Tom Brown, Cadillac, & Piney Z Area Galleries

7June09 Cadillac Trail mini-workday : An assortment of shots from a June '09 workday. Work was done near the extreme east and west ends of Cadillac Trail. East: We did a bit of transition work at the Hill of Death and Cuban Air Lines section of Sherwood Forest. West: Another small repair/replace was wood at the T-Bone between 3C and 4C. Don't be surprised if a bit more is added at the T-Bone. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

7June09 Cadillac Trail mini-workday

An assortment of shots from a June '09 workday. Work was done near the ...

Updated: Jun 07, 2009 2:58pm PST

East Cadillac April '09 Storm Damage Cleanup : It's a twister! Documenting damage and clean up after an apparent tornado - Weather Girl thinks it was a downburst - smacked down a bunch of trees between #52C and 67C on East Cadillac Trail. Right side of this map. Photos 2-4 are from a debris-interrupted ride 3 April with Mark Wheeler and Michael Frank. Photos 5-120 were taken during my preliminary cleanup 4/5 April '09. In a serendipitous moment, I'd run into Chuck Goodheart near the East Cadillac TH after experiencing the damage during the 3 April ride. Next afternoon (Saturday the 4th), I brought in an axe and small loppers to do the preliminary trim work. Proceeded to open as many snags as possible before the chain saw crew could get in. I didn't spend time axeing stuff that could be stepped over or under. After a return visit on the 5th - mission accomplished! You'd still need to dismount and climb over/under in several places, but the loop could be completed without taking any shortcuts. Photos include some before and after shots where clearing was possible. Photos 121-302 from 6 and 7 April mechanized cleanup (chainsaw and winch) with TPRD's Lisa Cole and James Herring. GPS track of the affected area, map below. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

East Cadillac April '09 Storm Damage Cleanup

It's a twister! Documenting damage and clean up after an apparent torn ...

Updated: Apr 07, 2009 4:55pm PST

Cadillac Trail Reverse : This gallery (shot 12 November 2008) shows the same trail as the Cadillac Trail gallery. However, I start at the end numerically (by trail marker #79C) and work my way back to the beginning (near #1C). Hey, the trail looks different when you reverse direction. For our out of town visitors, Cadillac is not a one way trail. Take your pick of directions, just heads up, eh? We'll start at the Lafayette Heritage Park parking lot at trail marker #79C, follow East/Lower Cadillac Trail "lowside" first, exit back at the trailhead near #36C, cross the parking lot northwest to #35C, then all the way back to Tom Brown Park near #1C. This GPS track shows me starting at Tom Brown Park's Magnolia Trail parking area heading down through Cadillac Trail and back. I started this gallery taking fewer photos between trail markers. As I hit the more technical areas I took more snaps. In some of the more rooty sections of West/Upper Cadillac, I took a lot of shots. Didn't want to miss any of the features. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." Slideshow works awesome for this gallery. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Cadillac Trail Reverse

This gallery (shot 12 November 2008) shows the same trail as the Cadil ...

Updated: Mar 15, 2009 8:20am PST

Cadillac Trail Hill of Death Modding : NOTE: Video clips are scattered through this gallery. See also this Hill of Death "walk around" gallery. 21 September 2008: Working on the H2 jump and H3 bench options. (Original Hill of Death is H1.) Photos and videos all posted. Thanks to Chris Neal for snapping stills on Craig's inaugural action jump and the Trail Gnome chopping photos. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Cadillac Trail Hill of Death Modding

NOTE: Video clips are scattered through this gallery. See also this Hi ...

