Drop Zone

Taking advantage of the really nice weather yesterday, I rode my logging trail again and its getting good. Just have find some more lose rocks to get over the first tree. Looks like I may have found a good alternative to the hike-a-bike situation that leads back up to the Polly Brody. Instead of going up over the hill, I am now staying to the right and following yet another old logging road that leads to a really nice drop. It has sweet ramp up, you come down a slight incline and then perched right next to this tree is a big rock that the 19th Century Farmers obviously couldn't move. The rock has a nice ramp up and then you launch out into a nice clearing, well sort of. There are some little trees that sort of make it treacherous if you don't hit it at the right angle. Other than that, its beautiful! The only downside to this route extension is that I haven't found a good connection to either back to the Polly Brody or down to Al's Trail (although I wasn't really looking for that, I think that might be something to consider.

As you can see where it looks like a loop, I made the hard left and did the hike-a-bike and as I was riding down the Polly Brody I saw a little trail off to the right which I turned around and followed. It lead to a break in a stone wall that was fashioned into stairs but after the stairs the trail gets lost. Following my nose I wound up at the start of the hike-a-bike. When I turned around I could see the outline of a road and started following it when I came to this rock.

ATV issue comes home

So, look what comes up in my hometown paper on the heels of 5806:

Police Plan Enforcement Crackdown On Illegal ATV Use

Newtown Bee, 3/30/2006

By Andrew Gorosko

In response to continuing complaints from the public about the noise nuisance posed by the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and light motorcycles known as dirt bikes, police plan to launch an enforcement campaign against riders who violate state laws, focusing their efforts at the D'Addario Sand & Stone Company Inc's surface mine at 9 Button Shop Road in Botsford.

Police Sergeant Douglas Wisentaner said this week that police have received complaints from property owners near that sprawling surface mine who say the use of ATVs there poses a continuing noise nuisance, damaging their quality of life.

The D'Addario mine lies east of South Main Street, west of Little Brook Lane, north of Botsford Hill Road, and south of the town landfill. The mine is bisected by the east-west Button Shop Road. Most illegal use of ATVs and dirt bikes occurs on weekends in the section of the mine lying south of Button Shop Road, police said. At times, approximately 20 vehicles are illegally in use there, police said.

The riders sneak onto the property from various points along its border. One of those illegal entry points is a small clearing in a thicket along the east side of South Main Street, near Kay Lane.

Besides entry points near roads around the mine, some ATV riders enter the mine from the Housatonic Railroad's right-of-way that borders the mine, police said. That rail line extends into Monroe.

Sgt Wisentaner said that with the coming of mild weather, police plan to increase the enforcement of ATV violations, especially at the D'Addario mine.

Police met with a representative of the mining company and state officials last week in planning their enforcement campaign. D'Addario representatives could not be reached for comment.

Typical rider violations include simple trespassing, which carries a $92 fine; simple trespassing on railroad property, which carries a $136 fine; and failure to register an ATV. Unregistered ATVs may be impounded by police in certain cases.

State law on ATVs lists a variety of violations, Sgt Wisentaner said. The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has enforcement power for certain ATV violations, he explained, adding that DEP plans to aid police in the enforcement project.

Police plan to personally inform people living near the mine of the enforcement project, he said.

"It's been a problem for a long time," Sgt Wisentaner said.

Although police receive ATV usage complaints from other parts of town, due to its large size, the D'Addario mine receives the heaviest ATV use of any place in town and generates many complaints, he said.

Besides local riders, the mine attracts out-of-town riders, who sometimes approach the mine riding their ATVs on the railroad right-of-way, he said.

Police, who drive large sedans on paved roads, are physically limited in how they can pursue ATV violations, he said. At times, when police spot ATV trailers parked at places where ATV riders enter the mine, they simply wait until the riders return to their trailers to issue them tickets.

Most riders whom police apprehend are people from out of town who have left their ATV trailers along the edge of the mine, Sgt Wisentaner said.

The illegal use of ATVs poses several law enforcement issues, the sergeant said.

It is a public safety issue because injuries can occur from ATV use, he said. Illegal ATV use involves trespassing, he added. ATV use can cause property damage, he said. Also, the vehicles create noise nuisances, damaging the quality of life, he added.

The sergeant compared enforcing ATV laws at the D'Addario mine to the town's trespassing enforcement project at Fairfield Hills. After the town started strictly enforcing trespassing laws at Fairfield Hills, the incidence of that problem there greatly decreased, he said.

CTNEMBA Postcards are in!

So my idea to create a 4x6 card has finally come to fruition. The purpose of the card is to get Mountain Bikers from around the state who don't know of CT NEMBA or want more information to come to our website or email me for more information in the hopes of joining CT NEMBA and getting involved with everything we are working on to support Mountain Biking in the State of Connecticut. I plan on handing these out to any MTB'ers I might encounter on the Trail or in the parking lots. In conjunction with this card is our new and improved website that is supposed to be unveiled April 1st - hopefully there will be no jokes this day.

