Patapsco: Woodstock Rd. Area

[bikerRob]

1/11/04>>Temp. 29'....just clean fun riding over the frozen dirt. Crunch, crunch,crunch the whole way. Most of the area was very rideable. The one exception was the trail that runs behind (west of ) the old quarry pond with the no swimming sign. A ton of dead-fall on this trail. This trail probably won't be cleared any time soon so choose another way. Most of the other areas I saw were clear with only an occasional small ( easy to ride or step over ) dead-fall..>>Additional commentary.> It was nice to ride Woodstock today. Most of 03', this area has been unrideable due to all the rain we had. That was before the hurricane came thru. As I rode along the trail that parallels the Patapsco, I got a chance to survey the damage inflicted by hurricane Isabelle. I could see sand high up on the other bank. Clearly the flooding must of been awesome. The trail just west of Woodstock Rd. saw some erosion in one spot as did the trail east of W.S. Rd. Although trail damage was minimal, it boggles my mind to think that the river rose that high! I've always thought of this part of Patapsco as part of my "private stash", however with all the new homes encroaching on the Patapsco Park system, I thought it was high time to make mention of it. I have seen other mt. bikers on these trails but for the most part this area has been more heavily used by the equestrians. One of the local equestrian clubs also does maintenance on the trail periodically...although I can't recall which one. If you're thinking about riding this area then you're gonna have to wait a long time...the drainage in this area is lousy. Unless we have a really dry year, the river trail will be full of giant mud holes that are always mucked up ( I said muck now ) during the spring by the equestrians. So if you're going to ride it ...ride it while it's still frozen. ~

[riderx]

re: Patapsco: Woodstock Rd. Area

Just a note: even the high side ridge trails east of Woodstock road stay muddy for a long time, not just the lower flood plain stuff. When it's dry, it's fun stuff. When it's moist it's thick and nasty and usually littered with moon craters from the horses.

[bikerRob]

01/12/04>> Yes, you are right about the upper ridge trails( being eroded) I remember a couple years ago when this area used to be a really prime place to ride. Of course it was much drier then. Because of the equestrian useage, all the trails are becoming ditches rather than trails. It's a crying shame :( . The river trail east of Woodstock Rd. is almost beyond help. I see no way to fix this except to bring in truck loads of dirt/gravel, some draining pipes, and fill in all the craters that the horses have made. As to the upper ridge trails, maybe some could be re-routed and some new ones made using the bench-cut method to provide better drainage. ( I know...:rolleyes: wishful thinking ). This could be a great place to ride with a little maintenance and some common sense.

[riderx]

Rode here last night (1/14). I've never seen the trails so torn up from hoof prints. I have to say, I was pretty angry. When it's thawed it will be a mess. It's going to take forever for this trail to get back in reasonable condition.

[bikerRob]

01/16/04>> I hear what you're saying X. When spring comes along I'm going to hike the area and take some more pictures of the area. I plan on contacting Md. Dept. of Nature Res. to see if they will spend a little money to do some repairs. Because of the hurricane last year they might be able to justify it. We have to get this area of Patapsco back. I'm not ready to just sit back and just let the equestrians do whatever they wish and let the area be totally trashed. I don't want to seem like I'm picking on the equestrians ( I'm for multi-access trails ) but the fact of the matter is that many homes bordering this area house stables and the people there ride the area regularly. I should also note that there are a couple people who live near by and ride ATV's in the park also ( which are forbidden ). I'm going to be watching this area in the next year or so to see what happens. Who knows.....maybe I can make a difference.

[riderx]

Originally posted by bikerRob
I plan on contacting Md. Dept. of Nature Res. to see if they will spend a little money to do some repairs. Because of the hurricane last year they might be able to justify it. Keep in mind these are "unmaintained" and "unofficial" trails, so they don't rate high priority (if at all). Patapsco is a huge park with (unfortunately) limited resources. Also, I know the park got some FEMA money right after the hurricane, but I'm sure that's been burned up by now.

