Trail Conditions Update

I am happy to report that the entire trail has been cleared and trimmed and is in great shape.

I am also happy to report that we have another new Fan of Shutes in the 'hood. His name is Scott Simpson. Scott lives near Steve Vines (aka Fuel) and like me, he rides with his sons. Scott recently became "the mystery weedeater" - together, he and I cleared the back section of the trail.

Also in the news - the power line section is fully open, rerouted, and cleared. I used a backpack blower to re-establish the lines by simply removing the seed and straw laid down for the restoration of the utility work.

So if you haven't ridden the trail in a while, head out - it's faster and better than ever. Plus, get ready for some new trail in a month or so.

Steve

Trail Reroute Done and Woods Cleared

Tommy set up a easy reroute and we are nearly finished with the weed eating in the woods. One more day with the weed eaters should finish the wooded sections. The first 2 miles has been expertly mowed 2x by Jeff and is a good ride. Signs of the stick tights are starting to pop - we'll need to hit it hard in the next couple of weeks. Go out and ride!!!!

Trail Hazard and rerout needed

It's been a while - it the busy time of year. And we have a new hazard. The ditch digging has finally begun on the power-line cut area near Needmore Rd. I think they are going to trench the whole thing before they lay pipe, which will close this section for a few weeks. And then we'll need to redo the trail through here. I'm hoping that either me or Tommy can reroute this section so it won't confuse the newer Shutes riders.

Be careful out there.

Steve

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung and so has the vegetation. We have nearly finished weed-eating and mowing the face slappers and ground veg. We also got rid of the cedar tree that split along Needmore Rd. The trail will need periodic trimmings all summer, especially earlier in spring. Thanks to Syd Phillips and Jeff Witte for their help.

So, in the mean time, get out there and ride, ride, ride. the trail is faster than ever. I average 10 mph in the first section now, which is comparable to Lock 4. The second section drops the average speed considerably.

A couple of guys from Murfreesboro came out yesterday and they were amazed at how much the trail changed over it's course. The were really surprised by the difficulty of the second section. Hopefully, they will become new friends of the trail.

Steve

PS - We're hoping for some help by the local Boy Scout troops. If you know of any similar groups looking to do service projects, let us know.