Trail cutting

[Pittenger5]

Whats about the minimum length of trail you guys find to be worth having?
IE, how long are some of the loops at Clough or Franklin or whatever.

[gregp]

As an ageing, avid trail rider, I have had great "practice loops" of under 1 mile that were fun for just getting some after-work agression out. Some of my better trail loops are around 40 miles. It really depends what you have avaiable and what you are looking to do. It is important to me to have any fast paced trails away from earshot of any houses, and to keep my trail bikes as quiet as possible.

[mycirus]

As much as you can. There is a small 3 minute loop that is okay, but its quick and maybe 1/2 mile long. But there are other loops that are much longer. Make em as long as you can.

[Pittenger5]

Well this will be on my property in NH, we dont have a LOT of space, might be lucky to get 1/2 mile to a mile. I'm gonna try to get out for a walk over christmas to see what we can work with. Just not sure what I should be looking for as far as whats worth the effort, and whats not.

[obsolete]

I'll give ya a hand with it.

[Sheppo]

Look at your land, look at the natural obstacles and make it as fun as you want it to be. I think the loops at clough average 3-4 miles long.. that is I THINK....http://www.nhatv.com/Maps/Hopkinton.gif

[Dragginazz]

I just started cutting trails for the first time ever in back of the house, since the power-line trails have deterierated so bad over the years, and so my Dad would have something different to ride his Polaris on. We don't have much land to work with so the challenge is to make them as interesting as possible. Like "mycirus" had said, I'm making as many and as long as I can. I'll make a main loop, and have off-shoots where-ever I can. The other thing is My Dad has a Polaris 4x4, and I have a TRX450 that is terrible at going slow so I have to keep that in mind if I don't want to cook my clutch.
Wish I would have started sooner before it got friggin cold!!!

[Paul_E_D]

Wintertime is the best time for laying out trails. It's easy to walk, snowshoe, or ski through the woods flagging trees and lopping branches. You can see elevation changes and contours to find fun sections.

Then you can go out in the spring, before the green has filled in and clear the ground level. Ride the trail as much as possible the first season.

[seth399]

get to work! aha

[lrrs699]

i would def help you out clearing if i still lived in NH.....CT sucks

[Pittenger5]

While on the topic, does anyone know if we can be hassled even though its private property? About the noise or anything?

[seth399]

While on the topic, does anyone know if we can be hassled even though its private property? About the noise or anything?

pretty sure the answer is yes, but I would think in NH you are much better of than places like MA or CA

[Kurlon]

You most definitely can be hassled, but as long as you're not a total prick about how you handle things you should be ok. Keep a buffer between you and neighbors, the 3am three beer minimum rally might not be the best idea, etc.

[Stoneman]

Where in NH?

[Pittenger5]

N Conway-ish.
Its not gonna be a regular thing, might try to get up for a couple weekends in the summer. My parents are friends with most of the neighbors, so I doubt itll be a huge issue, just wondering what problems might arise.

[Paul_E_D]

N Conway-ish.
Its not gonna be a regular thing, might try to get up for a couple weekends in the summer. My parents WERE friends with most of the neighbors, so I doubt itll be a huge issue, just wondering what problems might arise.

Fixed

[seth399]

ha, n.conway...you should probably just ride up and down attitash, doubt that would get you in trouble

[gregp]

Be careful. You certainly can get into trouble, even if it is your own land. There was a thread a little while ago on NEDB about a guy who cut a trail on his own land, close to a "damp" area. The neighbors got bent, and the conservation commission got involved because he cut down some weeds!
Try not to "cut" anything. Just weave in and out, and in between stuff. Try to sight out a decent straight-ish stretch, so you at least get to grab a few gears every lap.

[Stoneman]

Yeah, 'wetlands' will always end up getting you in trouble. Even seasonal runoff now for chrissakes!

[Pittenger5]

Well we're on the side of a mountain, thatll be my excuse. But whats the worst that could happen? We get yelled at to stop?

[highsider]

I dont do loops. At my place, I haven't ridden the same route twice in four years of riding.

[R7]

How much land do you have to work with?
If you lay it out properly, you can get 3/4 mile of trail per acre. I have just shy of 13 1/2 acres and not using my lawn and yard, I figure in time I will have 8-10 miles of trails on my own land. Take an 8-10 mile loop and ride it one way, then backwards and you now have a 16-20 mile loop..do that twice and you have a 32 to 40 mile loop...you get the idea No wetlands to deal with at my place, but lots of rock gardens.
I'm basing my trail cutting on trails being about 10' apart, granted sometimes they are closer and sometimes farther depending on the trees and rocks. My basic rule is no chainsaw for live trees, makes the trails interesting and fun, and keeps from making a mess of downed trees and brush everywhere.
I lay out a section of trail first with survey ribbon, this way you can see where you have trail already vs what you want to cut to get max use of the land.

As for getting in trouble, I guess you could if you abuse it? There's a mechanic at the local bike dealer that lives in the same town as me that rides and did what i plan on doing to make use of his land. New neighbors moved in next to him and complained to the town about the noise..he said the exact words from the town to the new neighbors was "if you don't like the noise, we'd suggest you move". Obviously varies by town.
Like mentioned, i'd stay away from wetlands and be reasonable with noise and when you choose to ride.

:edit: and for what it's worth, I'd be happy to exchange some riding time for some trail cutting help for anyone somewhat local to me

[Awesome]

I have htat GPS program in my phone. Depending what you're working with, make a basic loop, maybe even walk it out with a breadcrumb trail. Then you can see where you've gone and what areas you might be able to work with. Also can set it up to have a little short loop, or a longer weaving, switchback type, depending if you want to go out long or short.

[Sheppo]

what ever you decide Richie, it sounds like a perfect 'work' weekend

[Stoneman]

Well we're on the side of a mountain, thatll be my excuse. But whats the worst that could happen? We get yelled at to stop?

You'll get royally fucked in NH if you fuck with wetlands. I'll just let Randy chime in on this...