Updated: Mar 15, 2009 7:19am PST

Magnolia (Tom Brown Park) Trail : SCROLL waaaay down past the text to view the 600+ photos! Feb '09: Consider the west section of this trail CLOSED for the time being. Clearing in preparation for the Joint Dispatch/Red Cross buildings has begun. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" (very cool for sequences) or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." The ENTIRE Gun Range Loop section, as well as the western sections of the Ravine Loop are threatened with development by . . . your local city and county government. (The area to be rezoned would be at a minimum from trail markers #9 to #43.) A very well attended Joint City/County meeting occurred 30 Aug 2007, 6pm, in the City Commission Chambers, 2nd floor, City Hall, despite a storm raging outside. Tallahassee.com (online Tallahassee Democrat) editorial: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708310357 Tallahassee.com (online Tallahassee Democrat) 30Aug reports from Bruce Ritchie: http://tinyurl.com/2lg28t http://tinyurl.com/3cwwvw WCTV's Seshmi Robertson covered the meeting. Interviews (Cody Vincent, Jim Mann, John Webb, Chris Floyd) were on the 11pm news, and here: http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/9484272.html Michelle Mansfield's My View: http://tinyurl.com/2q8bgf Jesse McKenzie's TalDem blog posting on the issue, pre-meeting: http://www.tallahassee.com/special/blogs/jhmckenzie/2007/08/keep-create-more-bike-trails.html I stayed in the Chambers for a few minutes after the citizen input was concluded. I specifically listened in on Commissioner John Dailey talking to Tallahassee Democrat reporter Bruce Ritchie, and had brief conversation with Commissioners Mark Mustian and Bob Rackleff. For what it's worth, after the citizen input, as well as my brief post-meeting conversations, I left feeling as though all sides will win, that what we heard from Commissioner Dailey at the 23Aug Mag Lab meeting is accurate. Talked to www.cacarc.org Chief Operations Officer Chris Floyd afterward. He had mentioned cycling benefits of stress relief. Hope to arrange a Pugsley ride, ideally something of a victory lap. http://www.surlybikes.com/pugsley.html LOOK for things like "Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Commission," "City Commission Comprehensive Plan 2007-2 workshop," and "Workshop on Cycle 2007-2 Comprehensive Plan Amendments County Commission" to follow the issue as it progresses: http://www.talgov.com/commission/meetings/calendar.cfm http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/common/calendars/?the_month=9&the_year=2007 Reports from the County and City mtgs 18/19 Sep were positive. Thanks to Jeff Bryan for attending both and sending updates. The group advising the City/County Commissions to rezone this section of Leon County land to build a Joint Dispatch Center: http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/CountyProjects/PSCB/index.asp That link includes a 171 page final report PDF. They want to rezone ~42 acres. For example, from the Tallahassee Democrat: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070923/NEWS01/709230319/1010/NEWS01 (23 Sep article) http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708160359 (16 Aug article) http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708090348 (9 Aug article) http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770808010 (8 Aug article) GROUP DISCUSSION/ALLIANCE BUILDING/MEETINGS that I'm aware of are listed here. (Other folks have been meeting with different groups to inform them of this loss of what most thought as part of Tom Brown Park.) 1) Pre-planning strategery meeting was at Innovation Park's "Mag Lab," 1800 E. Paul Dirac Dr., Room B331, THURSDAY, 16 Aug, 6pm. We met in the atrium for host Jose Sanchez to guide folks to room B331. Call Michelle at Higher Ground Bikes, 942-2453, or email Brook Pace: brookpace_11@hotmail.com 2) SUNDAY, 19 August. Chuck Goodheart, Jeff Bryan, Jose Sanchez, John Carter, and I met at the Gun Range Loop to survey, discuss, line up some potential angles. 3) MONDAY, 20 August. Jim Mann arranged a visit to Big Bend Sierra Club http://florida.sierraclub.org/bigbend/ to inform them of the rezoning situation. We passed out maps and info, described the property, gave the date for the upcoming City/County vote, and did our best to answer questions. Suggested it makes more sense to add this property to Tom Brown Park than to rezone and build on it. Many thanks to Gary Lloyd and our local Sierra Club group for the opportunity! 4) Second strategery meeting was at the Mag Lab, THURSDAY, 23 August. Both Mag Lab meetings went well, and were well attended. County Commissioner John Dailey brought a "proposal map" to this second Mag Lab meeting (posted below, second photo). About 2.5 hours of discussion at this meeting. Folks from Capital City Cyclists, Fat of the Land, Audubon, Trust for Public Land, Gulf Winds Track Club, and "free agents" attended. Heads up for an email containing group policy by Saturday! 5) That document is circulating as of Saturday, 25 Aug, to be commented upon for final submission to the Commissioners this weekend. 6) Jim Mann continues his tireless work lining up support from an array of organizations. He reports, "Ended up adding Big Bend Sierra Club, Florida Trail Association-Apalachee Chapter, League of Women Voters of Tallahassee and Buck Lake Alliance to our supporters." My choice for the Joint Dispatch/Red Cross development desired on Magnolia Trail? Just across Weems Road, behind the Armory. More secure, block is assembled, and there just might be some Homeland Defense money available. According to this search result, the National Guard Armory leases the parcel from Leon County: http://www.leonpa.org/ACCT.cfm?ACCOUNT=1127209020000 Zoning PDF for this area may be downloaded here: http://www.tlcgis.org/zoning (Choose Township 11, Section 27.) Having a tough time decoding those zoning definitions? here you are: http://www.tlcgis.org/zoning/lu-defs.htm Uh - - WHAT PART OF "OPEN SPACE" DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? 