VERY Dissapointing news...GREEN CLOSED

DaveRS575

Sponsoring Member
Aug 15, 2002
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Well, those of you in North Jersey who remember the 20+ mile roundtrip abandoned RR Tracks as a beautiful, scenic, singletrack run, open from NJ to PA for the general public, and kept clean and cleared by most of those who used it, has officially been closed by the state police :(

Apparently a very stupid person came flying out of the trail, onto the street without looking both ways, and got hit by a car.

The sad thing is, the incident had nothing to do with the tracks themselves, nor the trails, but the state police (who are now patrolling all points within the trail vigilantly and apparently arresting anyone riding back there) decided that it was no longer suitable for mature adults, families, and other responsible riders as well as the irresponsible.

I have been looking forward all winter and summer to riding out there this fall for the awesome foliage over the delaware valley, and nice, peaceful relaxing, safe, and fun ride.

It only takes one idiot to ruin it for everyone.
CK
I'm f&%$ing pissed.
 

JasonJ

Member
Jun 15, 2001
1,150
1
Abandond the Tri state area! Flee now and leave the Delaware valley area to the lawyers and Developers! Its pretty bad when Lawyers and Docters are so scared of eachother they dont even want to practice in Pa. Insuracne compines wont write policies, ect. Leave the area or be subject to rediculous laws governing every aspect of your life ment to protect the utterly stupid and neglegent from harming themselves. The Area will become its own City State district like DC, of by and for lawyers and really stuipd neglegent people, people that will sue McDonalds when they choke on a cheese burger becuse there were no instructions on the wrapper to chew before swallowing. People who belive cruse control in a car is supposed to stear for you while you forage in the back seat for lipstick. In the end, its only these stupid people who survie their own stupidity to sue, the doctors that treat them, the lawyers that sue for them, and the insurance compines that have to jack everyones rates up to pay them that can survive in the vicious jackass circle. Flee FLEE FLEE NOW I tell you before they get to you!!!!! NJ I only a published Manifeso by Whitless, err I mean Whitman, from legal socialism!!
Well look at the bright side, Im sure they will make the area a nice place to ride horses, yeah, they need some more places to ride horses,, ahhhhhh pretty pretty horses,,,,, Im going off to my padded white room now and think about the pretty horses..................
 

DaveRS575

Sponsoring Member
Aug 15, 2002
447
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I'll tell ya Jason.. It makes me sick to my stomach... The go%d%$ned picklesniffing yahoos over here are just as bad as the Gestapo IMHO.

I don't understand why we have to leave these areas.. If they have such a problem with this, let them get the h3ll out!

I was enraged last night in an Outtback Steakhouse by a woman sitting at the bar. I was sitting there at a table in the bar area (The only smoking section in the whole place) and a woman sat down at the corner of the bar and lit a cigarette. There was a man and a woman sitting two seats away, and they asked the girl to please put out here cigarette. I was pissed at the non smoker for her arrogance.. I was about to get up and say something when the lady who lit up said and I quote "FU&K YOU!" This is the only smoking section in the entire restaurant! If you want a smoke free environment, move to the non-smoking "majority" of this building, better yet, why don't you take your dinner and your life out to Los Angeles and eat it there, We smokers don't want your kind here in OUR SMOKING SECTION! With that, the bar broke out in applause, non-smoker shut up, and left the bar area very embarrassed.

We are a minority, many people have problems with us, much like they have problems with smokers. We should have designated areas to ride, fine, I'm all for that, they should also be be free, and if someone hurts themselves in a dangerous sport, they should not be allowed to sue the landowner for anything. It's their risk, their hospital bill. That's why we have insurance. These non riding people who come in and take away what little legitimate riding space we have really burns my ass.

Why can't we fight this sort of thing? This is such BS!
 

JasonJ

Member
Jun 15, 2001
1,150
1
The real issue root is the legal presidance. When this stuff goes to cort, comon sense should be the standard and if your an idiot, you should be told your an idiot and have to pay legal fees for frivolous litigation. But what happens is the cort system says, well, was there a sign that said, dont drive out onto the road with out looking? No? well then whats to protect people from riding out across the road without looking, the land owner was neglectful and did not protect the rider so yes, he can sue for outragous amounts of money thats nowhere near reasonable.
This stuff should just be thrown out of cort, thus lowereing or eliminating the need for costly insurance and idiot guards and you ride at your own risk and let your own insurance fix you if you get hurt. The corts sponser this crap by rewarding idiots for being morons. The State and local Governments have little choice but to concede and chase people off instead of pay them off.
Untill the tide of lawsuits changes, land use issues are going to get alot worse before they get better :( . Unless of corse you want to go run around in the woods with guns with hundreds of other people with guns and shoot at anyting that moves,,, or ride horses.....
 

sperduton

~SPONSOR~
Aug 3, 2000
10
0
Yeah, I know the tracks you are talking about. I've ridden them once. Riding in NJ is becoming less and less. It does suck. It's one of the reasons I went and got my bike street legal. No insurance and registration is the main thing you get hassled for when riding on the dirt.
 

