A new trail is planned for construction this fall at Quarry Ridge. The concept for the trail was planned last year before the additions this spring, and now the City of Fitchburg has approved this expansion to complete the overall plan. The new trail will go from the picnic table back to the new concrete bridge. It will be between the existing hiking trail and mountain bike trail. See the map below (the red line is the new route).
The new trail will improve Quarry Ridge in several ways
1. About 1/2 mile of new trail. Who doesn't want more trail?
2. By creating a connector from the picnic table back to the concrete bridge, you can ride a loop on the lower section avoiding all uphill sections. This will be an excellent beginner loop to introduce more people to the sport. It will also be great for snow biking!
3. The connector will take you back to the base of the new uphill. By riding from the picnic table on the new trail, up the new uphill, down the long downhill, and then back to the picnic table, it will be possible to ride a 2.5-3 mile cross country loop without repeating any section. Add in the Sandy Climb and Tunnel Trail and it may be a 3-3.5 mile loop!
The trail will be one-way. The trail is fully flagged and it should be a faster trail for cruising fast for experienced riders or learning how to ride for beginners.
The trail days will be 11/9 and 11/16 starting at 8 am and continuing until 2 pm, or however long people want to stay. Any help is appreciated. Tools and bottled water will be provided. Bring gloves and wear appropriate clothing. There will be one person with a chainsaw clearing the corridor, and helpers are needed to remove the brush, rake the trail surface, and complete any benching and build berms.
The rush is on to build it before winter. This will be a great snow bike loop, so it needs to be cleared and rideable before the snow falls!
Update 11/3:
A light breakfast will be provided (most likely donuts and coffee/juice). Be there at 8 am.
Lunch is being planned for noon.
If we have excess people, we will be working on polishing the old trail surface by removing stumps, bumps, or adding berms. Alternately, the new downhill trail for the spring has already been cut and some people could go pull all the brush off of it to prepare for completing the trail in the spring. [attachment deleted by admin]
