Lucky Valley

It's been a while since I wrote on this blog. This does mean that it wasn't any activity going, actually exactly the opposite. We were involved in lots of activities, such as trail building, hiking, exploring, well just having fun!



I like maps and I study them. Maps  can hide a lot of history. From sometime now I was looking at a trail in my favourite mountains, the Port Royal Mountains. It look really long and interesting, however I got the information that it doesn't exist anymore, that is overgrown!  Two weeks ago I did a trip in the area with my friend Anthony, we were looking for a cave. With this occasion I further enquired about the state of the trail,  and I found out that people are still using it. Bradford my friend from Roses Valley show me the trail and I asked him to come with us and walk part of it. To my surprise the trail was quite good (this just means that is not badly overgrown and you ca walk it), so we walked down for about 1/2 hour. On the way down we got treated to some lovely banana and jackfruit and even some coconut. Walking on the trail we could see the remains of retaining walls and a fording, which means it was a wide drivable road at one time. We walked back to the car and leave with an exploring fever in us. This "fever" is like a virus once you catch it you can't get rid of it until you go and explore the trail.

 In the following week I started to plan the trip. I needed to find a ride to Flamstead, if can't get one we will have to ride the uphill part as well. This can take about 3 - 3.5 hrs. We don't know how long is going to take to ride down the trail, we didn't know what to expect.  Some trails begin looking very good, well walked, just to find yourself half way down the mountain with no clear trail to follow. Than you have to cut your way through the bush and carrying the bicycle on you back for hours. This reminds of my trip with Andy Gyles to Corn Puss Gap, where we followed a good trail, until we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere with no clear trail to follow. It took us 9 hours to work our way through the bush.  Anyhow I learned my lesson, so I like to be prepared.
 Once we get through this trail we need to get back home which can be challenging after many hours of riding, bushing. The whole trip can stretch out to 7-8 hours of riding. It is essential to have good equipment and the knowledge to fix it if needed, otherwise you will have to add a few more hours of walking, pushing or carrying your bike. There are things I always carry on a trip like this, such as : sufficient water, high energy snacks/bars, tools, first aid kit, rain jacket, light, GPS, spare batteries, cell phone, insect repellent, spare tubes.

Towards the end of the week I found somebody to drive us to Flamstead (big relief), I really wasn't prepared for those 3 hours of climb. We met him 6 am in Papine and start our journey uphill on the dark winning road to Guava Ridge. Up here the air is really cool at this time of the day, it makes you wake up instantly! By dawn we reach to Bellevue Great House, the sun gently covers  the mountain sides in beautiful warm orange colour.



Quick equipment check and we start descending.   First we follow the main road leaving behind us the last piece of asphalt at 3900 ft above see level. We descend fast but  resisting to any temptation to do tricks, jumps etc. An injury is the last thing we want on a trip like this, so no braveries.  At Flamstead Square we take the road to Roses Valley, continuing through some coffee farms. We reach the river and start the climb towards Good Hope. In the gap, Keith and Scatta  the farmers, come out to say hi and wish us good luck.


 After a short break we continue passing a few donkeys, they are the only transportation method for the farmers, they are helping carrying the produce to Dallas from where they take a taxi or bus to the market. However the ripe bananas can not be carried by the donkey, they would break, therefore the farmer has to carry it on his head for many many miles. (Next time your bargaining for the price of banana think about this.) We take a right and stop at the ruins of the Good Hope Great House. Once a beautiful  Georgian style residence owned by the Munn family has fallen in neglect after the Munn twin sisters left the island in the fifties. Good Hope was a coffee estate. We enjoy the views for a few moments before continuing our descend!

We turn off left and start following the trail. We quickly pass the part we walked last week.Half an hour walk downhill means about 5 minutes or less riding the bicycle. This pictures shows Anthony riding beside  the stone rain gutter (in the right bottom corner) and the huge hole on the left carved out by the rain. Mother Nature is taking it back.

