After mowing trail w/thorns?

(Pete Cresswell) said:

I rented a sickle-bar mower for the weekend and did a six-foot swath through
chest-high brush along about five miles of old railroad bed.

Some stretches were pretty heavily grown over with mostly black rasberry and a
little multiflora rose.

That means the trail, though nominally cleared, is still unridable because of
the thorn-covered canes/branches laying on it.

This just about used up what's left of my back...and raking it doesn't sound all
that attractive right now....maybe next weekend....and that's a *lot* of raking.

One thing that occurred to me is to run my 38" rotary mower over it....but it
seems like that would just leave thorns attached to shorter canes/branches -
albeit fewer to the extent that it blows the stuff out to one side.

Another possibility would be a walk-behind raker/bailer...but I don't know where
to find such a thing.

Anybody been here? Suggestions?

Man are you dedicated to that trail! You could try one of those leaf
sweepers.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

RE/

Quoted message said:

Man are you dedicated to that trail! You could try one of those leaf
sweepers.

I think this stuff is too heavy/clingy for anything like that. The
raker/bailer is probably the optimal solution - I've seen them...but guess that
the chance of actually renting one is nil....that leaves the mower and
time/decomposition.

This mania started when I was working at Vanguard (the mutual fund) - first
couple miles give me a way to get from their main campus up to my home in Paoli
without being exposed to traffic.

The stretch I started this weekend links up where I left off (Sym's) to an
already-completed Chester Valley Path bridge across 202.

My contract with Vanguard expired on October 30th and I don't really see finding
a new gig until the new year - so time's available.

I feel kind of like that guy who drapes things - like the Cliffs of Dover or the
Notre Dame Cathedral...only I cut paths in weeds...But still, I can look at it
and say "damn, *I* did that".....except the other guy's probably making money at
what he does.

I didn't get done until about 18:30 this evening. Couldn't find my cell phone
to call in that I'd be late to dinner....only thing to do was start heading back
- at 2.3 mph....To say my Better Half was upset would be an understatement
.....she was about to send out a search party, except nobody knew where to send
it... Further efforts may be delayed until this blows over....
--
PeteCresswell

(Pete Cresswell) said:

RE/

Quoted message said:

Man are you dedicated to that trail! You could try one of those leaf
sweepers.

I think this stuff is too heavy/clingy for anything like that. The
raker/bailer is probably the optimal solution - I've seen them...but guess that
the chance of actually renting one is nil....that leaves the mower and
time/decomposition.

Why don't you try asking the county for help or machinery. This is on
their list of trails for completion, so I would think they would be a
little helpful.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

The stretch I started this weekend links up where I left off (Sym's) to an
already-completed Chester Valley Path bridge across 202.

I know where that is. There used to be a great mexican place in a mall
down the road from there. I think it was called ZuZu. I used to work
across the street from the Valley Forge Convention Center.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I didn't get done until about 18:30 this evening. Couldn't find my cell phone
to call in that I'd be late to dinner....only thing to do was start heading back
- at 2.3 mph....To say my Better Half was upset would be an understatement
....she was about to send out a search party, except nobody knew where to send
it... Further efforts may be delayed until this blows over....

My wife makes me buy her things to make up for my riding. It's costly,
but at least I get to ride.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

"(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I rented a sickle-bar mower for the weekend and did a six-foot swath
through
chest-high brush along about five miles of old railroad bed.

Some stretches were pretty heavily grown over with mostly black rasberry
and a
little multiflora rose.

That means the trail, though nominally cleared, is still unridable because
of
the thorn-covered canes/branches laying on it.

This just about used up what's left of my back...and raking it doesn't
sound all
that attractive right now....maybe next weekend....and that's a *lot* of
raking.

One thing that occurred to me is to run my 38" rotary mower over it....but
it
seems like that would just leave thorns attached to shorter
canes/branches -
albeit fewer to the extent that it blows the stuff out to one side.

Another possibility would be a walk-behind raker/bailer...but I don't know
where
to find such a thing.

Anybody been here? Suggestions?

--
PeteCresswell

Have you tried an industrial leaf blower, they push a lot of air.

Quoted message said:

(Pete Cresswell) said:

<snip-hard work>

Quoted message said:

Anybody been here? Suggestions?

--
PeteCresswell

I've been using (mostly) a brush cutter/industrial type weed-wacker thing to "scalp"/clear some sections of single track in brambles/tall grasses lately. We keep some stout trimmer bits on it and it seems to munch the the canes up small enough to make them a non-issue most times. It can be work, but better than raking or hossing a big field mower around. Could be worth a shot.

Kraig.

RE/

Quoted message said:

Why don't you try asking the county for help or machinery. This is on
their list of trails for completion, so I would think they would be a
little helpful.

I think my base-level paranoia is higher than most. First thing I think of in
that scenario is lawyers....and somebody erecting barriers/"Keep Out" signs when
they realize somebody's actually using the trail before it's officially
finished.

But not that you've raised it, I'll have to think about that option some more.
--
PeteCresswell

RE/

Quoted message said:

Have you tried an industrial leaf blower, they push a lot of air.

