Poto: Hewen's Creek

[buyhevs]

I've only ever road Hewens Creek once, and that was 3 years ago; but I haven't got my Metro Park pass yet, so I I've been hitting the free places. There was about 6 inches of snow on Saturday February 16th, and the only other tracks were a pair of boots and some animals....that is, until some guy on a mountain bike passed me!

If you're thinking about skiing it; its a little bit tight for 200+ mm skis, and there's quite a bit of walking thru all the turns...but I thought it was still worth it.

[bhollen666]

Walked through the trail today after the recent snow melt and the trails are really saturated in most spots. Even the hikers have been leaving big, deep holes in the trail. Might want to take it easy on it for a bit.

[cbur1650]

when is a trail day scheduled for Hewen's creek? I saw somewhere on the board about a new trail to be connected to Hewen's, part of Rolling Hills. Any info yet? I am getting antsy for some trail time.

bhollen666 send me a PM if you are going to do some trial work. I live around the corner.

[bhollen666]

Walked through the trail today to check out the condition and put in some new signs. The second wooded section (the new one put in last year) is really bad right now. Some of the stretches in this section are nothing but deep mud that some riders have gone through and really made some deep grooves. other wooded sections didn't seem too bad, and most of the trail seems rideable. I also cleared the blockage at the wooded section paralleling the pond. The eastern loop will need a chain saw to get the downed trees there, but that could be something for the upcoming trail day.

[bhollen666]

Mowed everything but the eastern loop today, maybe save that for the upcoming trail day. Most of the trail is in really good shape, except for the closed off wooded section which is still really muddy. It seems like some riders have gone around the blockage and rode it anyway, as I could see some fresh "pizza cutter" tracks. I mowed the reroute at the closed off section, so I hope that riders will know which way to go.

[ypsi_N8]

Mowed everything but the eastern loop today, maybe save that for the upcoming trail day. Most of the trail is in really good shape, except for the closed off wooded section which is still really muddy. It seems like some riders have gone around the blockage and rode it anyway, as I could see some fresh "pizza cutter" tracks. I mowed the reroute at the closed off section, so I hope that riders will know which way to go.

Looks good out there. Thanks for mowing.

[Aether]

Is there a trail day here on 5/19? Me and a friend are down to help but we were just wondering about the details,,,what to bring, when to come, if its actually happening,,,those sorts of things

thanks

[bill_m]

There will be a work day at Hewens Creek this Saturday at 10 am to celebrate Ypsi Pride Day. Bob Hollen, our local Trail Coordinator sent the following:

This is the current plan. Everyone can meet at the gate (off Bemis Rd.) at 10 and I'll try to
get everyone started on various projects. Plus we could also mow the
eastern loop - which might give me a chance to show the locals the new mower so
that they can also help out with the mowing. I'll make sure to take pics so
that we can show our pride day participation, maybe write up a little report of
the day's accomplishments.

Bob

If you need more info on Hewens Creek you can go here: http://www.mmba.org/trails.php?trail=79

[bodomaniac]

Rode all of Hewen's yesterday and am happy to report that the trail is in good shape overall, but you can see signs of spring growth taking over parts of it. The work day on Saturday will be perfect timing for beating back some of this, unfortunately I won't be around to help as I'll be up in Traverse City enjoying some much needed R&R.

Although outside of navigating a few log piles the trail isn't overly technical, it is fun trail to get your heart rate up near max threshold and the wooded sections are a lot of fun. Because the trail mainly folds back on itself it places an emphasis on turning and maintaining speed while holding a steady line, which is trickier than it looks. The trail would be faster and funner still if there was more consistent use to fully break it in and have smooth unfettered singletrack ride on as opposed to the bumpy grass covered portions of the trail that still exist. Given the hard clay surface it is built on the trail can withstand the abuse that comes with heavy use (unlike others in the area). It simply needs more riders on it, which has always been the problem since its inception.

Perhaps the Poto chapter of the MMBA along with say Tree Fort Bikes could sponsor a "learn to ride" day on Hewen's, which would be a great trail to introduce area kids and beginners of all ages to the world of mountain biking? Just a thought to increase use on this underutilized yet expanding trail.

[bhollen666]

Mowed the eastern loop this weekend. I pruned most of the face slappers in the eastern loop and now it rides really nice and fast. Now the central loop needs mowing and pruning now. There are a number of face slappers in some of the adjoining open areas between the wooded sections -- none that are "jaggers," but an annoyance anyway. This will be the next weekend's work. Today I rode up to two baby racoons on the trail, who didn't seem afraid of me at all. If anyone wants to participate in the trail work this coming weekend, drop me an email at bhollen666@yahoo.com.

[semichbmx]

I brought a proposal to Ypsilanti Township to build a BMX Race track in one of the parks. Hewen's Creek has always been mentioned when I discuss the potential for a track. I would like to work with the MMBA to see if this is possible. I would love to see a major crossover between BMX Racing, Freeride, and XC MTB. We could pool our resources to support all off-road bike activity.

My proposal would place the track along Hitchingham Road. The new entrance to the park is off Hitchingham which would support a nice parking lot for all. I live only 1 mile north of the park.

What do you think?

[lucasfoster80]

Not that I have any pull at all, but I am totally in favor of this. I too live only one mile from the park, and any further improvements we can make to the area would be great for all kinds of riders.

The new section of Hewens for MTB near the entrance is really nice. It would be great to have more sections similar.

Thanks for the idea and please keep us posted on how we can help.

[podo]

I was visiting a buddy and visited Grand Rapids BMX. It looks like a great way to get kids started into biking. The old Hickory Pointe golf course is now a park and not yet developed. It sandwiched between to subs, so lots of kids and may be a good site as well.

[bhollen666]

cbur and I hit the trail today to mow the rest of it. cbur got the most of it and I finished the rest. We mowed it and lopped the faceslappers. Now it's all been mowed and rides pretty nice.

[Aether]

It looked good this morning..Thanks for everything guys,,and it was good to meet you today too

feel free to send me a message when some more stuff needs to be done