I rode for the first time in a couple of months today. The Chief was mostly clear except for lots of pine straw in the Weaver area. It wasn't a problem, but they apparently haven't been keeping their section blown off since the weather has gotten colder.

Here is a marker on the Silver Comet Trail. At the very bottom it tells the miles, kilometers, and elevation. Pretty cool markers.

Here's a look at the mile markers in Cleburne County. They still have the plastic wrapped around them. It looks like there will be a marker every 1/2 mile. They're not all up yet, but there are temporary markers where they are to be located. Excellent!

I rode 28+ miles today, from the Eubanks Welcome Center to the Esom Hill, GA Trailhead. I took a few pictures along the way that I'll be posting. There was some paving still going on, but the trail was passable. I'm not exactly sure what they were doing, as the trail itself looks to be completely paved.

The Chief Ladiga Trail Is Now Complete

According to staff at the Eubanks Welcome Center, The Chief Ladiga Trail was completed last thursday. The final pavement is in place and just a little cleanup is all that is needed. The new portion of the trail is now passable and ready.

I rode 22+ miles today. It was cool this morning compared to what it has been. There were several people out riding.

Not much to report lately. My rides have been short because of the hot weather. Usually from Weaver Park to Hwy 204 and back.

According to a local news report there were 254 visitors from 11 states to the Eubanks Welcome Center during July.

Today there was a large tree limb that had fallen and partially blocked the trail. It was about 100-200 yards north of Hwy 204 in Jacksonville. I expect that it will be taken care of soon. Jacksonville is very good about taking care of their portion of the Chief Ladiga Trail.

Here's a picture of the new arch at the state line. Sorry that it is so dark, it was taken with a cell phone.

I rode from Piedmont to the state line today. I rode a mountain bike because there are still about 4 miles that haven't been paved. The bridges have been completed, but there is a lot of work still to be done.

If you ride this section of The Chief Ladiga Trail, take plenty to drink with you because there are no places to get water. Even at the new archway at the state line there is no water available. I hope that changes when it is complete. There is very little to no cell phone service in this area. I have T-Mobile, and never found anywhere where I had a signal. I understand that AT&T/Cingular might be slightly better, but not much. For now, don't count on service on this section of the trail.

There were several people riding this section, which surprised me because this section is still pretty rough.

I hope to ride the unpaved portion of "The Chief" this weekend and see for myself how much work is left. I need to tune up my mountain bike tonight. It hasn't been riden in a long time.

On my ride today I came accross something I haven't seen before. Going from Weaver toward Jacksonville at Warren Drive there was a sign blocking the trail from that point north. The sign said "Mowers". Now I have come accross the people mowing the grass along the trail many times before. This is the first time I have seen them actually block the trail. Of course I just rode around the sign and kept going.

I could really get going here about reasons not to do such a stupid thing as completely block the trail, but I'll save my comments for the proper authorities. If you run into a sign that blocks the trail that says "Mowers", just keep on riding and go around them as usual.

I'm glad I didn't come from out of town to ride the trail and find it blocked for an hour or more just because they were cutting the grass. Some people might not be as willing to just just go around the sign as I was.

I rode the entire (paved) trail today. While I was at the bridge at Terrapin Creek, I talked to a couple on mountain bikes just coming off the unpaved portion. They said there is only about 3 miles of unpaved section left. Hopefully, those three miles will get finished pretty quickly!

There were more people riding the trail today than I have ever seen. Memorial Day seemed to be the day everybody wanted to ride. I wish it was like this every day.

I see on The Chief Ladiga Trail website (http://epic.jsu.edu/clt/history.htm) that there may be plans to extend "The Chief" onto Fort McClellan. I believe this is the most logical way to go. I guess there are also plans to extend it to 4th Street at the train station, but I don't believe most people will want to venture into that part of town (crack houses, drug dealers & prostitutes) unless they're "packing heat". Fort McClellan is the ideal choice.

While I was riding today I noticed a problem I haven't ever noticed before. Going north from Jacksonville toward Piedmont, after you pass Federal Mogul and the electrical substation on the left there is a bridge. I noticed that some of the wooden planks are rotten. As I rode over them I could feel them "compress" (the only way I know to describe it) under the weight of my bike. I don't think this is an immediate problem, but one that will soon have to be addressed. If you ride over this bridge be extra careful and slow down.