The trail is really fast for riding, the only things that slow you down are some big rocks and a few fences meant to keep animals away from the crops. On some parts the trail detours from what looks to be the old road, most probably is avoiding a landslide. we cross the river bed a few times, however very little or no water in it. For a while the trail goes through the river bed, this makes riding very difficult because you have lots of stones to roll over or go around, is hard to keep the bike rolling. Further down we see a Stone fence and a gate, apparently this should be where the Lucky Valley Great House is located. The area behind the wall was very thick bush, we couldn't see the ruin. further down the trail splits in two we take the one on the right . This takes us to the ruin of the mill. The walls are still in good shape the stone work is really good.One time the river must have had much more water to run this mill. Today everything was very dry.

As we progress further the vegetation is suddenly changing, I fell we are not far from the main road. The vegetation is like the St. Thomas "makka bush" type. Very sharp, scratchy bush, it can easily puncture your tyre. We get to a point of view, I can see Newstead and the main road , we are definitely close.
 A few more  corners, another fence, car wreck and.... , I got a puncture! I  continued riding as long as I still have some air in the tyre. Quick tube change and we hit the main road. 14 km to this point all off road, This definitely makes this trail one of the longest rideable trails. Of course the work just starts  now, we will go back to move some stones and fallen trees, and make the trail fun and safe to ride.

We are meeting my wife Edith and daughter Isabelle at Cane River Falls, one of my favourite spots. A swim in the river to wash off all the dust and bugs and of course to refresh our selves. The virus is gone for now, but I am sure I'll catch it again! 

7696 Ft Descent

Yes that is what we did last Sunday. Not bad, for a little island like Jamaica! Smorba Crew came over for a day of riding to Kingston. This time we hit the Queen Hill trail and the Bloxbourgh trail new for all the riders.

 Roshuan "Bushdawg" and Anthony (no nickname for him yet) were the new riders, Andy, Sanchez and myself  hit the trail at  close to 4000 ft.

 It looked like nothing can stop us until we got the first flat and the second etc.

4 tubes later back on the trail, rock gardens, switchbacks, super dry trail, skidding all over the place. I passed a donkey, he almost got a heart attack, next section lots of switchbacks no berms I was sliding all over the place but I had to keep ride hard, somebody was a few feet behind me. I could even hear his breath. He was riding well, super-smooth. I couldn't look back so I started to guess who could it be, who would ride so smooth, no skidding sound, no break sound. Damn he is riding well! Could it be Andy, Sanchez or one of the new guys. Eventually I found a good place to stop, my arms and legs were shivering from the intensity of the ride, a rest was due anyhow. When I looked back, a huge face was steering at me from 2 ft away. I don't know who was more shocked me or the donkey. We looked at each other for a second or two then he got to pass me and continue his run down the trail. Sanchez and Andy found me laughing, the donkey was trapped between  me and  them. Poor donkey had no escape! Further down the trail we met the donkey again, he continued his flight until the trail got wider, he eventually found escape in a wide corner.

From Queen Hill we took a trail to Dallas, as we proceed I warned everybody that this will be steep. I don't think they took it serious. The trail meanders through big threes, steeply down to a dirt road.Is a shortcut that farmers use. The soil is dark and loose, we all agreed that we have to go back and do some work on it, it has a good potential. This part was really intense, Anthony managed very well, It remind me why I love skiing.

We had a mandatory stop in Dallas at the Union Bar after which we rolled down to Cane River Falls. Our trusted friend Norval  and Tara was waiting for us there. I think we all felt that nothing can stop us the adrenalin was still pumping.

Not even the burning hill on the way to Bloxbourgh. We found our way through the tick smoke all the way to the top. At 3400 ft we were looking down over the beautiful Caribbean Sea, thats where we going.
The descent starts on a single track, quite fun, then we follow the main road until we reach the top of the quarry. Now, this is the fun part, roads are super wide, about 30 ft fairly smooth. Here, is all about speed, you roll at full speed, huge cloud of dust behind you and try  to make all the turns as fast as you can without crashing. Skidding is inevitable  and a must for a full experience.


We ended the ride with cold beers at Miss Fluffy's Bar.
Thank you all for coming I had a great time, I am looking forward to the next ride!

