessions before winter sets in.

Five Jump Jam

Finally, after much delay and a few rebuilds due to the rain, we have completed downside number five and have a complete ten pack. The fifth double has not been hit yet as it is still 'curing' but I suspect that it may have a few takers this weekend. In light of this, we are rescheduling the jam that we had planned to have to Sunday October 31.

Saturday

While we were hoping to have a little jam this Saturday (Oct. 2nd), it looks like the recent rain will have made everything too soggy. Either way, I think a couple of us will be heading out to dig and if possible do some riding. The fifth downside should be stacked and squared up by Thursday. We may actually have a rideable 10 pack by the end of the season. Pics to follow.

Rain

Looks like we are in for a bit of rain tonight; as of 11:16 am, WGAL's radar is showing a large storm system ranging from Canada to Tennessee that is heading east across the U.S. (and most importantly, PA) If this provides any significant amount of rain we should be able to finish the fifth downside and get the trails groomed for the rest of the season. I know many other PA trails are in need of moisture as well.

iPhone Edit

Lowery fired out this iPhone edit the other day and posted it on YouTube. This would be the first semi-official video to come out of the trails.

Photos on Orchid

Derek from Orchid Footwear picked up one of my photos from the most recent Catty Jam and posted it on his news feed. Stoked! Check it here: http://www.orchidfootwear.com/news/?p=4745

Fall Jam

Trails have been rolling the past month as much riding has gone down. The fifth downside is still incomplete and will probably remain so until we get some much needed rain.

We are planning to host a small jam in October which is tentatively dated for Saturday the second. We will probably have the grill fired up by 11:30 and then riding however long you desire. Stayed tuned for more info and details. Until then, check my Flickr on the right and below for some recent pics from the Catty Jam.

Fourth

Blap.

Apples

A bit has been happening at the trails over the past few weeks: much riding and a little digging. We finally got all four jumps grooved in with the fourth downside being finished about two weeks ago. Subsequently, sessions have been going down here and there with Alex 'apple eating' Steckler even throwing down some tuck no-handers over the fourth.

While the fourth has finally been finished, it was much to easy to clear and so last night, with the opportunity provided by yesterday's rain, Matt stacked the downside up another foot and I redid the lip making it a bit steeper. With the new revision, it has taken on the shape of a Pitney Woods jump, i.e. steeper and deeper. It will definitely set-up the fifth jump to be a bit more serious. Pics are on the way of this reformation. We are planning to put in some heavy work this weekend on the fifth double and will hopefully have something significant for a small Fall jam. Below is a recent sequence of Matt working his way through the section.

Finally

Well today was the official humble inauguration of the trails as we did a bit of riding and shooting. Matt got through the first six pack and Rick Kane and I made it through the first two (due to no brakes and wet foot respectively). Below are some pics from the action. A week or two should see the downside of our fourth jump packed and ready to roll and then on to the fifth jump. Who knows, maybe we will have a decent rideable set before fall sets in...

3rd Set: hip right

Rick - 2nd set

Matt - 2nd set

8 PACK!

As lame as it may seem, after half the summer is gone, we finally have a 8 pack built at our spot. The summer has been brutal for Josh and myself as far as getting out to dig and with steve's disappearance a lot hasn't got done. This saturday depending on weather between now and then i think the plan is to try to sink some tires into the jumps, but if it rains maybe we'll get some more dirt stacked. Some pictures of riding hope to be up in the near future.

-Mrk

Delay

After a couple month hiatus from digging, Matt and I are heading back to the trails this week to hopefully clean/groom/finish the eight pack that is all but done. I will get some more info up when some of that is accomplished and will hopefully have something to show for what we have done so far.

Went to the G-town Jam this past weekend and then to Pitney the day after; got a few good shots which you can check out on Flickr or Facebook. Below are some of the recent ones from Pitney.

Digging

Photo dump of recent progress. Matt and I were out for about 2 hours today and got another downside shaped up. Things were really dry so we are going to need some solid rain if we are going to get much further.

Ramp

I came across this YouTube video that I have surprisingly not seen before. Mark Webb and another previously unknown-to-me rider perform some mini tricks that do not seem possible. It seems I continue to be a mini-ramp rider at heart even though that is not my area of expertise or an area which I ride often.

Photo Blog

I am always looking for good photographic inspiration so when I came across this trails photoblog from the England I was stoked. These guys have put in some serious work and have come up with some nice images to boot. http://lostintheshadows.net/ Updates on Quarryville digging coming soon. Things will begin to roll here soon if we can get some rain...

Another View

Crazy Carl

More

Here are some more official pictures of recent digging. I suppose it it sort of a humble beginning but some work is getting done and things are coming along. Steve has put in a bunch of work the past couple days so here is some of that fruit...

First roller and jump

First jump into left and right lines

After the first jump: left line and right line

Roller after second jump in the left line splitting into either the berm or thread the needle.

Berm

Thread the needle