Growing and Improving – Saratoga Mountain Bike Association

By Josh Clevenstine

If I zoom out and think about what Saratoga Mountain Bike Association is all about, what it means to me, what I see friends enjoying the most about it, I would boil it down to the above two words. Whether referring to your individual mountain biking journey of progression; the trail network at Daniels Road or Pittstown state forests; the rapidly-growing popularity of winter fat biking on The Snowlercoaster; or the greater goal of fostering, promoting and protecting mountain biking in the Capital-Saratoga Region, growth and improvement are synonymous with SMBA. The past couple years have seen some tremendous deliberate moves made that have set up, what is likely to be, a fantastic year. 

New trails for newcomers and advanced riders – Since 2022, a handful of new trails have been developed by SMBA at the 523-acre Daniels Road State Forest in the town of Greenfield. In the tradition of Daniels, these trails were all raked, hand cut, stone clad, refined, and slowly ridden in by a small army of riders ready to beat down soft forest floor dirt. This has resulted in a nearly four-mile pocket of trails in the northwest corner of the park, and just shy of three miles in southeastern pocket off of the Bee trail, and even a new trailhead. The new trails boost the total mileage of DRSF north of 30 miles. 

The trails in the northwest corner have been in the works for a long time, and offer an alternate route out to Upper Canyon. Hornet is the main trail running from the big stone bridge, at the bottom of Backstretch, all the way to Upper Canyon. There are two optional loops off of Hornet; Nose Dive at the bottom of the trail, and Hawkins at the top. I have really enjoyed using Hornet to get out to Upper Canyon, and then using the old Main Trail to get back down again. Hornet, Nose Dive, and Hawkins aren’t terribly difficult when stacked up to trails like The Rookery, or Sybil, but they do keep a rider grinding and pedaling the entire way. Advanced riders looking to test their stamina will find a great challenge if they take a whack at linking everything north from Dam Loop into one ride. 

The other new addition to the network, NooB(ee), sits off of the northeastern corner of the Daniels classic, Bee. NooB(ee) offers beautiful views, a jaw dropping rock roll, rock spines, and a trail running down to a new trailhead behind Artisanal Brew Works, Stump Sniffer. Sniffer is a healthy climb up from Artisanal, but very doable. When a rider is going back down to the Artisanal lot, they get to do so on a nearly one-mile long downhill! NooB(ee) was quickly embraced by the riders of Daniels and went from a soft floored new trail to a well-ridden-in ripper very quickly. Riders on the more intermediate side of the skill level spectrum will certainly improve if they utilize the new trailhead behind Artisanal, and make a loop out of Stump Sniffer, NooB(ee), Bee, and then back down to Artisanal.  

The Mighty SMBA Challenge on Saturday, June 1 – Another aspect SMBA is improving and growing is with its first large-scale event! Eager to spread the buzz of the new trailhead behind Artisanal Brew Works and the new trails… is the plunge into the growing world of mountain bike festivals. Partnering with Grey Ghost Bicycles, Tomhannock Bicycles, Freeman’s Bridge Sports, and Artisanal, to bring you The Mighty SMBA Challenge. It will offer two mapped rides, an advanced 20-mile loop that will incorporate everything from Dam Loop north (including all the new trails), as well as a less-daunting intermediate-friendly 10-mile loop.  

All proceeds of this event will go towards securing a grant to build a multipurpose trail into DRSF to help with maintenance and emergency rescues. The trail will also eventually be used to connect it to the new trail network at Graphite Range Community Forest. The challenge is not a race. The primary goal is to come together as a community and give back to our trails. Participants will receive food and a drink as part of their entry fee. The ride will be departing and finishing at the Artisanal trailhead. The ride will begin in staggered groups starting at 9am. A confirmation email will be sent to registrants closer to the event date with more specifics. Register: bikereg.com.