By Bogdan Simandan aka "Boogie"

New Year Kick Off

After an unsuccessful attempt from Keith Oliver Adams to organise this ride on January 1 , 2014 (unpopular idea I have to say, I guess most of you agree, as we've seen from the replies), 10 of us finally got up early on January 5, 2014 to meet at UTECH for a " New Year Kick Off Ride" As John Richards named it. Some of the attendants were still in a "Shaggy" state with less than 3 hours of sleep after the big show the day before. We eventually left Utech around 6:30 am. The group become complete in Gordon Town! Ten of us took the challenge: Andrew Clough, Blacks, Dean, Doc, Keith, Maurice Gordon, Stamma, Gavin , John Richards and myself. The route: Papine- Gordon Town-Guava Ridge-Quashi Gap- Content Gap-Silver Hill Gap-Section-Hardware Gap (Holywell)-Irish Town- Papine. Not the longest ride many of us ever did but certainly a ride that demands a good fitness level. The whole ride is on road. After 2 hours of climb we pass Quashi Gap and we take the first pictures with the gorgeous Blue Mountains in the background.

 From here the ride becomes more bumpy, certainly the next section requires a mountain bike. The "road" is undulating through the beautiful landscape alternating short climbs with, at places, slippery downhills. Vehicular traffic is almost inexistent, making the ride very enjoyable. We take a short snack break at Mr. Wolfs shop in Clydesdale. Here the road splits in two, the right turn crosses the river and starts climbing towards Cinchona, the left turn starts to steeply climb towards Silver Hill Gap. Maurice uses the break to take a refreshing dip in the river, as we would expect from a heart and core Fun and Thriller! This is the last time I seen Doc before reaching Cafe Blue, he sprinted up the road almost as fast as we would do it downhill. We were actually joking that probably he soon is catching us up from behind, on his second lap. Remarkable fitness level, we are all envy!

 After sliding through the muddy road to Section, we eventually reach New Castle where we regroup and take some more pictures. From here we cruise down the mountain all the way to Cafe Blue in Irish Town. Here we are all together again also joined by David, who waited on us and gave us some moral support. We are looking forward to have you back on the rides! Big up to Andy who managed to do the whole ride, also thank you for doing the Cut Throat Gully Trail with me, on the way down from Irish Town! Thank you Keith for organising it and providing driver and Gavin for giving his vehicle for support.

 This route gives you a feel of what mountain biking is about! Mountain biking is not about climbing mountains on paved roads, is about going to places where you can not go otherwise, go beyond the road’s end, taking the road less traveled. The challenge comes from the difficulty of the terrain you ride and not the number of miles you ride! Is about friendship, about sharing something unique, discover and respect nature, about getting to know places that few know its about freedom it’s about no limits, go were the few can go. Its about competing with your self, break your own limits! 


Despite this not being my favourite kind of ride, I had great time thanks to you all, for a great day!

Bogdan Simandan


 Distance: 35.07 mi Time: 4:18:21 Avg Speed: 8.1 mph Elevation Gain: 4,823 ft http://connect.garmin.com/activity/426220559#.Uswn5znDiJ0.facebook

NEW MTB TRAIL-JACKS HILL TO MARYLAND

Courtesy of our friends at “Fun and Thrills’ (thanks Marcus) who have already hiked this trail we decided to give it the explorer treatment.

It is very narrow most of the time, with steep sections and some of the trail “walls” are rock so we can’t hack them out to pass (sorry Kyle)!

There are plenty of little rock drops and tree roots. Boogie rode virtually everything, but I was bouncing too near the edge on my hard tail. This is definitely one for a full “susser”.

There are some nice tight hairpin berms and the best ones near the river are unrideable until we can widen them.

The rest of the trail is high grass, which hides the drop off on one side and at one point both sides.

Of course Boogie was waiting for me at the river, a tranquil spot amid the greenery, to see if I fell in-sorry, not this time!

Then comes the bad news, you have to climb up a twisty trail towards Maryland ( about 15 min). When you come to a little settlement ( Mind Peace) you turn right and go down a stony single track with a little river crossing at the end. Boogie was waiting again, but this time I got my pedal caught in a rock and remounting could line myself up correctly. 