2ft contour map of the same area: http://www.tlcgis.org/pl_atlas (Choose Township 11, Section 27.) YES! Thanks to my heroes at the Internet Archive's WayBackMachine, you may view ADDITIONAL HISTORY in the continuing attempt by Leon County representatives and miscellaneous bureaucrats to sell off this parcel, here: http://tinyurl.com/2thylg I particularly like this gem: http://tinyurl.com/yunz2c This link includes a bit of history about Tom Brown Park, interesting political maneuvering re the attempts to sell the property, and mentions the inspired creators of the (now) defunct website. Note that back then, the County was reportedly selling 80 acres, not merely wanting to rezone 42. It's becoming apparent to me that Leon County government is effectively a Third World country. Perhaps a better metaphor might be that of pawn shop patrons, living day to day, always flat broke and ready to pawn off whatever they might find - uh, lost in the woods. It should be obvious if the property west of the East Ravine is not made part of Tom Brown Park, it's just a matter of time before your govermental representatives sell it, rezone it, or find better use for it than have it be "worthless" greenspace. One County Commissioner's preference on this property - "there are other areas to ride bicycles" - can be divined by reading point #12 of this link to the 11Jan05 County Commission meeting minutes: http://cvweb.clerk.leon.fl.us/finance/board_minutes/minutes/regular/2005/050111.html Thanks to Larry Wolfe, Chris Sands, Brendan Draper, Hillary Seminick, and John Webb for taking a stand at that meeting. And to Commissioner Rackleff for having his ducks in a row on this issue. Wow. County Commissioners are: http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/bcc/index.asp City Commissioners are: http://www.talgov.com/commission/index.cfm A 600+ photo tour of this Tom Brown Park MTB trail. 6Aug07, the first 90+ photos in this gallery were shot - a few more added/substituted 7Aug. 13 Aug, I snapped 270 more "fill" photos, between the Magnolia TH and near the end of the Gun Range Loop at #39. 14 Aug, completed the clockwise shoot, with another 255 in-fill snaps. 19 Aug, went back out with the Pugsley to snap close-up photos of all markers. That'll make it easier to quickly find location when viewing gallery in "All Thumbs" style. The trials course in the woods between #28 and #29 began a complete teardown/rebuild 25 August. Thanks to Chuck Goodheart, Jose Sanchez and Todd May for materials, planning and inspiration. See the whole gang building your new fun area beginning with photo #188. Tom Brown Park is off Easterwood Drive on the east side of Tallahassee. It's east of Capital Circle (US 319), south of Mahan Drive/Tennessee Street (US90E), and north of Apalachee Parkway (US27S). Tighter boundaries include RR tracks to the north, and Conner Boulevard to the south: http://tinyurl.com/2ftl9q Magnolia Trail (usually just called "Tom Brown" by local MTBers) has three named loops: Ravine, Gun Range, and K-9. Trail Head is located just west of the BMX track. Group mountainbike rides are common through Fern Trail, Magnolia Trail, and Cadillac Trail from the Higher Ground Bike shop Tuesdays (and maybe Thursdays) after 6pm. As we lose daylight, get a real bike light, e.g., this: http://www.bikelights.com/Products/Arc.htm The shop's ~3M west of Magnolia Trail as the crow flies. Call 850-942-2453. For the purpose of this photo tour, I'm just following the numbered trail indicators, clockwise from the TH to #1 - #79 and back to the TH. Distances are meters from the trailhead. 1609m = one mile. My odometer indicated a total trail length of 6380m, or ~3.94M. I intend to do an "uninterrupted ride/no photo stops" to check that distance. I've GPS'd the upper Bomb options that I photographed, but haven't revised the map. Also some miscellaneous shortcuts, connectors, entrance/exit points, blah, blah . . . experienced trail users would get the idea. Initial GPS track taken while I took the first set of shots: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3581149 Works a lot better if you load the .kml file into Google Earth, rather than just looking at it in Motionbased. Official trail map PDFs for Magnolia and other local park trails (Alford Greenway, Miccosukee Greenway, Lafayette Heritage aka Cadillac), here: http://tlcgis6.co.leon.fl.us/website/Parks_SDE/dmaps.htm Pardon some of the blurring, goofy white balance, over/underexposed shots. I hand-held everything. A developing thunderstorm cut down on available light as the afternoon progressed during the initial shoot. And of course I'm way down in the woods! Bumping the ISO up to as high as 1600 wasn't good enough. Forgetting to bump the ISO back down under changing light conditions resulted in some fried shots. Fun fun! Note that visitors may change the style of each gallery (click the "style" pulldown menu at the TOP of the page). Available gallery syles include this default "smugmug" style, traditional, all thumbs, slideshow, journal (I like this one), filmstrip, and critique. Cool, and controlled by you, the end user. Alternately, look just above the photos and hover over the little triangle between "Page 1 of XX." A menu will drop down from which you may choose any page in the gallery. Note that all photos are available full resolution. Typically, if you hover your mouse pointer over a photo, a menu will appear with PhotoRank/Photo Sizes/Photo Info/Save Photo buttons. Email me if you're stumped. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Magnolia (Tom Brown Park) Trail

