Western NY, USA muni

There is a MTB race south of Buffalo, NY at Sprague Brook Park called the Single Track Stampede II coming up August 20th.
ally1776 pointed this race out, I asked permission to ride, and got a very positive response:

Neither ally1776 nor I have ever ridden there, but are planning to test ride the trail this Tuesday, July 5th, assuming the weather forecast doesn’t change. No time details yet.

Anyone want to join us?

Buzz

Did you get to test ride the course? How was it?

Isaac

Hey Isaac!! Good to see you post! :slight_smile:

Yep, Mj and I went there. I blog about nearly every ride I take, so you could read about it here.

Here’s part:

They are definitely the most rooty trails I’ve ever seen. The roots are everywhere and they rarely let up. In the past this would have been an awful trail for me. But I guess I’ve gotten to a level of riding where it’s actually fun to continuously pop over roots and pick the path of least resistance. It’s a constant battle to power over the roots, rocks, and log piles on these trails. It’s also a huge workout.

I was on a 24". Perhaps a bigger wheel would be easier. But I’m not always looking for easy.

I certainly got a feel for it the trails. ROOTS! There were also, some good hillclimbs, some walking hillclimbs, a fun stream crossing, some cool rock armored sections, wood bridges, skinny bridges, small log piles, one big log pile (I had to walk), and… ROOTS! And a lot of it is right at the edge of a ravine, adding to the excitement.

I enjoyed it a lot and I will likely ride at the race in August.

Perhaps you or some other Butler Wobble riders want to make the journey to ride there. :sunglasses:

I’m going to be in Buffalo (well, Crystal Beach, Ontario) the second week of August if you’re looking to ride the course again. Definitely will be looking for some MUni in any case.

I’m certainly interested. If you have a range of days that might work for you, let me know and I’ll mark my calendar.

So far I’m booked on Monday 8/8 and Friday 8/12; Tuesday 8/9 or Wednesday 8/10 might be good.

Would the track be a decent hike? I might try to get some family members out walking it.

I think hiking would be fine in general. If you have small children, the roots might trip them up. The trail rides along steep embankments at times, but nothing an able walker would have a problem with. Not sheer drop offs, just steep.

Another thing to note, I didn’t see any convenient way out of the trail for a large section. Below I estimated it from blue line to blue line, counter-clockwise. I think that’s about 6 miles. Though, on the map I see a campground road comes close to the trail, but I didn’t see that road when I was riding. There may be a trail or two branching out along the way, but I can’t tell you where they go.
My point is, I’d only enter that area if you’re committed to finishing the ~6 miles, whether hiking or riding.

spargue.jpg

Sounds good; unlikely any little ones would be coming along.

Great meeting and riding with you last week Tom!

To all dozens of Rochester/Buffalo/Toronto area muni riders lurking here, this race is on Saturday, so last call. :roll_eyes:

Damn, that trail sounds like a blast! Here’s a rooty trail in Hawaii. Roots on roots! That’s where the heavy, wide tire pays for itself. :slight_smile:

Yep… that’s the stuff!
I love the required concentration and the importance of picking your path!

Here’s my post on my ride with Buzz last week:
http://berkeleyunicycling.org/2011/08/18/buffaloish-muni/

There were a ton of roots, mostly on the small size relative to our redwood trails. A good bit of up and down as the trail wound through the various gullies, but no big climbs or descents. Very pretty, nice temperatures, and a breeze through the woods. A tree dropped a limb on my unicycle, perhaps getting me back for all the logs it has rolled over.

Great ride, and thanks to Buzz for putting it together. It should be a fun, but strenuous race course; all those little ups and downs are hard in race context.

Full set of pics