# Sunny Valley Preserve - 2010-07-05



## WoodCore (Jul 5, 2010)

Been itching for some time to get over and ride the trails of the Sunny Valley Preserve. I've heard a ton about them and finally motivated to get the bike in there and do some exploring. Managed to roll out of bed after a somewhat late night and hit the trailhead on Iron Ore Hill Road a little after 9am. Actually drove right past the "parking area" the first time as it is nothing more than a small patch of dirt on the side of the road that might fit two cars if your creative and skilled with your parking. Anyway got geared up and put the tires to some Bridgewater, CT dirt. 

Being it was a solo ride today at a new spot, my GPS ended up being my best friend and guide, helping to direct me around the unfamiliar forest and trails. Actually utilized one of the new tools in Crankfire V3 called the "data locker" to grab a bunch of previously uploaded tracks/ trail info and uploaded them into my GPS. Very cool stuff indeed, regardless never during the course of the ride feel like I was lost and it encouraged me try out some pieces of trail not on the tracks I downloaded. 

So on to the ride itself.... In summary Sunny Valley has some pretty sweet singletrack and is a beautiful spot to pedal for a few hours but be prepared to do some climbing!  I started from the parking area headed south and was almost immediately descending at a good clip, super fun downhill but it just kept going and in the back of my mind was climb that ultimately lay ahead and indeed there was a humdinger. This was pretty much the recurring theme of the ride, sweet flowing DH followed by a lung busting mother of a climb, and then repeated 4 or 5 times over. I ended up with just over 10 miles today and managed to climb an impressive 2500+ feet, almost a 1000 feet more climbing as compared to my average 10 mile ride at Nassahegon. Despite all the climbing I did manage to find some really sweet sections of fairly level and flowing singletrack at the north end of the preserve which will definitely warrant a return visit to further explore.

While most of the trails appear to have been built by hikers and equestrians and don't necessarily always flow while riding a mountain bike, this place has the potential to be one of the better riding spots in CT. Seriously! I'll definitely be back for some more.   

Here's my track.....

http:
//www.crankfire.com/gps/track/9003/sunny_valley_-_first_ride 


And some pictures.....

*Trail Map*









*Bridge over the Brook*








*Singletrack*








*Potential log ride over brook*








*Down along Lake Lillinonah *








* Peaceful Valley*








* New bridge under construction*








*Another bridge*











Enjoy!


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## bvibert (Jul 6, 2010)

Wow, sounds like a workout!


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## WoodCore (Jul 6, 2010)

bvibert said:


> Wow, sounds like a workout!



It really was a workout for sure. The climbs where long and unrelenting to say the least. I suppose if it weren't such a hot day and it wasn't my first experience with these trails one might be able to change up the route and direction of travel to ease up on the pain and suffering regardless, still a fun spot to ride. 8)


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