There was more easy downhill and a concrete bridge over the river again with a rail. “Why is Boogie waiting with his camera?” I mused. Almost across the bridge and I saw that it has collapsed, there was a big hole to fall in and an impossible jump unless you had turbo assistance. Sorry Boogie, no paparazzi prize this time!

Finally we climbed up to the road. Verdict, with some cleaning up this is a good technical trail with a full suspension bike, a no-no for anyone who does not like drop-offs."

By David Linehan

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NEW TRAIL-CONSTITUTION HILL TO KINTYRE (PAPINE)

Regular explorers Boogie and David were joined by Keith and Gavin, who was trying his first serious trail.

We rode up to Lindo’s Gap from Liguanea, a 90 minute negative gravity experience, where Boogie punctured twice and I muffed a gear change and fell without damage on one of the steepest bits.

We stopped at the Gap for Boogie to interview a Rasta man for more trail information and spent another thirty minutes uphill to Constitution Hill. It is in fact a Gap or pass with trails in several directions (more exploration to come!).At the village square we had some cold ones, whilst Boogie was interviewing further holders of trail information. One told us it would only take fifteen minutes to get down to Kintyre (actually it took 29).

The trail starts on a narrow tarmac road to local housing and gradually deteriorates. Finally we hit the loose earth and stones and were soon on a single track on the side of the big ridge that overlooks Kingston. At this stage there was a drop off on the right.

We then hit a well defined path but with tall grass making it difficult to see forward. The drop off was now on the right and vertical off the single track. Gavin slipped and fell slowly, fortunately to the left and avoided the big drop. We continued and came to a plateau at the end of the ridge, overlooking Kingston.

From here the real descent started with a narrow rocky single track but not too difficult, although us “hardtailers” had to walk some short bits.

Keith had been complaining of brake fade so he and Boogie swapped bikes: result Boogie with no brakes went faster and Keith with Shimano Saints (the bees knees) felt safe!

Then we met a farmer, (this signified a better defined trail from locals walking it) and the single track became really rideable and fun but Boogie had a puncture on Keith’s bike, so we stopped again.

The trail became wider and we zoomed down some steep slopes to the Kintyre road and back to Papine for breakfast and a cold Red Stripe (Thanks Keith).

Verdict on the single track trail: probably with de-grassing in the middle, most people with full suspension would enjoy it and the “buzz” from the sheer drops on the edge of the tail. It could also be linked up with some of the trails from Flamstead to make a marathon endure/downhill.

Let us also “big up” Gavin who complete what is not the best trail to start with, and no bitching! Congrats Bro!

By David Linehan

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TRAIL EXPLORERS REPORT AND FUTURE EVENTS

Boogie and I went up to Flamstead to check the long trails down to Dallas and the coast, on foot.

The newest, used only once needs some work but Obelix (Boogie) wielding his cutlass and Asterix (David), doing the lighter work, age has its privileges, cleaned up parts, particularly some sharp bends by removing rocks. We need to do some more work but enjoyed the secret waterfalls.

(NB. If you don't follow Asterix the Gaul and Obelix, you are missing a European cult, written in a language that is fun for kids and has sophisticated references for educated adults).
We joined the main trail, known to few, that we fixed up last year and walked up to the top and back to Flamstead Square ( to say I was kn***ered was putting it nicely).

The good news is that it has held up well including our re-engineering and we will have it ready for my birthday ride on 21 or 12 December next, followed by the usual “pot luck” pool party at my place (I supply the alcohol (this year I will have a connoisseurs surprise after the beer and wine has finished, as it always does).

The trail from Belleview to Dallas village is long but not very steep with few technical bits. There are four river crossings and it is single track mainly with a big drop off on the left so speed is to be avoided.

Now for the good news! Before all this Boogie and I explored the beginning of a new trail that goes from Flamstead to Millers Gap. It is not all down hill but the start is spectacular with a single track along the contour lines with regular berms to help the descent. Boogie went back and rode it on Sunday and got from Flamstead to Liguanea in 70 minutes, which means we could ride all the way in about four hours.

Who is up shortly for the latest “real ride”?