DaveRS575

Sponsoring Member
Aug 15, 2002
447
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Very disapointing..... I don't know where else to go now, other than Paragon, which is 2+ hours from me... :( Not only that, but the foliage up there is so awesome in the fall, I was so looking forward to that.. There has got to be another place up there. sigh....
 

scooter1130

Paragon Junkie
Damn Yankees
LIFETIME SPONSOR
May 31, 2002
1,229
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Sorry Dave, I meant to tell you about the area closing before you went back up looking to ride, but haven't had much time online lately.   I think they must have something against you riding.......I have ridden there for years, and then I tell you about it and they close it :confused:   I hate to say it, but I knew the area would be closed after they tore down the overpass......it was only a matter of time before someone was hit by a car.  The area was closing soon anyhow since they are already in the advanced planning stages of reopening the rail line for comuter trains. 

There are still areas of the tracks where they won't hassle you, but parking is the problem.  Let me check with a few friends who live along the tracks and see if I can work out somebody's house for you to park at where you can access the tracks without having to ride the roads, or tresspass on private property.  This would at least get you up there through the fall before they start working on the tracks in the spring.
 

DaveRS575

Sponsoring Member
Aug 15, 2002
447
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Thanks Dan! Yeah.. I got to ride up there a dozen times or so, and will truly miss it. Especially in the fall. If I can get back out there and ride the viaducts, I would love to do it at least one more time so I can take some photos to rememeber it by. :(

I can't believe someone got hit.. It's crazy really.. You would have to be an absolute idiot to get hit by a car there.. You have at least 100 feet of clearing from where the trail ends and the road begins. It's not even a surprise when the road appears. You would have to come flying out of the trail at like 100mph to miss the end of the trail. Unless you were just stuipid and wanted to play chicken with cars. I don't know.. Maybe I'm just a little bitter

I actually found out before taking a trip up there, so no worries.. My girlfriends son actually told me about it the day it closed, so I didn't waste a trip.

Looking forward to Paragon on the 11th though!

Thanks again!

Dave
 

DaveRS575

Sponsoring Member
Aug 15, 2002
447
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Originally posted by KXTodd
That's great about the Outback but sucks on the riding, how close are you to this place?
http://www.bluediamondpark.com/BlueDiamond.html

Thanks Todd, I appreciate the heads up on this place.

I'm kinda far from there and not really into the MX riding, more singletrack, woods, and enduro style stuff, but again, anyplace legal to ride is better than no place to ride!

Thanks for looking out bro!

Dave
 

sperduton

~SPONSOR~
Aug 3, 2000
10
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Scooter, how about parking at the truck stop?
There's a trail from the back corner of the parking lot, up to the railbed.

Dave, if you go again, let me know.
 

RedWingDS

Member
Sep 23, 2003
70
0
wonderfull i heard about this place some time ago and had hoped to ride there myself. guess that's out , well i saved gas money getting there.

with not many places to ride im getting real good at doing donuts.
 

scooter1130

Paragon Junkie
Damn Yankees
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May 31, 2002
1,229
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Originally posted by sperduton
Scooter, how about parking at the truck stop?
There's a trail from the back corner of the parking lot, up to the railbed. 


They are doing construction in that area, and the trail no longer exists from the truck stop since it went right through the middle of the construction site.

 

Dave,

The person who was hit by a car was a little kid on a pw50 so you can't really consider him an idiot.  His father was riding behind him, so I don't know if he tryed to stop his kid before the road, or what happened.  I know most parents follow their kids when on the trail so that they can keep an eye on them, and this was just one of those times when this was not the best place to be.  Maybe the kid panicced when he saw the road, but whatever the reason, there is no changing the outcome now.
 

DaveRS575

Sponsoring Member
Aug 15, 2002
447
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:( Now I feel bad. You are right Dan.. I con't consider a little kid like that an idiot I suppose.. sigh..

Thanks for the update.. It doesn't make me happy to know anyone got hurt up there, even the stupid people and vandals, and especially not a little kid, I just wish there was another way to handle this rather than closing the entire place down and arresting people for riding there.

