# Pine Ridge/ Inland Hospital - 9/11/11



## BackLoafRiver (Sep 11, 2011)

It has been a while since I have been out...health and schedule have been awful.  The upside, I found some time today to get out and check out the work Central Maine's chapter of NEMBA has been doing on the Pine Ridge trail system in Waterville. In fact, the last time I rode here was a year ago when Wa-Loaf was in town and brought his bike.

My buddy Alex and I pulled up to the trail head at around 1:00.  Already, the changes were noticeable. They had a brand new sign and trail map, granite boulders lining the entrance, and a new bridge right off the bat.  CeMeNEMBA has spent countless hours improving the system over the past year and the changes have made for a more pleasant riding experience.

The trails still don't have any discernible names so describing the route isn't going to work. (with the exception of Roberta's Penny Bra Salon which is still a fantastic way to end the ride...more on that later)

The second bridge you get to received a face-lift and they added a new ramp to get on it. Before, it was merely 2 skinnies that you had to angle just right to get on top of. Now, it is slightly more user friendly.

Since last I rode there, they have increased the length (and difficulty) of a few of the better trails.  With some exploring, you can do a fairly large loop and still have plenty more to ride.  The recent weather has effected a few of the tighter spots with the occasional downed tree but most of it rode smooth and fast.  It has definitely been getting more and more traffic (which is nice!!) and there is so much land left to utilize, I see it being a definite option for central Maine destination riding in the near future. They are working on linking the existing trails with a series of new stuff at Colby College.  Right now, you can do about 20 miles without doubling up, however, it will take a ton of looking around.  We hit about 6 miles in an hour and a half of the obvious stuff today (with no doubling back) and got a little turned around on some new places  we hadn't seen yet.  

In the future, I'll book more time and make sure my buddy has his riding lungs on. (apparently 2 consecutive nights of drinking does not make for a good Sunday ride...who knew)

I took a few shots:

New Entrance:






New Signage:




The Old Ramp to Bridge:





New Ramp to the bridge:










New Trail entrance:





New cutting:





For any of you who might be north of Portland, this place is definitely one to check out for a quick ride or for a more adventurous afternoon.


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