Adirondack Sports September 2023

BICYCLING continued from 11
Sitting off Northway Exit 20 is Gurney
Lane Recreation Area and Rush Pond
Trail System in Queensbury. Gurney is
150 acres with 13 miles of trails for yearround
enjoyment; seven miles of singletrack
and six miles of doubletrack. Last
year, work was completed on Rush Pond
after nearly ten years of work. The intermediate
flow trails offer crafted bridges
and views of the pond wetlands in the
woods between Queensbury Schools and
Gurney Lane.
I remember when Gurney itself flowed
like Rush Pond. Now I hear riders refer to
Gurney as ‘North Gurney’ and say how it’s
‘way more rugged’ than Rush Pond. The
reality is, they’re not wrong as years of use
have made it more challenging. Riders
looking for a bridge between the relentless
tech of Daniels or Moreau, and the intermediate
flow of Rush, Graphite or Tupelo
can now find it on many of the trails at
“North” Gurney – this natural aging process
has been so cool to watch.
This article gave me an excuse to talk
to one of the stewards at Gurney/Rush, my
pal and fellow winter rider, Scott Wheeler.
“Nearly a decade ago Gurney Lane was
just getting its feet wet with new construction
of a few miles of singletrack,” recalls
Scott, “…Queensbury Parks & Recreation’s
continued investment into mountain
biking has paid dividends, with nearly
20 miles of singletrack spanning Gurney
Lane and Rush Pond. We aren’t done
growing either! Rick’s Bike Shop recently
opened their ‘Outpost’ this summer at
Gurney, providing the area’s first on-trail
mountain bike rentals, service, and retail
shop. Future trails are planned to be built
◀ JOSH CLEVENSTINE AT
WHEELERVILLE TRAILS IN
CAROGA LAKE. BRANDON
ESTES/BLUE COLLAR
RIDERS CO.
by Wilderness Property Management and
additional investments are being made by
the town, local businesses, and community
leaders – we are extremely fortunate
to live in an area where mountain biking
is thriving!” More info: recreation.queensbury.net.
Staying on I-87 and crossing into North
Warren County, we’re under the volunteer
stewardship of Upper Hudson Trails
Alliance: upperhudsontrails.org. UHTA
came under new leadership last year with
Drew Cappabianca, owner of The Hub
and Brant Lake Bike Park (Bartonville
Mountain) in Brant Lake, and they’ve
been on an absolute tear since.
“We’ve been busy writing grants,
building trails, and building UHTA to be
the primary trail organization for Warren
County,” Drew said. “We’ve been building
beginner and intermediate flow terrain at
Dynamite Hill in Chestertown. We hope
to have a two-mile loop completed by
snowfall, with a total of 4-5 miles in the
coming years. We purchased a powered
wheelbarrow to help move material on
this project and others. In North Creek,
we’ve secured funding to hire professional
trail builders to make mountain
bike specific trail improvements to the
Rabbit Pond Trail, which will effectively
extend the top of the Long Trail at the
North Creek Ski Bowl into a 6-7-mile loop
through the Vanderwhacker Wild Forest.
We’re currently working with the DEC to
finalize this plan, and hope to have it completed
by snowfall.”
If UHTA gets the green light, they will
build it. I can’t wait to see the Long Trail
become a loop. The other networks they
◀ NICE VIEW FROM
SUMMIT OF BRANT
LAKE BIKE PARK
WITH DARBY.
JOSH CLEVENSTINE
take care of have also seen noticeable
steady maintenance and improvement
under their guidance. More info: upperhudsontrails.org.
About an hour west of our immediate
region sits an explosion on the scene
that is now wrapping up its third year,
Wheelerville Trails. The network is made
possible through collaboration with the
Adirondack Foothills Trails Alliance and
the Town of Caroga. It’s the brainchild of
trail steward, Jeremy Manning, and trail
builders Eli Glesmann and Justin Vesp.
Reflecting on how Wheelerville went
from nothing to a destination riding location
in less than three seasons, Jeremy
said, “Wheelerville started out as an idea
that was hatched at a town board meeting
back in 2016. The Town of Caroga was trying
to decide what to do with a 118-acre
parcel of land it has owned since the early
1960s. We applied for and received some
DEC funding for a feasibility study, and
received another DEC grant in 2019 which
we used to start construction.”
Jeremy and his crew knew our region
was lacking high speed gravity trails loaded
with big jumps, drops and berms.
Wanting his trails to be fast, aggressive
and gravity oriented he looked northwest
to the trails in Old Forge where he connected
with trail builders Eli Glesmann
and Justin Vesp.
“We partnered with AFTA and hired
many of the builders from Old Forge. At
this point,” Jeremy continued, “we have
about nine miles of trails which are mostly
downhill focused. Honestly, I really can’t
believe how successful it’s been and the
support we’ve received from the moun-
SEPTEMBER 2023 13
tain bike community. The next phase we
are looking to complete is the connection
of Wheelerville to the downtown area of
Caroga, and the addition of more beginner
and intermediate terrain. We have
plans for about 7-10 more miles of trails
over the next three years.”
This past summer saw Eli Glesmann
and his crew back at Wheelerville beginning
to cut the miles Jeremy mentioned
above. Eli’s trails have an aggressive feel
that rewards the bold. The faster you ride
and the bigger you jump, the more the
trails make sense. Getting to know a little
more about Eli, he shared some of his
story and what he loves about building in
2023 in the Adirondacks. “I always try to
incorporate the natural features the land
has to offer,” said Eli, “which is a big part of
the reason Old Forge and Wheelerville are
so appealing. There’s no lack of exciting
terrain! I started building trails in 2018. I
knew there was demand for trails in the
Adirondacks. I’ve been lucky to work with
Old Forge and Wheelerville to create successful
trail systems,” More info: wheelervilletrails.com.
In the greater High Peaks Region,
Barkeater Trails Alliance builds, maintains,
and advocates for a system of community
and backcountry trails for mountain
biking and cross-country ski touring.
BETA has been connecting and nurturing
community-based trail systems for 35
years, covering 125 miles. In 2011, they
began building mountain biking trails in
Wilmington, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake,
Elizabethtown and Keene.
This year, BETA is partnering with
three professional trail builders, Tahawus
Trails, Peduzzi Trail Contracting and
Backslope Trail Building, to open three
new machine-built gravity trails in
Wilmington, Keene/Jay and Lake Placid.
More info: betatrails.org.
It’s a great time to be a mountain biker
in upstate New York. Thanks to many people,
we are BLESSED to have such a wide
variety of riding in our backyard. My call
to YOU, riding reader: give back. Reach
out to your local trail organization. Get
involved with SMBA, UHTA, AFTA, BETA
or whatever outfit stewards your region.
I promise you it’s worth it.
Josh Clevenstine (josh.clevenstine@
gmail.com) has a degree in journalism
from SUNY Albany. He’s a trail/
communications director for SMBA, a
musician, snowboarder and year-round
mountain biker. Find more on Instagram
@josh.clevenstine, Apple Music, Spotify,
YouTube or joshclevenstine.com.