:(
 

ksp

Member
Apr 1, 2003
57
0
I'm with Jason. Get the *%$ out. I remember growing up in Jersey in the 70's. What a piece of%*&#! The taxes are high, the weather sucks, there's no place to ride, etc. etc. I spent most of my teenage years outrunning the cops and bailing my dirtbikes out of impound. And that was 30 years ago! I'm sure it's worse now. A lot of the Southwestern states have great riding with a minimum of that back east horse%#*&. A typical problem when you live in a densely populated area.
 

dklink2000

Damn Yankees
Feb 18, 2002
765
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Originally posted by ksp
I remember growing up in Jersey in the 70's. What a piece of%*&#!

You said it. I F'in hate it here. I grew up here and got the hell out as soon as I could. To bad work brought me back. I have lived in and seen a lot of this county in my life, and the north east, mainly NJ, PA, lower NY, is the worst it has to offer.
 

DaveRS575

Sponsoring Member
Aug 15, 2002
447
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As much as this state's dirtbike and offroad policies piss me off, it's still my home, the place where I have spent the better part of my life, and regardless of all of the traveling I've done in my years, it's still the place come home to. I take the good with the bad, and there is still plenty of good here too. The people, the fall, the beauty of the millions of acres of forest, farms, open land and mountains and rocks. That is still mostly what you have here in NY/NJ and PA. It's just a shame that there are so many people against this sport here, That's my beef.

I hear you guys.... I've given this up for the desert, and the beaches of Caifornia, I've given it up for the history and architecture of Europe, and even gave it up for the bush in West Africa, but family, friends, the changing seasons, and the love of the great northeast for me in general keeps me here, and for the time being, I'm not going anywhere.
 

JasonJ

Member
Jun 15, 2001
1,150
1
My favorite thing though is, when they level someting for a housing devolopment or industrial park, they name it after what they mowed over. Tall Pines, Shady Brook, Green medows, Salford Station, Fox Run, ect ect, and leave no trace of the feature. Look kids there was a rail station here where the sewage treatment is and a beautyfull brook ran in the valley that they diverted and replaced with underground storm drainage pipes.
Taking pictures is a good idea, its all that will be left of the features you enjoyed riding out to see.
Paragon can be called White Rock Industrial park when they fill in and flatten out the gorge for a Sams Club wharehouse.
 

DaveRS575

Sponsoring Member
Aug 15, 2002
447
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WOW! Theres a Sam's club coming to Hazleton!!!! Yipeeeee!!!!! (I'm joking of course....)

I know exactly what you mean... This is funny though, the road I grew up on was called Fox Chase.. I guess they named it appropriately, cuz they managed to chase away all traces of foxes over the last 20 years with development, as well as every other type of local creature.

Shameful.
 

KTM Shorty

Member
Jun 20, 2002
10
0
Dave email me at KTMshorty@att.net. I have access to the abandon tracks via trails, I am farther east than there and find the abandon tracks boring, but we ride on about 45 miles of trails ranging from technical single track to rock strewn two track (used to be single track until the quads found it). The abandon rail line serves as the connecter to the trail sytem. We all race the ECEA Enduro series and this is an awesome place to practice (Fred Hoess terrritory). If your interested in some trail riding drop me a note. By the way the tracks were never legal, but the "man" was kind enough to look the other way.
 

DaveRS575

Sponsoring Member
Aug 15, 2002
447
0
I'm IN!!! I'll shoot you an e-mail when I have a minute! Are you riding this weekend? Maybe I'll do that instead of Paragon.. I'm further east too..
 

CaptainObvious

Formally known as RV6Junkie
Damn Yankees
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jan 8, 2000
3,331
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Hey guys, just getting back into the forums after a week of total riding submersion at DW.

I’m said to learn that another place is now closed to riding. I promised my son that he could ride there this fall after the weeds started to die.

I wonder how many riders there are in northern NJ? I’m also wondering if we should try to form a riding club, much like Tower City. The club could secure 100 acres or so and make a real nice riding area. I’d be willing to do the legwork, but I’m going to need some helpers. I’m sure we could find some trail friendly woods right here in NW NJ.
 

KTM Shorty

Member
Jun 20, 2002
10
0
Nice thought, but it is not going to happen. I am a member of the Ridge Rider Motorcycle Club. We have been trying to accomplish this for over 10 years with no success. In fact, after 32 years of running the annual Ridge Run Enduro, we could not get permission to use the Allamuchy State Forest this year. We helped spearhead the effort to turn 750 acres of the old Jungle Habitat into the Extreme Habitat Extreme sport recreation park only to be shut out by the Greenies claiming that our fuel runoff would contaminate the underground aquifires(sp?).

Unfortunately, the urban sprawl has led to the decline (elimination) of places to ride. In order to pull this off you'd need much more than 100 acres. Given the value of real estate in Northern NJ, land owners would rather sell the land off at market value than let it be used for an alternative recreational purpose.

The state promises to provide two riding parks (one in NNJ and the other in SNJ) by 2005. I'll believe it when I'm riding on the trails there!
 
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