[bikerRob]

01/17/04>>Obviously the the trails are "unmaintained". However, I'm not sure what you mean by "unofficial". Just because there are no trail blazes or signs in the area doesn't mean the trail system there is unauthorized or unofficial. The Park DNR police themselves use the trails....although probably not now as bad as they are. In the past years I've seen the mounted patrols on several different occasions. No one ever told me I couldn't ride there. If it were an "unoffical trail", I would tend to think that it would be off limits....>>Like I had said before , one of the equestrian clubs used to have a sign down there ( by Woodstock Rd. ) claiming to maintain the trails....I don't think they could have done that without authorization from DNR.>>>That all said and done, when I begin to ask questions to the people in the Maryland government that controll these things, I have no idea where it will lead. I hold no illusion that anything will happen anytime soon. From what I know of government, their wheels move slower than molasses. All I can do is ask some questions and hope for the best. I'll not be holding my breath till something happens. I'm not that naive. Someone once said,"Nothing ventured, nothing gained". If no one tries to get the ball rolling then the ball doesn't roll. Hopefully, someone else won't come along and decide to asphalt the whole thing. If you think that can't happen, then consider what happened to "The Grist Mill Trail" in the Avalon area.

[riderx]

Rob - "unmaintained" is the term used to label the trails on the Park maps. "Unofficial" is my own term because the trails are not blazed, don't have names and most were probably not made by the park but rather by area users. In the past I have looked for information to see if there was a stated policy about use of these trails. I have been unable to find any, so I consider them open. I would hate to see them closed and my only fear would be the park deciding to do that because they lack funds and decide the current condition coupled with the inability to maintain them requires closure. Will that happen? Who knows? I simply put it out there as food for thought and a consideration when contacting gov't officials.

There is a lot of work to be done in a park the size of Patapsco and I applaud anyone who wants to take initiative to help out. We can certainly use every body that's willing and able (and then some).

[Balto Charlie]

Originally posted by bikerRob
01/17/04>>. If you think that can't happen, then consider what happened to "The Grist Mill Trail" in the Avalon area.

Don't get me started on this one. I have never seen a greater waste of funds than on this trail. There's a perfect trail on the HoCo side and with a little extra money they could have extended the trail to Illchester road. They could have spent a whole lot less money than they have. I think they wanted to use the old bridge at the end of the grist mill trail for a great trail guides photo OP . Don't get me wrong I'm all for rails to trails BUT let's spend the money wisely. Plus they ruined a cool riding area. I use to teach my kids technical riding in this area, flat, twisty, rocky, fun ride....gone! Charlie

[bikerRob]

1/20/04>> First of all I'd like to say that I agree with everything that you've said ( both RiderX and Balt. Charlie ). I too am a little worried how someone in government might react ( or over-react ) to a complaint. Before doing so I plan on consulting some people in the cycling community on "how to best correct the problem". I want to focus on the River trail because it's condition is the worst. I figure that MORE and IMBA must have people who have repaired this kind of damage before and would therefore know what would be needed to fix the problems ( giant mud holes ). Once I get an idea of what's needed to make a repair, then perhaps all that will be needed is permission for a group of volunteers to facilitate the repairs. I'm going to take your advise and keep this as quiet as I can. I guess a lot of concerns I have is because of the sprawl that I see in Howard Co. Houses and homes are quickly encroaching the Patapsco watershed area. My greatest fear is that someone will come along and try to develop the Woodstock area , thinking it to be under-used and unmaintained. It's very true that government people are hard to deal with but even worse are the real estate developers who care for nothing but to line their own pockets. On my last ride thru Woodstock I happened to notice that a portion of one of the trails had been taken out by some kind of construction project just north of the Catholic church on Woodstock Rd. It seems a couple of drainage ponds have been dug. If this is a prelude to some other greater project, I have no idea.

[Austin]

A couple of points.

For the trails to change for the better, the riders must change. No doubt, this must be the worst year on record--mountain bike record, that is--for the trail damage seen by horses, at least in Maryland. Anyone and everyone who knows an equestrain or sees one needs to explain to them calmly what is happening to the trails. Horse riders are high up in a saddle and don't have to walk or ride the damage they cause; the horses and everyone else does. So even if they see it, it doesn't affect them directly.

There may be far fewer bikes out on wet trails but not everyone who buys a bike is a member of MORE or IMBA, so we need to inform those we see--of course, if we aren't out there during those times, we might not see them anyway.

Some parks will be getting some multi-use signage this year. At least it will give notice. Unfortunately, I don't think Patapsco wants any more signs right now.

Austin