SCROLL waaaay down past the text to view the 600+ photos! Feb '09: Co ...

Updated: Mar 14, 2009 7:33am PST

Sherwood Forest March '09 Build : AKA "Cuban Air Lines." An assortment of 219 shots from the 1 March '09 build on East Cadillac Trail. Sherwood Forest is a ravine located between what is now #52C and #54C, near the Hill of Death. The build consists of a 16' 6X6 entrance skinny with choke, a drop, a tabletop, and a teeter-totter exit. It's a one-way run, accessed adjacent to #52C, exiting at #54C. The build necessitated a slight reroute of the main trail just before #59C at the bottom of the ravine. Some shots from the June '09 repair day that included this spot are posted here. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Sherwood Forest March '09 Build

AKA "Cuban Air Lines." An assortment of 219 shots from the 1 March '09 ...

Updated: Mar 11, 2009 9:06am PST

Lafayette Heritage Trail Park : An assortment of photos from off trail around this ~795 acre gem of a park. This first group of shots was taken adjacent to the centrally located parking lot. See also Cadillac Trail, Cadillac Trail Reverse, Lafayette Heritage Trail, Lafayette Heritage Trail Reverse, Loblolly Trail, The Tub, The Hill of Death, and Piney Z East Levee galleries. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." Slideshow isn't a bad choice for this gallery. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Lafayette Heritage Trail Park

An assortment of photos from off trail around this ~795 acre gem of a ...

Updated: Mar 11, 2009 9:03am PST

Cadillac Trail : West and East Cadillac, aka Upper and Lower Cadillac Trail as of 11 November 2008, in numerical order. In other words, following the trail markers from #1C - 79C. Total distance of 6.51Km/4.04M includes 280m multiuse connector between Upper and Lower Cadillac. I took no more than about 15 steps between photos. I've added distances for all trail markers. Metric, with the addition of some mile splits. One mile = 1609 meters, or 1.61Km = 1M, ok? If you'd prefer all Imperial distances, go here. Nearly all photos "on trail" were taken at a 35mm equivalent of a ~27mm lens. That's a wider field of view than normal. That, and my angling the camera down a bit helps show the terrain you're running/riding over. I began on the Tom Brown Park side of Conner Creek and finished in Lafayette Heritage Park. GPS track here. GPS track for the marker measurement trip a couple days later is here. In that case, I started in Tom Brown Park up at the Magnolia Trail parking area. I rode Magnolia TH to #79 to #68, exit across Goose Pond (paved) Trail past the new H2O and bike wash, then down to the Cadillac entrance. West or Upper Cadillac Trail is a point-to-point section from trail markers #1C - 35C. The Lafayette Heritage Park playground, parking lot, restrooms, picnic area divides the two Cadillac sections. East or Lower Cadillac Trail is a newer loop trail from TM 36C - 79C. I refer to 36C - 56C as East Cadillac highside, and 56C - 79C as East Cadillac lowside. Those "sides" are just short of 2Km/1.25M each. I have separate galleries for the Loblolly trail (#1L - 12L) and the Lafayette Heritage multiuse trail. You may also peruse Cadillac's Tub section and Hill of Death options H1, H2, H3. I also have a gallery of shots while working on the Hill of Death drop (H2) here. Now I need to shoot Cadillac Trail in REVERSE order, non? Here it is. Cadillac Trail "backwards," start by #79C, 500+ photos to #1C and Conner Creek. Yes, I know a video tour might be useful - probably better. I plan to do that as well, once I get the helmetcam back in the mix. Meanwhile, galleries like this one call for changing gallery "Style" to "slideshow" - top right this page. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." Slideshow isn't a bad choice for this gallery. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Cadillac Trail

West and East Cadillac, aka Upper and Lower Cadillac Trail as of 11 No ...

