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MOUNTAIN BIKING<br />
MAY <strong>2024</strong> 21<br />
◀ TRAIL WORK AND<br />
BRIDGE COMPLETED.<br />
Growing and Improving<br />
Saratoga Mountain Bike Association<br />
By Josh Clevenstine<br />
◀ TRAIL RAKING FUN<br />
WITH FRIENDS.<br />
If I zoom out and think about what Saratoga Mountain<br />
Bike Association is all about, what it means to me,<br />
what I see friends enjoying the most about it, I would<br />
boil it down to the above two words. Whether referring<br />
to your individual mountain biking journey of progression;<br />
the trail network at Daniels Road or Pittstown state<br />
forests; the rapidly-growing popularity of winter fat biking<br />
on The Snowlercoaster; or the greater goal of fostering,<br />
promoting and protecting mountain biking in the<br />
Capital-Saratoga Region, growth and improvement are<br />
synonymous with SMBA. The past couple years have seen<br />
some tremendous deliberate moves made that have set<br />
up, what is likely to be, a fantastic year.<br />
New trails for newcomers and advanced riders –<br />
Since 2022, a handful of new trails have been developed<br />
by SMBA at the 523-acre Daniels Road State Forest in the<br />
town of Greenfield. In the tradition of Daniels, these trails<br />
were all raked, hand cut, stone clad, refined, and slowly<br />
ridden in by a small army of riders ready to beat down<br />
soft forest floor dirt. This has resulted in a nearly four-mile<br />
pocket of trails in the northwest corner of the park, and<br />
just shy of three miles in southeastern pocket off of the<br />
Bee trail, and even a new trailhead. The new trails boost<br />
the total mileage of DRSF north of 30 miles.<br />
The trails in the northwest corner have been in the<br />
works for a long time, and offer an alternate route out<br />
to Upper Canyon. Hornet is the main trail running from<br />
the big stone bridge, at the bottom of Backstretch, all the<br />
way to Upper Canyon. There are two optional loops off of<br />
Hornet; Nose Dive at the bottom of the trail, and Hawkins<br />
at the top. I have really enjoyed using Hornet to get out to<br />
Upper Canyon, and then using the old Main Trail to get<br />
back down again. Hornet, Nose Dive, and Hawkins aren’t<br />
terribly difficult when stacked up to trails like The Rookery,<br />
or Sybil, but they do keep a rider grinding and pedaling the<br />
entire way. Advanced riders looking to test their stamina<br />
will find a great challenge if they take a whack at linking<br />
everything north from Dam Loop into one ride.<br />
The other new addition to the network, NooB(ee), sits<br />
off of the northeastern corner of the Daniels classic, Bee.<br />
NooB(ee) offers beautiful views, a jaw dropping rock roll,<br />
rock spines, and a trail running down to a new trailhead<br />
behind Artisanal Brew Works, Stump Sniffer. Sniffer is a<br />
healthy climb up from Artisanal, but very doable. When<br />
a rider is going back down to the Artisanal lot, they get to<br />
do so on a nearly one-mile long downhill! NooB(ee) was<br />
quickly embraced by the riders of Daniels and went from a<br />
soft floored new trail to a well-ridden-in ripper very quickly.<br />
Riders on the more intermediate side of the skill level<br />
spectrum will certainly improve if they utilize the new<br />
trailhead behind Artisanal, and make a loop out of Stump<br />
Sniffer, NooB(ee), Bee, and then back down to Artisanal.<br />
The Mighty SMBA Challenge on Saturday, June 1 –<br />
Another aspect SMBA is improving and growing is with<br />
▶ NEW BRIDGE<br />
BY PRES. OWEN<br />
DOUGHERTY.<br />
PHOTOS BY SMBA<br />
its first large-scale event! Eager to spread the buzz of the<br />
new trailhead behind Artisanal Brew Works and the new<br />
trails… is the plunge into the growing world of mountain<br />
bike festivals. Partnering with Grey Ghost Bicycles,<br />
Tomhannock Bicycles, Freeman’s Bridge <strong>Sports</strong>, and<br />
Artisanal, to bring you The Mighty SMBA Challenge. It<br />
will offer two mapped rides, an advanced 20-mile loop<br />
that will incorporate everything from Dam Loop north<br />
(including all the new trails), as well as a less-daunting<br />
intermediate-friendly 10-mile loop.<br />
All proceeds of this event will go towards securing a<br />
grant to build a multipurpose trail into DRSF to help with<br />
maintenance and emergency rescues. The trail will also<br />
eventually be used to connect it to the new trail network<br />
at Graphite Range Community Forest. The challenge is<br />
not a race. The primary goal is to come together as a<br />
community and give back to our trails. Participants will<br />
receive food and a drink as part of their entry fee. The<br />
ride will be departing and finishing at the Artisanal trailhead.<br />
The ride will begin in staggered groups starting<br />
at 9am. A confirmation email will be sent to registrants<br />
closer to the event date with more specifics. Register:<br />
bikereg.com.<br />
See MOUNTAIN BIKING 23
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