By David Linehan

Cascade Trail Revisited!

On Wednesday Boogie, Andy and I revisited the Cascade trail from Holywell down to the road below the waterfall.

We first discovered it by accident whilst having a family barbecue at the park. There was a lady selling bananas and I asked her where she had come from. When she said “Cascade” I said to her “That is a long walk up the road through Section”. “No” she said “I came up the trail”.

Boogies’s ears have an acute extra strength when the word “trail” is mentioned.

The trail starts on the left as you exit the park and is a double track down to coffee farm. Then you turn left on a single track, very narrow and rocky in places with a river crossing. I got my feet wet!

The first time down we christened it the “Hairy, scary trail”. This time we were not so sure it did not seem so bad, until I put my right foot down to push round a rock and there was nothing under my foot! I went backwards over the edge, hung onto a tree and Andy came and rescued my bike. He then pulled me up and I was back on the track and suddenly “edge conscious”. 

In fact after this point there are little rocky bits, which Boogie with his Maxxis tractor tyres and big suspension mainly rode. I didn’t take my downhill bike because of the long climb back from Cascade.

There is then a junction with two ways down, we turned right and the hairy bit began, narrow, steep and several berms that were difficult to negotiate. There is a splendid view of the Cascade waterfall from the trail and then you are on the road to Section. It was a beautiful sunny day with country smells and sounds.

Two of the landslips on the road have been fixed but you still have the single track before Section, which is not so daunting, now the foliage has grown and the path widened.

We stopped at Section to se our Rasta friend and had a French press of really fresh Blue Mountain coffee, for which he charged us 200 dollars.

Suddenly the clouds came down and we did most of the climb to Holywell in the mist but the sun came back as we turned the mountain. Andy and I went to Café Blue for breakfast and Boogie drove off to work (we had motored up to the starting point).

BikeNutz grading? 3 for experience downhillers, 5 for beginners."

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Kingston is Cool!

Kingston is Cool!

"Kingston is Cool" is my friend David's idea! Is something he is dreaming about for sometime now. His vision is to have some kind of mountain biking event in the mountains above Kingston that would show how much more Kingston can offer for those who love riding and the mountains! Is an idea I liked and supported from the beginning! The fact is that there are so many trails in this area that it would really make sense. First we were thinking of some kind of XC race (cross country) we haven't completely trashed this idea , but lets just say , is not easy to find a completely off-road route especially uphill! Second we thought of a mountain bike marathon, with races of different lengths ("beginner" 15 km, "race" 30 km and "marathon" 50 km) this is something that can work however most of the riding would have to be on paved roads, which doesn't fit in the definition of mountain biking!

What if is not a race, does it have to be a race? What if is a day of fun, of riding together with friends, and what if we skip those long climbs to just enjoy the trails going down?

Oh, I know what my good friend Keith would say: " where is the exercise, I need  the miles to get a good exercise "

Well, when you ride down hill you are standing on the pedals, continuously flexing your knees  absorbing lots of the shocks ( similarly to a skier)  and doing this for hours is guaranteed a good exercise!

So, just before I left Jamaica for vacation I decided I'll do a weekend of downhills and test the idea! Was not the first time we did this but perhaps was the first time to do it for two days in a roll! And let me tell it was a blast!
We started 6:30 am and we went all the way till about 4:30 pm! On the way up we passed the "World Explorers" and " Fun and Thrill" if I am not mistaken, remembering all the effort it takes to go uphill, but "not today"! Today was just for fun!

So Andy, David, Marcus and I  drove up to Woodcutters Gap, and descend into Clifton Mount Coffee Farm! What a great place! A beautiful house with a magnificent view over the Blue Mountains , and Catherine's Peak in the background! From here there is a fast and steep descent into St. Peters. We enter the main road right in a deep corner were a few locals seemed happy and at the same time astonished to see us coming from there! One of the man told us he is a rider too and show us his wounds from a bicycle crash, he admitted that some white rum was involved in the story!

From here we ride to Mt Lebanon and Wallenford Coffee factory, here with take our second trail that will carry us across the Yallahs river four times before reaching Roberts Field and the famous "nobody canna cross it" bridge!