Updated: Mar 01, 2009 5:35pm PST

Lafayette Heritage Trail Reverse : We start at the far east end of this multiuse trail, base of the Cadillac Trail's Hill of Death, and at the south end of Piney Z East Levee. We then head westward back toward Tom Brown Park, in descending order of the trail marker numbers, 48 - 1. To see this trail from west to east, see here. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." Slideshow won't be a bad choice for this gallery. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Lafayette Heritage Trail Reverse

We start at the far east end of this multiuse trail, base of the Cadil ...

Updated: Feb 20, 2009 11:06am PST

Pump Track "Hans" - Tom Brown : "Hans" as in Hans and Franz. There´ll likely be a Franz and an Arnold pump track, as well. Ride this, girlie man - it'll pump you up. To quote Catzilla, a pump track is like a tennis court, except it doesn't suck. Videos after location map are from some 19 Jan 09 riding. Photos 6-33, courtesy of John Carter. These are "from the ground up" photos preceding my New Year's Day 2009 snaps. Photos 34-315 from the New Year's Day work party adding to the new pump track directly behind (NE of) the BMX Track. Photos 316-448 show work done at 10-11 Jan build, and some 12 Jan 09 riding. Note that this build is a (TPRD) land manager approved project! See here for some digging rules ethics. Beginning 11 Jan 09, see Craig's blog for local gravity features. Craig's got superior shaping skills in this dirt. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Pump Track "Hans" - Tom Brown

"Hans" as in Hans and Franz. There´ll likely be a Franz and an Arnold ...

Updated: Jan 20, 2009 1:04pm PST

Magnolia Trail Sweet Jumps : NOTE: As of mid-Jan '09, the drops/jumps have been removed. (See next to last photo in this gallery.) These jumps/drops will likely be moved east to the next field, e.g. near the current Magnolia Trail trail marker 36. We may hold off for a while till Red Cross/Joint Dispatch construction becomes more predictable. 16 November 2008: Out in the west field of Magnolia Trail's Gun Range Loop. Working to build 2 or 3 jump options. There was work still to be done when we left at dark-thirty. So expect more shots when the work is complete. In addition to work on the jumps, a bit of temporary rerouting was laid out across the Gun Range's lower section. It is in preparation to the Red Cross/Joint Dispatch Center construction coming (soon?). First groundbreaking may be for the stormwater retention pond to be built at the base of the hill. We'll lose some woods down on the east side near TM #28, and the west side maybe all the way up to Easterwood. RE the photos of the guys doing the jumps w/o helmets: "If you think you don't need a helmet, then you probably don't." With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Magnolia Trail Sweet Jumps

NOTE: As of mid-Jan '09, the drops/jumps have been removed. (See next ...

Updated: Jan 19, 2009 5:19pm PST

West Cadillac Trail Modding : Photos 4162-4313 from the January 2004 visit by IMBA's Rich Edwards. These photos were originally posted in the "IMBA Trail Build Days" album at my defunct Club Photo site. AKA "Upper Cadillac" Trail, as it parallels "Upper" Lake Lafayette. The trail build shown here was in the ~1.5M between the Conner Creek bridge to the parking lot at Piney Z. This was many cameras ago. Forgive me, I knew not what I was doing. Many would argue I still have no clue - they may be right. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" (very cool for sequences) or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

West Cadillac Trail Modding

Photos 4162-4313 from the January 2004 visit by IMBA's Rich Edwards. T ...

