Chestnut Ridge Review

Chestnut Ridge was opened to the public to today so I decided I would venture down and see what the trail was like.  The turn out at the trail was awesome and they were even having a little cookout throughout the day.  They have been working on the trail for awhile now, so I was hoping for some great single track.  What I got was not exactly what I was hoping for.  Out of the gate, there was a little double track through a field which led immediately to some single track through the woods.  The trails were soft and added to it were a lot of leaves which made it a little difficult to travel.  There were definitely more hills here than at Alum, which was not what I was expecting at all.  The hills themselves were not that easy.  They were longer then expected, the ground was soft, and the switchbacks were very tight, making it tough to muscle through.  With all of the hills on the trail, one would hope for some rewarding downhill, but to be honest, the trail didn't have a lot of fast downhill.  There was not a lot of flow to this trail, with far too many tight turns which took away any speed and momentum that might of been had.   There were a few technical sections with some rocks, and a few bridges, but nothing spectacular.  Near the finish, there was a nice straight little downhill that will test a few riders but other than that, not worth the 45 minute drive from Lewis Center.  I guess the one good thing, is that it will take some pressure of the Alum trails, but that is about it.   Sorry, if you were looking for a sweet place to ride, I would say pass on this one.