Here the vehicle is waiting for us to shuttle us up to Bellevue Great House! ! From here we ride on the Mount Rosanna trail then, Governors Bench trail and Tower Hill trail! The Governors Bench trail is not for the fainted hearted, is very narrow with huge drops on both sides!

  You can see all the way to Cinchona and Blue Mountain Peak on one side and  Bloxburgh, Mount Dispute and Bull Bay, Yallahs on the other! The Tower Hill trail is super fast and fun, it ends in the main road just below Tower Hill!
From here a steep and fast descent into Mavis Bank Coffee Factory for another shuttle up to Flamstead Hill! Here we meet our friend Bradford, a very reliable young man who helps us cleaning and maintaining the trails! We get a short briefing about the condition of the trail after which we dive into Roses Valley. A beautiful trail that passes some lovely pools and waterfalls then a ruin of unknown origin! The trail eventually joins the Money or Boots trail and descends into Dallas and Union Bar. We quickly finish the stock of cold beers, all two of them, so we head down on the road finishing our ride just below Cane River falls. The vehicle is waiting for us with a cooler better stocked than the last bar we visited!
By now we felt really tired after all we did : 7 trails, 17.4 miles of single track with 7614 ft of descent, 10 hrs total time! Great day!




Day 2:
Andy, Marcus and myself,

started in Holywell riding down on the Cascade Trail. I somehow was not sure about the turn off at the end of the trail, so I chose the one that looked the best walked.It turned out to be a trail we haven't rode yet, never the less interesting but chalenging, runing in a deep gully cut by the rain! The trail eventually  disappeared when we found ourselves on a  farm. The main road was not far below, so we decided to "freeride" down the mountain side  down to the main just below Green Hill Post Office! Our friend Buju, welcomed us, he is our local trail builder! We figured out that this was a third version of the Cascade Trail!

We shuttled up to Pads House for the next trail! This is a trail we just cleaned up with Buju a few days before the ride. Nobody rode it yet, so I was really looking forward to try it especially because I knew there were some challenging parts! The top part runs down through the houses, a very fast section. After the last house a nearly invisible right turn takes you on to the real trail! Steep on parts, with steep and impossible switchbacks, certainly with a lot of potential. Everything goes well until I dive into a little step down  and under a fallen tree so I let roll free and hit a stone hidden in the grass! This brings me to a sudden halt, better say my bike! That great feeling of rolling down a steep section ended promptly, I continue through the air, first up, then that feeling of weightlessness that lasted a few milliseconds before crashing down to the ground! Luckily nothing happened so we had a good laugh and continue more precariously!The trail then joins the river and eventually we reach the ruins of the Cedar Valley Factory!  Our driver picked-us up and we head back to Holywell!
 This route is known more as the "Back Road to Holywell! A double dirt track that takes you to Woodford, very fast, and potentially dangerous if you are unlucky to meet with enduro or quad riders flying up the track! It was a lot of fun going down some of the corners have some great berms!
From Woodford a short climb to Happy Gate than down on the trail to Maryland. This is one of my favorites. I use to ride this a lot on weekdays before work. If you ride from Liguanea is about one and a half hours uphill and 30 min back  downhill!  The trail run through an area called Johnny Ridge, a little community that stretches up from Maryland almost all the way to Happy Gate! Is great to ride, you can learn a lot! Every time you ride it you get to do more and better ! This was the case with Marcus who a week before skipped a technical passage, but not today! Well done!

 Next we shuttle up to Strawberry Hill. This is a challenging trail, there is no place for hesitation or mistake on this trail! Is super steep and dusty thus slippery! You literally skidding 50%  of the way down through some steep switch backs. You are controlling the bike through continuously shifting your weight . I hesitated in one corner and went down very quickly, the bike stopped somewhere above me and I rolled down the hill! No serious injury, just shake off the dust and continue down the hill! This is clearly the shortest way to come down from Strawberry Hill (on a trail)!

