Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail?

[merlinmurph]

Originally Posted by stien

Can anyone advise ideal tire width here? Lots of this looks like road tires will be fine, then I saw the stream crossing...

Man, I hate to get into tires because everyone is different and there is no such thing as "ideal". Road tires are fine, mostly. The Hogan Rd section would be , ahem, uncomfortable on road tires, but the rest of the trail would be fine on wider road tires. It's mostly cinder, so there are soft spots, etc., and given a choice, a wider tire would be best.

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

Uh, that's not my wife, but I agree, it is a gorgeous bike. That's Marianne, the woman who was the inspiration behind the Cross NH trail and came up with route.

Well, heck. Someone has a nice bike! And I was enjoying a nice manhattan, so no regrets.

[benb]

I was up there in August with my wife hiking and sightseeing.

The whole thing with the ATVs is a weird development. It's amazing to me that the industry can so rapidly develop new expensive specialized ATVs & motorized recreational vehicles for this crowd.

The highway was an endless stream of Heavy Duty shiny blinged out pickup trucks towing giant ATVs that seat 4 people and are about the size of a small SUV. They look like they are too big to get down any real trail... there's a whole network of clear cut trails (snowmobile trails?) that are totally cleared out and buffed for these gigantic ATVs. The $$$ outlay to get into this seems like it must be huge.

I don't think I'd want to ride on these trails with the ATVs if that is what is going on.. the trails look buffed out to the point they're glorified 2-lane dirt roads and you're right back to worrying about large motorized vehicles.

The other weird thing is these ATVs seem to be tolerated driving on the streets without registration up there.

From the website it sounds like cyclists are 2nd class citizens on the sections where ATVs are allowed:

Fall foliage season is here and you are more likely to encounter ATVs and dirt bikes on the Ammonoosuc Recreation Trail. My experience in meeting these trail users and trail maintainers has been good. If you hear them coming, pull over too the side of the trail, wave and smile as they pass. Their trail fees and registrations pay for these rail trails. With more cyclists, it is anticipated that trail conditions will be upgraded in the worst spots, and this will be appreciated by all trail users. Keep the friendly collaboration that we have established between the motorized and non-motorized users on this scenic route..

It is hilarious that unlike boating the slower/more vulnerable users are encouraged to give way to the bigger/heavier/faster vehicles. It's like if sailboats were required to always yield to motorboats. (Not counting cruise ships & tankers & military ships)

[merlinmurph]

FWIW, Gorham is ATV central, with a number of places that rent them and you'll see them on the road. Since we were there on weekdays, we only saw one ATV and really can't speak for other times. I would think the bike route would be very boring on an ATV and not what they're looking for. Maybe the route is used to get to the good ATV places? Don't know. It didn't have that torn up look ATV trails usually have.

[Jad]

I live in central NH (about an hour+ south of Gorham), and have heard some reporting on public radio re: problematic growth/usage of ATVs. I don't think I could stand it, especially if I lived near a well-traveled route. Here's an article for context:

https://www.concordmonitor.com/Off-r...slate-23758875

[benb]

I went and looked these things up.. the Polaris 4-seat ATVs are in the $24-26k range.. then add a trailer and make sure you have a pickup truck to carry it with.

Crazy money.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by Jad

I live in central NH (about an hour+ south of Gorham), and have heard some reporting on public radio re: problematic growth/usage of ATVs. I don't think I could stand it, especially if I lived near a well-traveled route. Here's an article for context:

https://www.concordmonitor.com/Off-r...slate-23758875

Here's an interesting quote from the article:

“It’s a way to get out of the city,” he said. “I grew up there paddling, canoeing and stuff – we didn’t have ATVs going on back then ... (But) you can’t get kids to leave their computer at home and go sit on the side of the river in a boat nowadays. You can get them out on an ATV.”

That's pretty sad justification for ATVs. I'm all for allowing greater access to wilderness areas for disabled persons. I think the ADA was a great piece of legislation. But promoting motorized wilderness tourism is (IMO) ridiculous. Just like e-bikes in national parks, this is another enabler for obesity. But I'm sure the lobbyists for the ATV and e-bike industries are thrilled...

Greg

[benb]

Yah it's a bizarre thing.. take the couch into the woods.

These are not the dangerous 1980s 3-wheelers or even the 4-wheelers from 10-20 years ago, they're in the 1000lb range.

[R3awak3n]

jeez, this thread got negative quick.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by benb

These are not the dangerous 1980s 3-wheelers or even the 4-wheelers from 10-20 years ago, they're in the 1000lb range.

Or even larger. This little off-road vehicle weighs 3,000+ lbs...

Greg

[benb]

If that thing is also street legal than it'd make sense and 3000lbs is fine.

The stuff I was seeing was stuff like Polaris units.. 1000lbs, 100hp 500cc engine with a lot of torque & AWD + 4WD, etc.. and nowhere near street legal.

[merlinmurph]

I'm in this area for awhile, went out for a ride today and thought of something for anybody doing this ride.

If the ride is a bit flat for you and you want to get your climbing legs out, I have an option for you.

Assuming you're headed eastward:
After going thru Pondicherry, you ride on Valley Rd.
Take a right on Jefferson Notch Rd and do the 1500 ft. climb up the notch
Keep riding and take the downhill to Base Station Rd.
Go right on Base Station Rd
Right on rte 302
Right on Old Cherry Mt Rd
Go up and over.
Right on rte 115
Right back onto Valley Rd

Enjoy your ride,
Murph

[572cv]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

I'm in this area for awhile, went out for a ride today and thought of something for anybody doing this ride.

If the ride is a bit flat for you and you want to get your climbing legs out, I have an option for you.

Assuming you're headed eastward:
After going thru Pondicherry, you ride on Valley Rd.
Take a right on Jefferson Notch Rd and do the 1500 ft. climb up the notch
Keep riding and take the downhill to Base Station Rd.
Go right on Base Station Rd
Right on rte 302
Right on Old Cherry Mt Rd
Go up and over.
Right on rte 115
Right back onto Valley Rd

Enjoy your ride,
Murph

OK... I’ve eyed this possibly for later in the summer. I know the Pondicherry and Valley segments and all the paved roads, but have wondered about the surface conditions of Jefferson Notch and Old Cherry Mtn. How would you describe these for the moment? (We share a family place in Lancaster, so are over there often enough to catch the lupine on Valley Road in June.)

[merlinmurph]

Originally Posted by 572cv

OK... I’ve eyed this possibly for later in the summer. I know the Pondicherry and Valley segments and all the paved roads, but have wondered about the surface conditions of Jefferson Notch and Old Cherry Mtn. How would you describe these for the moment? (We share a family place in Lancaster, so are over there often enough to catch the lupine on Valley Road in June.)

The western section of Pondicherry has been worked on recently and "improved", though I liked it better the way it was.

I just rode these roads yesterday and they are all in good shape. There's a section of Jeff Notch near the top that is killer, just a long, steep, relentless climb.

Enjoy!

[572cv]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

The western section of Pondicherry has been worked on recently and "improved", though I liked it better the way it was.

I just rode these roads yesterday and they are all in good shape. There's a section of Jeff Notch near the top that is killer, just a long, steep, relentless climb.

Enjoy!

Great, thanks! I could see I’m going to need a good day and my best climbing legs for Jeff Notch, though.