So if you are a Mountain Biker and want to get involved with us, check us out online and sign up!

At 8:44 PM, Anonymous said...

Wow, I think I got a response from someone in the ATV community about 5086.

At 8:44 PM, Anonymous said...

If you had a pond in your back yard you would not have to register your boat!!! if you want to use the river you pay. If there was a state forest to ride in like Mass then we would pay.

Actually, even if the pond is on your property and the pond is named on a state map, guess what? If it [the boat] has a motor, you have to register it to be able to operate it on your pond. Before, I started MTB (mountain biking) I was on the board of directors for the Mianus Chapter of Trout Unlimited and involved with all sorts of different DEP like stuff, so you point Mr Anonymous doesn't really hold water (no pun intended). As for the River, yes, if you have a powered boat, whether its an electric trolling motor or a 4 stroke, electric start, power trim, 115 hp Merc (my next outboard motor for my next Tracker), that boat has to be registered before one molecule of STATE owned fresh, brackish or tidal water comes into contact with your hull. Frankly, I think the same rule should apply to ATVs.

You do have an excellent point, though, and maybe that is what needs to be amended to the bill, an area needs to be set aside for riding, today. Clearly, this bill falls short in that arena, largely in part due to the one-sided opinion of the bill's author and maybe the ATV community should look at this bill as a wake-up call to do something pro-active if you want to make ATV riding legal in the State of Connecticut. Not sure what type of Not-for-profit organization(s) you have but you should be banding together and opening a dialogue with the non-motorized community to work something out, find some middle ground so that everyone can enjoy the State's public property.

Here is what I would recommend: All ATVs must be registered, just like any other motorized vehicle. There should be some exceptions, like farm use, and if you don't use it in the state, but the penalties should remain - just like a car, if its not registered you can't ride on any public property except your own, and that means, you can't just zip down the road to your friend's property or your lower 40. If you want to put that on puplic property, town or State, you have to be registered. The penalties should be strict to ensure compliance.

The registration fees should go into the maintenance and upkeep of the designated riding location as well as into a fund to acquire more land for ATV riding. The registration process would be self policing, too, because if there are not enough people complying with the law to register then it will lead to eventual closure of the riding location due to no funding. It's kind of like a State fishing licenses, if no body bought them this year, the following year the State probably wouldn't have enough money for trout stocking.

So, what do you think?

Broken Deraileur Hanger

So, I am hammering down the back side of the hill in the Upper Paugussett on my on one of my logging roads on Tuesday and then there was a *CRACK* and then my chain had all this slack in it. Looking behind me I see my rear derailuer hanging an inch from the ground. Curses! Snapped the rear hanger. Of course, all I could say to myself was perfect timing. My Open Space Task Force meeting started at 4:30, I still had to get home, shower, and then drive down to Peck's Land. Had to hop, coast and run home. Of course I was in a quandry, drop my bike off at Brookfield Bicycle Center to get it fixed or go to the meeting. Hadn't been in a while, so I went to the meeting.

Dropped off the AC on Thursday to get fixed and asked to have a Bash Guard put on, too. I don't think I have ever switched into the upper gears but the teeth on that chain ring were getting worn down from the rocks that I was hitting all the time. Makes, sense. So, I get the bike home and riding around in the driveway, I notice that its not shifting right. Called them up and they said tighten the L screw, then losen the H screw, now tighten the H screw ... did that and it sort of helped.

Back out on the trail on Friday and the Grannies were slipping big time. Made it up the hill on the Polly Brody but it was close. Rode down the logging trail again and this time tried to pile some rocks on the big tree to make a roll over but I need more rocks for something decent.

When back to the bike shop on Saturday and they fixed me up right this time. Next time, always test the bike before leaving the shop. I think this was the second time this has happened.

Pushed Crankfire at the bike shop on Saturday, too. Shawn said he checked it out but didn't join. I think another guy, that I was talking to, did join up but haven't see any input from him yet.

On Sunday, I rode some Newtown open space. I rode up the hiking trail down the road from me, got about 3/4 of the way then I gave up. The road links up with an old road that eventually spits out onto Butterfield. The owner of the property on Butterfield, John, said I could ride on his property. Looking closely on the map, it almost looks like there is an old road that heads down the back side of the hill towards Pond Brook.

Rode on a trail off Butterfield on more of the Town's Open Space but the property just ended. Had to push the bike back up the hill. Rode down Georges Hill, this hill is steep! Rode a little on the old Shepaug line bed but turned around when I hit a mass of No Tresspassing signs belonging to the resident of 31 Pond Brook Road. Need to introduce myself and see if I may ride on his property. Sunday's ride was actually 6 miles.

Will post maps shortly.