A climb up Dustry Road  at the hottest time of the day takes us to the next trail! A short climb towards Bamboo Lodge then a left turn on a climbing trail. The end of the trail is a two step drop off in a narrow gully with barb wire on both sides! Andy went down  fairly smooth. My first two or three attempts failed, because I couldn't position myself well and came to a halt almost riding into the barb wire! I eventually managed to tackle it, starting right from the edge! Is a perfectly rideable passage just needs some cleaning, somebody dropped some rubble on it, making it more difficult and slippery!
 After this, Down Pipe Gully 1, 2 and 3! Always fun! Next we meet David at Crystal Edge, we have lunch then decide to do the last trail for the day, Bermuda Mount Trail. I think we all felt tired and had a few crashes by now so we decided to take it easy. There is nothing easy about this trail, rock gardens, steep parts, tight switch backs. We stopped on the way  down, some of the rock gardens were impassable, so we moved a few rocks packed some holes, next time will be much easier and ridable! We ended in Gordon Town and reward ourselves with a cold beer! Totals : 7 trails, 7950ft descent, 15.8 miles, 10 hrs.
Two great days of fantastic riding. Did we do all the trails in Kingston area? Not even from far, I chose, the best and some of the most technical trails in Kingston area, the "crème de la crème"!

 Kingston  has so much to offer for mountain biking, I am glad more and more people start to see this!

Thank you Andy, David, Marcus for sharing this adventure with me!

Jus'S'kidding ( Dry Hill Rd.)

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Rosemount Jazz

June 7, 2013

Ten of of us set for this ride! We meet the "Ochi Crew"(Andy, Kerone, Sanchez) at the round about and drove up to River Edge! We start the ride at 8 am heading back to Fort George than we took a left through the banana fields to Junction Road. After a short ride on the main we turn of towards Georgia Penn and Rosemount. We got admired by some of the villagers who seem to be impressed by our "hard exercise"as they said! It certainly was harder than I remembered! The road gradually got steeper and steeper with some rocky parts as well, testing the riders skills and fitness!

 John, Kerone and Marcus seemed to manage the climb very well so they got well ahead! Keith was doing well just behind them! 

The rest of us Bernadette, Thomas, Andy, Sanchez, Courtney,were going slower , suffering from  the heat, the sun was merciless!

Thats when we had a stop in the shade by this little shop .



Courtney ask me to take a picture of him, before his "DEDO"!

This is one of the last buildings in Rosemount, from here the road turns into a single track undulating through the pristine landscape! A short downhill than a short moderate climb to a spring. Thats where we regrouped with the front riders! Marcus was in the "shower" when we arrived, it definitely cools you down a lot! Is a nice place to have a rest!

From here a short nice  climb to Camberwell main square!  The view is beautiful from here, you can see al the way to Highgate. Everybody decided to ride the Jazzy trail! So there we went. I remembered a fairly short and steep ride up, well, it was not short but it sure was steep!

 

Eventually we got to the highest point of the ride,  450m (not 370m  as I thought) it felt much higher, after all we climb only 380 m. Thats were the fun started! Downhill time! Andy, Kerone and Sanchez were having fun in Georges Hope square, doing a jump over a big bump than a wall ride! Awesome! 

The downhill was great,  it starts as a nice well running single track then it becomes rougher and rougher! You have to improvise all the time, you try to pick a line but usually it does not work out to well! A continuous rock garden testing your bike to the max! A ride through Ugly River and a slalom through cow pies and mud and there we are at the bridge!

A short ride to River Edge were a cooler loaded with drinks and an awesome Jamaican breakfast  was waiting for us! And a chocolate drink from locally produce chocolate balls!  After breakfast down to Pencar River for a soak!

It was a good ride a true All- Mountain ride ! Bernadette is getting better with each ride! This was Kerone, Marcus and Thomas first ride with us, all did excellent!

Jazzy on Pinkbike

By Bogdan Simandan

This loop is an extended version of the Rosemount Trail! It Starts at River Edge, go to Fort George then to the roundabout , Junction Road, Georgia Penn, Rosemount to  Camberwell  , Georges Hope, now the fun part starts, another 4 km  single track I call it Jazzy! Than back to River Edge, and soak in the river! Phone number for River Edge /Mrs Chuck 3854943.

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