Luce Line being extended through Theo Wirth singletrack and XC skiiing area.

[MisterClaw]

To minimize impact to the park, an existing maintenance road will become the eastern third of the new trail and double as a low-volume maintenance road; and the middle third will utilize part of the existing cross country ski trail corridor, which will be widened where necessary to accommodate both trails. In general, the trail width will consist of 10 feet of paving with three-foot grassy shoulders on each side. In the maintenance corridor, the pavement will be 12 feet wide to accommodate the occasional maintenance vehicle; along the ski trail, the 10-foot bike trail will abut the south side of the 16-foot ski trail.

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=711

There's a link at bottom of the page to the map of the new trail.

[jitterjepp]

Great, there goes the sacrificial table. Now where am I going to practice my black magic and voodoo? Someone is going to pay for this. (runs off to get pins and voodoo dolls)

[werts]

so this wont have an affect on the single track will it???

[snowcat]

The article says the Wirth section is under a mile so I doubt it.

I love the Luce Line, I started biking that when I was 12. If you ever ride it be sure to stop at the Ox Yoke near Independence if it's still there, they have great burgers.

[steef]

Great, there goes the sacrificial table. Now where am I going to practice my black magic and voodoo? Someone is going to pay for this. (runs off to get pins and voodoo dolls)

Plans are being made to move the Sacrificial to either your bedroom, or my back yard.:banana:

[werts]

...I love the Luce Line...



really? you ever do a 2hour run on it, boring as :banghead:

[Shorty]

so this wont have an affect on the single track will it???

Judging by this description...

"along the ski trail, the 10-foot bike trail will abut the south side of the 16-foot ski trail."

...I'd guess there will be a handful of spots where the trail will need to be re-routed. Think about all the sections in the beginning/end of the north loop where the trail comes within 10 feet of the ski trail. The corridor for the new paved trail could easily be another 5+ feet. Plus the impact from heavy machinery... I'd say this project could do some damage...

Click on the link for the map of the Luce Line expansion at the bottom of this page: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=711

And compare it to the the map of the Theo trails:
http://www.mocatrails.org/files/Maps/Orthophoto_Map.pdf

It's been in the works for quite a few years now - looks like it is finally happening.

[werts]

yea based upon those maps there will be some impact, but i guess that will just allow for the ability to mix up and change the trails at theo if need be. at least ill be able to ride straight from my moms house to the trail head once the luce line is finished.

[jitterjepp]

If anyone ever says I've never had a hunk of land that I love hacked for progress...

[mara]

so this wont have an affect on the single track will it???

The MPRB and Three Rivers have been awesome about designing the Luce Line route for minimal impact on the singletrack, but yes, the mountain bike trails will be affected.

There are three spots in section two where we will need to reroute the trail . If you look at the map that Pete linked above, they are the three spots where our trail is closest to the ski trail in twister. There are another couple of spots on both sides of the corridor where Three Rivers has agreed to either install fencing or plant trees to form a visual barrier where the two trails get close.

The Luce Line will cross the mountain bike trail in two places. Three Rivers will be putting in signage and we will likely add some sort of qualifier in those areas to encourage people to consider what they are getting into if they choose to detour on the mountain bike trail. Once the Luce Line is in place, we will be making any necessary changes to the entry/exit trail as well.

Early warning: The north loop mountain bike trails will partially or fully close during construction of the Luce Line next spring. As soon as a more specific timeline is available, we'll post it here.

[Pain Cave Spelunker]

Not to side track this but has anyone actually road the Luce Line to Cosmos? The last time I road this (3 years ago) the trail ended in Winsted.

[beccahakensak]

Darren-The trail is gravel for about 7 miles from Hutchinson to Cedar Mills. Then it's grass for 10 miles to Cosmos. We rode it a few weeks ago and the grass had been recently cut.

It was lovely, breezy, remote, scenic... :)

[Slimpee]

Plans are being made to move the Sacrificial to either your bedroom, or my back yard.:banana:

Steef, I STILL think it'd be best as an obstacle. Perhaps one of the qualifiers when the Line crosses the singletrack...:evil:

[mara]

Steef, I STILL think it'd be best as an obstacle. Perhaps one of the qualifiers when the Line crosses the singletrack...:evil:

Don't give up on the Sacrificial Table just yet -- unlike the office chair, it does have a chance of making it through "progress" intact.

[Wheels]

I'm not sure where this is at with the MPRB, but I would make sure that they adjust the trail in consideration of a couple of places where we have no other options - such as the area right before the big rock garden.

They can push this a bit north, so we can make grade.

I'm also wondering how they will manage trail crossings.

[guest_s]

Thanks Shawn.....and nice to hear from you.

I think it's all set. We had a walk through with the MPRB and were able to voice our concerns. The trail is already marked so we know exactly what parts of the MTB trail will be affected. We will be working on reroutes and a temporary trail during Luce Line construction to keep riders north of the construction and not crossing it.

I give the MPRB props for working so tightly with us on this.

[mara]

I'm not sure where this is at with the MPRB, but I would make sure that they adjust the trail in consideration of a couple of places where we have no other options - such as the area right before the big rock garden.

They can push this a bit north, so we can make grade.

I'm also wondering how they will manage trail crossings.

All of this has been taken into account. There are three sections where they did push the Luce Line north. We will be planning and possibly building reroutes of the trail in those places starting in early October. Wheels, we could really use your creative genius if you'd like to help with this -- email me if you're interested.

The trail crossings will all be signed by Three Rivers. Mountain bikers will need to yield to the Luce Line like we currently need to yield crossing the ski trail.

We will building a qualifier of some sort after the crossing that leads to the tabletop jump right before the exit. There will be changes to the entry/exit section as well, but those will likely happen after the Luce Line is put in next spring.

[Wheels]

All of this has been taken into account. There are three sections where they did push the Luce Line north. We will be planning and possibly building reroutes of the trail in those places starting in early October. Wheels, we could really use your creative genius if you'd like to help with this -- email me if you're interested.

The trail crossings will all be signed by Three Rivers. Mountain bikers will need to yield to the Luce Line like we currently need to yield crossing the ski trail.

We will building a qualifier of some sort after the crossing that leads to the tabletop jump right before the exit. There will be changes to the entry/exit section as well, but those will likely happen after the Luce Line is put in next spring.


Glad to hear it...

Mara (flattery will get you everywhere :) ), just drop me a line when it comes down to the brass tacks. I fought hard to get the trail placement sorted, glad they were listening.

I have a lot of irons in the fire right now, including two dirt parks in my old hometown of Maple Plain, but I'd be happy to come out when I can be of help.

[guest_s]

I have a lot of irons in the fire right now, including two dirt parks in my old hometown of Maple Plain, but I'd be happy to come out when I can be of help.

Cool! We have one on the East Side already....that would be the Lexington Dirt Jumps, not far from Leb. So it would be sweet to have some on the west side as well.

Can you keep us updated on the Dirt Parks in the Freeride forums also? We also have f-bom.org and mfcmtb.com that would certainly love to know what is going on. Thanks Shawn!