NW Branch erosion barriers of eternal peril

[Greenbelt]

Looks like they're prepping for construction on the NW Branch trail between Route 1 and 38th Street. Hopefully the trail will only be blocked for a short, traversable section, sort of like the current blockage on the NE Branch south of Decatur Street, which is pretty easy to go through when they're not working (although I did get stuck in the mud after that rainstorm the other day...).

If not, I'm going to try riding on the grass along the dike on the south side of the river I think.

[Greenbelt]

Trail was closed as of 10am this morning. Not sure if there's a feasible traverse -- they closed a pretty long stretch and put up barriers. Will be fun tonight in the dark.

Edit I might just use the alternate route for a while -- tired of all the construction mess: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1755409

[Greenbelt]

The traverse isn't awful when it's dry. However, this morning it was wet and the mud was pretty intense. Not recommended.

[Certifried]

NW Branch trail between Route 1 and 38th Street - Closed Trail sign up by the skate park, but nothing was up moving from West to East. I was easily able to navigate the path, the dirt was hard packed. Despite being wet (rain last night) the trail wasn't the mud bog we saw earlier on the other section. The workers were friendly, one mentioned I might need a 4-wheel drive. My response, naturally, was that I'd be happy with 2-wheel drive LOL.

NE Branch trail between Route 1 and Decatur was still closed, but the hard pack dirt was also not a mud bug. Just across Decatur, the closed trail sign is STILL up, and they were working on the side of the trail (erosion control, it seemed). Other than the stink-eye from one worker, I had no trouble ignoring the Trail Closed sign and taking the path. MY apologies to the workers if I offended them by ignoring their sign. I just don't understand why that is still closed, it's been paved for a while now.

[Certifried]

If not, I'm going to try riding on the grass along the dike on the south side of the river I think.

This is exactly what I did this morning, and it worked out very well. Yesterday afternoon, I was able to ride on the dirt, but it was a little sticky. It looked a lot worse this morning, so I didn't want to get mud-caked like I did last time I tried it. I rode through the grass on the north side of the river, then came up the hill where the equipment was all parked. Though pretty wet, the grass was easy enough to pedal through. I'll probably just detour completely around if it rains a lot, or ruts start showing up through the grass from high traffic.

Here are some current pix, as of 10/4


NW Branch Trail @ the skate park (Melrose Park). Just off Route 1 by certifried, on Flickr


NW Branch Trail @ the skate park (Melrose Park). Just off Route 1 by certifried, on Flickr


NW Branch Trail @ the skate park (Melrose Park). Just off Route 1 by certifried, on Flickr