Updated: Jan 05, 2009 8:39am PST

Woody Keen Magnolia-Upper Cadillac Trail Assessment : Photos 4607-4817, 13 Dec '08: A day long walk through Magnolia Trail and Upper/West Cadillac Trail with Woody Keen, TPRD's Chuck Goodheart and Lisa Cole, and interested trail users. We were assessing trail conditions and opportunities. With the loss of acreage due to upcoming construction of the Joint Dispatch Center and Red Cross facility, trail rerouting and other revision will be coming. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." Slideshow won't be a bad choice for this gallery. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Woody Keen Magnolia-Upper Cadillac Trail Assessment

Photos 4607-4817, 13 Dec '08: A day long walk through Magnolia Trail a ...

Updated: Dec 14, 2008 3:18pm PST

Lafayette Heritage Trail : A walking photo tour of this 4.5Km/2.8M multiuse trail. We start at the east edge of Tom Brown Park at the Conner Creek bridge. We'll pass through the parking area (accessible via aptly named Heritage Park Blvd.) at ~2.9Km/1.8M. End point is just south of the Piney Z East Levee, at the base of the Cadillac Trail's Hill of Death. To see this trail in the reverse direction (east to west) see here. I've GPS'd and measured the overall trail length and trail marker distances. 4.50Km/2.80M. Resulting map below. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." Slideshow won't be a bad choice for this gallery. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Lafayette Heritage Trail

A walking photo tour of this 4.5Km/2.8M multiuse trail. We start at th ...

Updated: Nov 23, 2008 2:22pm PST

Loblolly Trail : As with the adjacent Cadillac Trail photo tour (forward and reverse) galleries, this is a walking tour of an east Tallahassee mountainbike trail. The west terminus of Loblolly is at an intersection with Cadillac Trail, next to trail marker 33C. That's near the Lafayette Heritage Park playground and parking area. GPS track of Loblolly is here. In this gallery, I do an every few paces snap from east to west, then turn around and repeat back to where I started. Got it? As of Monday, 17Nov08, next "photo tour" gallery planned is the Lafayette Heritage Park multiuse trail. You know the drill: start at the Conner Creek Bridge, photos to the Hill of Death, turn around, repeat back to the bridge. Here it is, forward and back. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." Slideshow isn't a bad choice for this gallery. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Loblolly Trail

As with the adjacent Cadillac Trail photo tour (forward and reverse) g ...

Updated: Nov 23, 2008 2:20pm PST

Cadillac Trail Hill of Death : Photos up and down the Hill of Death's 3 options. See also the trail build photos. In this gallery: 1) we'll head down, then back up H1, the original Hill of Death. 2) we'll drop off H2. 3) we'll head down, then up H3, the benched east edge of H2. With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." Slideshow won't be a bad choice for this gallery. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Cadillac Trail Hill of Death

Photos up and down the Hill of Death's 3 options. See also the trail b ...

Updated: Nov 23, 2008 2:17pm PST

Cadillac Trail: The Tub : This is an option off Cadillac Trail, located between #10C and 13C. It's distinguished by the pit referred to here as The Tub. Some woodwork was added during a 2004 build, in conjunction with a Rich Edwards IMBA visit. The gallery begins with an OUT and BACK through the section's 170m length. I then did a perimeter shoot, showing off the area not specific to "the line." With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." Slideshow isn't a bad choice for this gallery. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Cadillac Trail: The Tub

This is an option off Cadillac Trail, located between #10C and 13C. It ...

