NMMBA: Mid-Michigan Community College

[gtrowbridge]

Today's trail day has resulted in an additional 1.25 miles of single track that is cut, clipped, mowed, raked and ready to be ridden. We now have a total of 11.4 miles of singletrack at MMCC!

The new section starts between the 1st and 2nd power line climbs (about 100 yards past the 9 mile marker) and rolls through some really fast and fun rollers. If you get a chance, come out and help ride this new section in before the snow flies!

Awesome. That section was begging for more usage. Looking forward to riding it in.

[bleve]

The extra miles are great news. I got to ride this several times this fall when I transported my wife to work in Mt. Pleasant. I'm not sure I'll get the same opportunity next summer but it's good to know it's just off the freeway and it's a good ride.

[Beer=Energy]

How does the trail look this winter for Fat Bikes? Anyone been out there?

[keng]

Good question. I've been wondering the same thing since the snowmo trails have become an icy rutted mess.

[shoffman]

Good question. I've been wondering the same thing since the snowmo trails have become an icy rutted mess.

Last I heard the snow was pretty deep in Harrison, so I doubt if anyone is riding at MMCC.

Midland has almost no snow, most of the local winter riders are riding Midland City Forest. It's ice packed and very fast (if you have studded tires)....

[muttonmark]

Just rode the trail today. Its dry and fast. The sandy spots that show up around mid-July are still there due to lack of moisture. The new 1.25 miles is fresh, and needs to be ridden on in order to smooth it out. Hopefully the Rust Shaker will help pound it out a little.

[OJTien]

Rode the trail today. No mud patches despite a fair amount of rain last night/morning. Lots of leaves still but trail was in great shape. New 1.25 is a great addition but like Muttonmark said, needs to be ridden to be smoothed out!

[F7Cannon]

Well you learn something new every day. Just found out how close this trail is to my inlaws house in Marion, why not sooner I have no Idea. Going to save me the usual drive to Vasa!

Heading up next weekend for Easter and plan on riding here on Saturday. Can somebody local please give me a trail condition update as the weekend gets a little closer. As of now the weather looks like it is going to be pretty nice but we all know that can change from day to day. Plan on hitting the trail around noon or so on Saturday so if any locals care to show me around let me know, that would be great.

[shoffman]

The trail will be great... it drains exceptionally well and is rarely muddy, even after considerable amounts of rain.

[F7Cannon]

The trail will be great... it drains exceptionally well and is rarely muddy, even after considerable amounts of rain.

Thanks zippy. I will be there at 12:30 tomorrow if you or anybody else cares to join me for a ride or show me around. I will be in a white 4Runner with a green Bianchi. Plan on staying for a while and doing a few laps to avoid two full days at the inlaws.

[mnelson]

Rode the trail last night. I only ride the trail 2-3 times a best per year, but it's an epic trail and have enjoyed it in the past. However, last night was different. Someone has run a motorcycle down the trail and roosted heavily in almost every corner leaving a deep ruts and loose rocks on the hills. I wasn't sure if this was a rogue rider who happened upon the trail or some form of 'quick' maintenance to beat the trail down more. I was informed by another rider that it was a form of maintenance. It seems to me roosting motorcycles is a short cut to quality, which really is cutting quality short. The sandy soil base that makes up the trail should be treated carefully, no so abusively. It will now take a great deal of raking to smooth this out and a lot of rain and riding to pack it back down.

The new sections are good, but they need a great deal of riding still. Hopefully we get some rain soon and with the Sweat Shaker happening this summer, it should help return the trail to it's good form. It's a great trail, though. It's just rough right now.

[wrong_way_eddy]

Nelson please thank the people who are donating the hundreds of hours it takes build these trails, instead of criticism. The trail will be fine! If you would like to be a part of the trail building process please contact me at kce8160@gmail.com. I will be glad to let you know where my rake and shovel are. you could then "move" them down the trail a few yards when you come to ride.Enjoy the ride, Ken

[VaughnMurray]

Mr. Nelson, regarding your recent comments on the MMCC trail: There are some of us that have put in hundreds of hours EACH in the past three years and we have a pretty good idea what will work.
We did the same thing with the original 10 miles by using motorcycles, and it seems as though that has worked pretty well. Maybe you would be better off to wait a couple of months before criticizing people who work so hard. You do have Ken's email and he is one of the guys who put in hundreds of hours.
I just came off the trail and for the most part it looks like it has been there for 6 months. By this time next year it will blend right in with the original 10 miles.
Vaughn Murray

[mnelson]

My comments were not meant as criticism, but as concern and to highlight the conditions for other riders. And I do appreciate the trail and all you do for it. Please don't get me wrong. I just merely intended to post the conditions of the trail (hence the posting in the Trail Conditions & Comments section). I drove 30 miles out of my way to ride the trail and was a bit disappointed at the condition. The original 10 mile section was in great condition last year when I rode there. I only rode two new sections as I was limited for time. I understand those sections will be rough till they are broke in. That is to be expected.

I've ridden several trails elsewhere that had rogue MX riders find them and trash them with a few spins around. I honestly though that might be the case here until I was informed later it was a trail maintenance technique. Please understand that my posting here was to inform others the trail of the trail conditions, especially those who might drive out of their way to ride the trail.

I'm sorry for coming across as ungrateful and critical. That was not my intent. Again, thanks for your time and efforts. Vaughn, I'm glad it's working back in nicely. Like I said originally, rain and riding will help it out. Ken, If I lived closer, I'd be out there sweating away too. Schedule a trail day for a Sunday and I might be able to make up there.

[shoffman]

I've delayed responding to this thread until I had a chance to get out and ride all the trails at MMCC this week.

In my opinion, only the 3 new trail sections that we're trying to cut in this spring had any noticeable impact from the motorcycles. The 11.25 miles of established trail had little or no change that I could see. Last week the trail was in dire need of rain, like many other trails in the area. We rode the entire trail on Memorial day and it's improved considerably after receiving a good downpour over the weekend.

I would suggest that if you don't intend to come across as critical, you might want to reconsider posting comments such as "cutting quality short" and "some sort of quick maintenance". As Vaughn mentioned, we've used motorcycles before on these trails for this purpose with great results. It does require some raking after the motorcycles have ridden it and we're prepared to do so. Many of us drive over 40 miles one way to maintain and improve this trail.

Steve Hoffman
MMCC Trail Coordinator