Originally Posted by
AndreyT
I'm referring to the gate on the dam, right at the spot that you linked to with your second link. Here's the picture of that gate
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=37.246...1,,0,22.5&z=19
I simply didn't want to enter an "officially closed" park.
Is that something bikers routinely do? Any problems with park rangers?
I just got back from a night ride here and I slowed up at this exact spot pictured above. This, as well as every other gate, was completely open tonight. No park rangers, no issues. My buddy and I saw maybe a total of four other people (two cyclists, a couple shadier looking people who sounded drunk) total.
The trail is super, super fun. I probably should have done it once during the day at least. Not prudent to ride a new trail at night with inadequate lighting. It is DARK.
We entered the actual trail from Willow St. around 11:30PM and luckily my friend had a decent headlamp; my small LED (more to alert cars than to actually illuminate the road) was not cutting it at all. When he gained a few lengths on me I got a bit anxious without his light directly in front of me. At some points there is a width of about 10 feet across where if you veer off either way (and the trail twists and turns quite a bit) you could end up hitting a tree or falling off a little cliff, or worse, into the creek... not to mention the steel posts at each gate that are about 3-4 feet tall. So I just trusted the lines he was taking for the most part until I could catch up! There are a few humps and mini hills that I did not anticipate because my beam had such short range... lost momentum for sure.
Highly recommended night biking!