I rode 20+ miles today, starting from Weaver Park and traveling north as usual. The trail seemed to be in good condition today. The grass had been cut all along the part of the trail I was on. There were several people out riding. I didn't see any walkers or joggers.

An announcement made at the beginning of The Cheaha Challenge said that paving the final four miles of The Chief Ladiga Trail would begin today. The plans are still for the ribbon cutting to be in September. I don't know if the trail will be complete before then, but maybe with good weather, it will be finished by September.

The Chief Ladiga Trail was in very good condition this morning from Weaver Park to Hwy 204. There were lots of women out riding today, very few men. No complaints here!

There were lots of people riding The Chief Ladiga Trail this morning. The trail was in good shape along the section I was on today. I expect activity to pick up even more as we get closer to The Cheaha Challenge if the weather continues to be nice.

The trail looked really good today, from Weaver Park to Hwy 204. There were several people out riding and jogging. I hope the weather stays nice until the Cheaha Challenge.

According to a recent newspaper article there were 328 people from 17 states that signed in at the Eubanks Welcome Center in Piedmont during March.

Latest word I have on the Chief Ladiga Trail is that the eastern 4.5 miles of the unfinished trail should be completed in mid to late May. The western part of the unfinished trail (4 miles) would be started by approximately July or August. It still seems possible that the trail could be completed by September.

There was lots of dead grass on the trail today. It seems they're not keeping it as clean as they have in the past. The trail between Jacksonville and Piedmont has a problem where tree roots have caused cracks in the asphalt, and have forced parts of the asphalt up, making it uneven. This seems to have gotten worse since last summer. You have to be careful in some areas because the bumps have become severe. As soon as the trail is completed, they're going to have to seriously look at resurfacing some parts of the trail.

This morning there was some freshly cut grass in Weaver that hadn't been blown off the trail. Otherwise, the trail was clear. It was a nice day and there were several people out riding.

A recent article in the Piedmont Journal says an R.V. park is in the works for Piedmont. It is planned to be located close to The Chief Ladiga Trail at the Piedmont Sports Complex. The plan calls for all hookups needed for RV's.

This would be a great addition to the trail. There are many out of town and out of state visitors regularly visiting the area just to ride "The Chief". I'm not sure the majority of local residents know just how many people travel to the area just because of the trail.

This is something that is just in the works. There is no timeline, and as of now, no funding for the project. We just hope that Piedmont finds the money they need to get this done. Anything that adds to The Chief Ladiga Trail is good for all of us.

There was very little activity on the Chief Ladiga Trail this morning. I rode 22.68 miles and only saw one other person on a bike, one walker, and two joggers. I haven't seen this few people since the hotest part of last summer. I expect things will pickup soon as we get closer to the Cheaha Challenge.

According to a recent newspaper report, the planned Welcome Center to be located in the old Jacksonville Train Depot has hit a snag. The bid for converting the old building was almost twice the amount that had been budgeted for the project. We'll have to see what happens next.

"The Chief" was in pretty good shape this morning after the rain. The trail was mostly clear, just a little wet. The only thing of note on the trail was a turtle at the 27 1/2 mile marker.

According to a recent article in the Anniston Star it may be as late as September before the Chief Ladiga Trail is finally connected with the Silver Comet. The article said bad weather in Cleburne County is the cause of the delay. This is about the third reported delay that I've heard about. Don't be suprised if these delays run into next year.

In the same article was a report about removing the rails between Michael Tucker Park and the Train Depot on 4th street. This will at some point be part of the Chief Ladiga Trail. My concern is that the parts of town that it will be going through are some of the worst in Anniston. I'm not sure I want to ride on a trail that goes through areas known for crack houses, drug dealers and prostitution (not to mention occasional gun fire). I think the part of the old tracks that go to Fort McClellan would be a much wiser way to go. I don't see that once it reaches the 4th street train station that it can go anywhere else. The Fort McClellan area just seems to be nicer and MUCH safer.