Updated: Nov 22, 2008 6:30pm PST

East Cadillac Trail Modding : Scroll waaaaay down past all this annoying text to view the photos! Also known as "Lower Cadillac" Trail. 14 Oct '07 - photos to #111: A build (berm construction and debris removal for drainage correction) adjacent to marker #46C on Cadillac Trail. Berm currently bypassed by new lowside and highside trail segments. 19 Jan '08 - photos 112-126: The first barbed wire removal party. Westward from the Hill of Death to Fishing Finger #6. 26 Jan '08 - photos 127-155: The second barbed wire removal party. Westward from Fishing Finger #6 to the parking lot. These two wirey workdays were preparation for a weeklong trail building visit from Woody Keen beginning 28 Jan. Woody was last here Dec '07 during an IMBA/SORBA Trailbuilding School: http://tallahasseetrails.smugmug.com/gallery/3996331 Woody's company: http://www.traildynamics.com/ 28 Jan '08 - photos 156-252: Scouting/layout/flagging Monday with the Trail Dynamics crew. A huge reworking of "Cadillac Trail East" from the parking lot to the Hill of Death was done. What was a 1.5M point-to-point is now a 2.5M loop with a 2Km "highside" and 2Km "lowside." To make the comparison meaningful, those distances are taken from as near common points as possible. (Cadillac Trail "West" was not affected.) 29 Jan '08 - photos 253-339: Most photos are of the "lowside" crew as we cut and cleared, bucked and swamped the corridor. This was rough preparation for Woody Keen and Valerie Naylor to actually carve the singletrack with their magic machines. 30 Jan '08 - photos 340-416: We worked to clear the highside corridor - complete by lunch. I missed mid-afternoon to end of the day. GPS track of the highside corridor (some revision could be possible): http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4881219 31 Jan '08 - photos 417-481: Began some finish work behind the machine cut trail, lowside at Hill of Death westward through Sherwood Forest. Even managed to get in a post workday night trail ride with Valerie for attitude adjustment. GPS track: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4886045 1 Feb '08 - photos 482-551: Framing the ravine bridge, more benchcutting, stumpgrinding/rootraking and tread defining. Basically, getting as much machine work done as possible before the weekend workparties arrive. 2 Feb '08 - photos 552-667: The Saturday group Cadillac workday. Ravine bridge finished, several mini-ravines bridged/armored, tread prep on the lowside nearing completion. 3 Feb '08 - photos 668-789: The Sunday group Cadillac workday. Sheldon Brown passed away today. Sheldon: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/index.html and http://tinyurl.com/329q9q More tread refinement/finish work all over the place. Rock armoring the Hill of Death. Berm placement in Sherwood Forest (needs to be refined). 4 Feb '08 - photos 790-791: Val/Woody/Lisa goodbye look at the little bridges. 6 Feb '08 - photos 792-818: A rainy evening walk on the new lowside trail from the Big Hickory to the Hill of Death. I was checking for drainage and tread wear problems on this greasy, machine chewed section. Tread improvement will be necessary. Tread prep was neglected/rushed due to everyone being pulled to work on armoring the Hill of Death. The raw tread has been heavily ridden, and didn't receive proper finish work after the build week. No biggie - we just need to shave some areas, do some tamping. Finishing tread is not as sexy as adding special or technical trail features. But it beats closing the trail and using the doubletrack to get to the Hill of Death! 10 Feb '08 - NO PHOTOS. Treadwork on highside in Sherwood Forest, lowside from Big Hickory Tree through Sherwood Forest. Work continued on Hill of Death armoring. Measured the abandoned/replaced East Cadillac Trail segment to see how much trail's been added with the new loop. GPS track of old East Cadillac: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4954617 Comments on that track: "Measuring abandoned trail. Lumpy actual distance 2.43Km ~1.5M. Takes into account one small error. Measured from woods east of [holding] pond to New lowside/highside old trail common point." That makes the net gain something over one mile. (Lumps add distance, so the 2.43Km/1.5M on the calibrated odometer is longer than reality.) No, I'm not going to go back and smooth out the lumps to get a more accurate measurement - like it or lump it. Want more TTF (technical trail features) NOW? So do these PG-13+ guys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdobNE4xWP0 With a gallery full of shots, you may find it easier to navigate if you change the gallery "style" (top right) from "smugmug" to "all thumbs." Or "slideshow" or "filmstrip" or . . . you get the idea, it's configurable by you. I usually like "journal." THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

East Cadillac Trail Modding

Scroll waaaaay down past all this annoying text to view the photos! A ...

Updated: Oct 20, 2008 3:02pm PST

Piney Z East Levee : 28 August 2008 - gallery under construction, more photos coming from the archive! Initially decided to throw this gallery together when I realized I had before/after TS Fay photos and video. That, plus I didn't know what I was going to do with the expanding number of shots from "between Cadillac and Alford." You might consider this levee the east end of Lafayette Heritage Trail Park. Just past (north of) the Cadillac Trail's Hill of Death, 2.8M east of Tom Brown Park via the multiuse trail and southwest of Alford Greenway Park. THIS SITE is private property, and doesn't necessarily represent any other individual or organization. You are welcome to download/use my photos for your private enjoyment, including printing them. Any other usage/linking must come from me in writing (email ok), with credit given. Questions, pre-scoldings, comments, ID, complaints? Thanks, John Kalin Email me "If I fall you're going down with me" - Trail running advice from my Dixie Chicks http://www.tallahasseetrails.com/

Piney Z East Levee

28 August 2008 - gallery under construction, more photos coming from t ...

Updated: Aug 28, 2008 2:15pm PST