Whats a good starting point ?

[aedubber]

So i have been to RW once and rode the race trail, skylands, and took red down and split off onto the fireroads before warm puppy. I ride the ramapo park a lot thats on top of skyline dr .

My buddy just got a rack for his car , he just started riding so hes on a hardtail and i wanna start somewhere good in ringwood that we can bomb down and take Ringwood-Ramapo Trail (Red) /cannonball trail all the way into skyline dr( Ramapo Mountain ) and all the way down to the end of it at the soccerfields parking lot.

 

[elzoller]

So i have been to RW once and rode the race trail, skylands, and took red down and split off onto the fireroads before warm puppy. I ride the ramapo park a lot thats on top of skyline dr .

My buddy just got a rack for his car , he just started riding so hes on a hardtail and i wanna start somewhere good in ringwood that we can bomb down and take Ringwood-Ramapo Trail (Red) /cannonball trail all the way into skyline dr( Ramapo Mountain ) and all the way down to the end of it at the soccerfields parking lot.

quickest way to red/ramapo
park at school and climb red then follow straight pass renegade/cat's nest entrance to your left, pass a wooden bridge and a log, keep straight and u will see the entrance towards red/ramapo right in front of you.

 

[aedubber]

What if i parked out by Sherpards Lake per say ? I would like to kinda explore a little of ringwood again and then just rip down red to cannonball to the end.

 

[elzoller]

ohhhhhh
there are many options....
u could take the RACE course backwards to Skylands Trail to warm puppy then go around the swampy area there right and then left (around swamp since the rock bridge is out as far as I know) then take ur first right then another right then a left to start climbing to the red and follow my directions above

 

[aedubber]

ohhhhhh
there are many options....
u could take the RACE course backwards to Skylands Trail to warm puppy then go around the swampy area there right and then left (around swamp since the rock bridge is out as far as I know) then take ur first right then another right then a left to start climbing to the red and follow my directions above

Cool , ill look into that .. I took race course last time when i first got my FS bike and man it was a tough climb lol .. I have gotten to be a better climber i guess so maybe ill attempt it again .. It just sucked going up Skylands from that direction :hmmm:

 

[elzoller]

SKylands flows great in any direction , although i normally go from warm puppy to sheperds but then i figure out a way to end back at warm puppy to take it downhill towards car, as I always park by the school.

 

[aedubber]

Sweet ! Thanks for the info , just need some dry weather now 🙁

 

[soundz]

My buddy just got a rack for his car , he just started riding so hes on a hardtail and i wanna start somewhere good in ringwood that we can bomb down and take Ringwood-Ramapo Trail (Red) /cannonball trail all the way into skyline dr( Ramapo Mountain ) and all the way down to the end of it at the soccerfields parking lot.

That may be a bit intense for someone just starting out. No big deal to start out on rocky trails (I did), but to cover that distance over rocky terrain is tough for fit people. Your friend may not want to ride his bike ever again after the first ride. My suggestion, start heading down the trail, when he gets tired, head back.

Also, you can't bomb down Ringwood Ramapo all the way down to the soccer fields. Yes it is more downhill than going the other way, but there will be plenty of climbing.

If you guys like going down more than going up, then I would suggest trying to figure out a way to take the fireroads up and single track down. That is very possible to do on many trails. But if your goal is to get from point A to point B, it's pretty much impossible in northern NJ - you are going to have to climb, a lot. From your other posts, I know you like going down, but I really think you will have more fun once you work on your cardio and legs and enjoy going up as well - it will just come naturally by riding regularly. All of public lands up North are made for that type of riding.

 

[aedubber]

That may be a bit intense for someone just starting out. No big deal to start out on rocky trails (I did), but to cover that distance over rocky terrain is tough for fit people. Your friend may not want to ride his bike ever again after the first ride. My suggestion, start heading down the trail, when he gets tired, head back.

Also, you can't bomb down Ringwood Ramapo all the way down to the soccer fields. Yes it is more downhill than going the other way, but there will be plenty of climbing.

Well when i get into the ramapo part i can fly down it like i usually do , im just not too familiar with ringwoods trails .

Im just trying to figure which way is the easier way to ride ringwood per say , even tho its a good challenge i feel either direction . I guess which way should i ride the trails in ringwood to get me to skyline dr without over doing it if that makes sense? 😎

 

[soundz]

I added another paragraph to my previous post for you to read. To answer your question best I can, if you look at the map, you see where it say "The Knob"? That's sort of the peak of the mountain. If you go South from there, it's mostly downhill. If you go North from there it's also mostly downhill (although there are some uphills as well).

The red trail going from the beginning of Ice Pond road heading all the way up to the end of the map is all uphill (that's the hardest uphill you will face if you want to go all the way to the soccer field). It's more uphill (like 3 times as much) than if you were climbing cannonball switchbacks at Ramapo. It may be fun for you to come down this trail, but you have to get up there some how .. it's kind of hard to describe how to get to the top of that just via fireroads. I think the best way would be to climb Ice Pond road and merge on to the red (ringwood ramapo trail). Then hike-a-bike up the blue to the yellow and then "bomb" down the red.

 

[aedubber]

Awesome , thanks a lot man ! Last time you gave me good advice when i tried RW the first time .. For me i dont mind climbing , ill climb what i can and walk whatever i need to , its just that my bike being so slacked out and BB low its tough lol.. I just dont wanna kill my friend on the rides going up and have him hate RW cuz of the hills etc.

Alright so the knob being the peak that helps me A LOT ! Now i know exactly what to do from there 😀

 

[soundz]

Alright so the knob being the peak that helps me A LOT ! Now i know exactly what to do from there 😀

If you start at Lot C, you can climb Defiance Road all the way to the top to The Knob. You will intersect the red trail at the peak area. It doesn't look like it on the map, but you can climb to the top of it all on fireroads .. just keep on following the fireroad where it goes in the up direction.

 

[aedubber]

Yup , i was just scoping it out on my map i have 🙂 ... What i might even do just to go a bit easy on him is maybe , start from lot C and take it up to the knob, then to skylands trail, then to the race trail down and ride down some of the roads back to the parking lot and see how he feels. And then prob repeat but head towards warm puppy and mess around at 6 bridges ? Might be a bit safer and fun i guess .