Group Rides – A new development at SMBA has been the Ladies Rides. They started organically during a fall 2022 trailwork day. A core group of female mountain bikers expressed an interest in a recurring Ladies Ride that was open to any skill level. The group is year-round as quite a few of the participants have fat bikes for winter rides. The group has grown in camaraderie and participation. Currently coordinated by Becky Lusignan and Kathryn Kos, they’ve scheduled rides from May through August, including 6/8 10am, 6/17 6pm, 7/13 10am, 7/28 10am, 8/10 10am, and 8/18 10am. All Daniels Road State Forest rides meet at the DEC Clearing Lot on Daniels Road (east of the Skidmore stables). According to Becky, “Ladies rides are a fun and supportive experience, where we get to do challenging terrain, cheer each other on, and try new features. We gain confidence, share stories and always laugh!” 

Anyone considering these rides shouldn’t worry whether their skill level is up to par. They’ve seen novice riders go in on the rides and come out smiling afterwords. Kathryn mentioned, “The rides are welcoming of all skill levels, they help everyone build confidence, and create lasting friendships. We empower each other to “session” challenging parts of the trail. We feel the group out and if it’s large, we break into smaller groups based on skill levels. It’s always a great ride!” They’ve improved and grown as a group, and they also show up for trail work when needed!

Another addition to SMBA has been the weekly Grey Ghost Bicycles Group Rides. Coordinated by GBB’s Niles Gagnon and local firefighter Robert Piparo, they meet every Tuesday at 6pm (weather permitting) from the DEC Clearing Lot. The ride runs year-round, switching to fat bikes in the winter, and snowshoes if needed! “It’s great to see the amount of new work that’s been happening at Daniels and locally,” Niles said, “it seems to have put new breath into Daniels and the number of people we see in there is awesome.” The group ride is targeted for anyone falling into the intermediate-advanced range of ability. Robert made a point to emphasize that “they are no drop rides” so less-advanced folks won’t be left in the dust. 

SMBA South – In Rensselaer County, the association stays busy growing and improving as well.  SMBA South president Chris Cavanagh caught us up on what’s buzzing, “We’re partnering with multiple land management groups to build and maintain trails in Rensselaer County.”

The stewardship arrangement with DEC allows SMBA to maintain the trails in Pittstown State Forest and work with them on new trail development. The state recently acquired a 1,200-acre parcel that has been added to Pittstown. SMBA and DEC are planning a new trail network on it, which will add to the 15 miles of trail already established in the state forest. 

SMBA also partners with the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance on land conservation and trail development projects. RPA has recently acquired multiple parcels throughout Rensselaer County that total over 2,000 acres. They’re being developed into community forests with recreational and educational opportunities for the public. SMBA is working with RPA to plan and build new trail networks in each of the community forests. Be sure to check out the trails at Pittstown State Forest, they’re well worth it!

Improved Memberships – Looking after the trail networks takes time, resources and tools. Annual memberships are how SMBA is able to acquire the funds to manage these needs.  In the past, memberships have simply come with a few stickers, trail map, and good feeling of knowing you’re giving back to the trails you enjoy. In 2024, the good feeling and stickers are now accompanied by some new perks from local sponsors: Freemans Bridge Sports, Grey Ghost Bicycles, Freeman’s Bridge Sports, Unior Bike Tools, The Grateful Den pub, and Artisanal Brew Works. They share the desire to see mountain biking grow and improve, and are happy to help increase the value of a membership. Go to: saratogamtb.org.

Looking Forward – Art Picard stepped down as president and is back to trail director, where he can focus on his signature rock bridges. Owen Dougherty is now president, Dave Walters move from trail director to vice president, and I’m in communications. We’re working on connecting Daniels Road State Forest to Graphite Range Community Forest, and eventually to Moreau Lake State Park, as part of the Palmertown Range initiative. Our fall/spring trail days have seen north of 50 volunteers since 2021 and newcomers are welcome. For winter fat biking, Daniels has been tracked within three to four days after a snowfall and more new winter riders are joining. See you out on the trails!

Josh Clevenstine released his second full-length album, By My Fire Again: An Adirondack Album on May 11. It’s available streaming on all major platforms or for sale at all of his gigs. Schedule: joshclevenstine.com.