Not yet....but we're talking about the residue of chest-high brush here. Some
of the blackberry fronds are 5-6 feet long and up to a half-inch in diameter.

Right now, I think that, if I go to the county and don't get anywhere, I'll try
my 38" rotary deck on a couple hundred feet of it. This deck has pretty good
suction/exhaust power and blows the stuff to one side. Then I'll come back and
ride back and forth awhile and see what punctures...
--
PeteCresswell

What do you ride a bike or her.

I MTB 2004

"(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

RE/

Quoted message said:

Have you tried an industrial leaf blower, they push a lot of air.

Not yet....but we're talking about the residue of chest-high brush here. Some
of the blackberry fronds are 5-6 feet long and up to a half-inch in diameter.

Right now, I think that, if I go to the county and don't get anywhere, I'll try
my 38" rotary deck on a couple hundred feet of it. This deck has pretty good
suction/exhaust power and blows the stuff to one side. Then I'll come back and
ride back and forth awhile and see what punctures...

Can you get a sod roller, or maybe even a 55 gallon drum, and cover it
with a rubber pad? Might be worth a shot. Roll it back and forth a
few times and see if it picks up the thorns. Then invite some friends
over to test it with their tires...

Sadly, by the time the decomposition and moisture start to break the stuff
down it'll be next year and another crop will be growing. Removing the
stuff might be accomplished if you had a powerful mower with a side-chute to
chuck the stuff to the side of the trail. Miss a few and you could be in
trouble, tho.

What about slime tubes ? They worked for me for the rides I do in the
blackberries.

"(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

RE/
I think this stuff is too heavy/clingy for anything like that. The
raker/bailer is probably the optimal solution - I've seen them...but guess

that

Quoted message said:

the chance of actually renting one is nil....that leaves the mower and
time/decomposition.

RE/

Quoted message said:

Sadly, by the time the decomposition and moisture start to break the stuff
down it'll be next year and another crop will be growing. Removing the
stuff might be accomplished if you had a powerful mower with a side-chute to
chuck the stuff to the side of the trail. Miss a few and you could be in
trouble, tho.

I think the powerful mower/side-chute is the rout I'm going to take....and then
let decomposition clean up the leftovers.

Next spring, I'll give it another wack with the moser/side-chute and maybe a
couple more during the summer. The blackberries will just keep coming, but
they aren't a puncture problem until the canes get fairly large and the thorns
start to harden off.
--
PeteCresswell

(Pete Cresswell) said:

RE/

Quoted message said:

Sadly, by the time the decomposition and moisture start to break the stuff
down it'll be next year and another crop will be growing. Removing the
stuff might be accomplished if you had a powerful mower with a side-chute to
chuck the stuff to the side of the trail. Miss a few and you could be in
trouble, tho.

I think the powerful mower/side-chute is the rout I'm going to take....and then
let decomposition clean up the leftovers.

Next spring, I'll give it another wack with the moser/side-chute and maybe a
couple more during the summer. The blackberries will just keep coming, but
they aren't a puncture problem until the canes get fairly large and the thorns
start to harden off.

Once you get a little ST nestled in there and packed down, things should
be ok.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

RE/

Quoted message said:

ST

?

--
PeteCresswell

(Pete Cresswell) said:

RE/

Quoted message said:

ST

?

Single track.

Bill "fertile mind" S.

RE/

Quoted message said:

Right now, I think that, if I go to the county and don't get anywhere, I'll try
my 38" rotary deck on a couple hundred feet of it. This deck has pretty good
suction/exhaust power and blows the stuff to one side.

Worked like a charm....I can see dirt on almost all 5 miles of it...

If I can ride it back-and-forth couple times tomorrow without flatting I'll call
it a wrap...
--
PeteCresswell

RE/

Quoted message said:

Are there many people riding this trail or is it just you? A few weeks
of dirt bikes ripping through there and there will be no signs of life
left to worry about.

It's just me right now. It started while I was working at a building on the
trail and clearing a couple miles would get me a route home without contending
with traffic.

Then my contract expired last month, so time was heavy on my hands and I got
this wild hair up my butt about clearing more of it.

I rode it yesterday without flatting - so I guess the finish mower did the job.

Actually, it's a miserable ride - boring (flat and straight) and bumpy (1800's
railroad ballast - looks like big cinders).

Normally, I cringe when I hear about perfectly-good hardpack being
"improved"...but paving this thing will definately be an improvement.

Check out http://www.montcopa.org/parks/ChesterValley_trail.htm for the big
picture. The parts I cleared are along a five mile stretch that's off the map
where the black dots stop on the lower edge at Wold Eagle School Road and 202.
That web site is Montgomery County's. "My" part is in Chester County.

--
PeteCresswell

RE/

Quoted message said:

Are there many people riding this trail or is it just you?

Although I'm the only one riding it, I met four runners while riding it
yesterday. There's a big financial company on one end of it and a health club
about two miles down from the company.

Part of my rationalization is that having something there and in use will help
counterbalance whatever forces might be at work trying to kill the project (e.g.
irate adjacent property owners, people trying to balance the budget....). The
project's been going on for over 11 years.
--
PeteCresswell