Area 91

[swedishfishmx]

Can't embed videos here, or maybe we can I just haven't figured out the right combo.

Anyway: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kXK-amEncc

PS Don't forget to watch in HD, this isn't 2010 anymore. I'm calling it Area 91 because of how secretive this place used to be, but it shouldn't be like that anymore. We need more help than not to keep this place up and running like a well oiled machine cause if not we all know what can happen if it's not.

Even met the guy who made the loop. It was a good Sunday.

[keko]

Where is this at? Always looking for places to ride.

[Tpull123]

The place is known as Oakland, they even have a website that a couple of guys started with the intent to help save the place. Its located on the East side of Topeka near the river. Its a decent place to get a few quick laps in that is close.

http://www.sc-trail.com/

[keko]

Thats what I thought but wasn't sure. I have not been there yet but looks pretty cool. Def need to keep that place open! I live in KC but my job takes me to Topeka quite often. I'm thinking it might be "take your bike to work day" real soon.

[swedishfishmx]

It's only the beginning, once the vegetation dies off, we plan on making all new single track for the bikes....this is too: A. Keep things safe for the bikes and quads. If we can stay off the quad trail and off the really fast stuff then it because more enjoyable because you aren't worried so much about hitting another bike or quad. B. Have more fun, single track is what we all crave for, so why not make more of it?

It's gonna be a lot of work, but it should be a fun winter.

[DEA]

That is one place that ive never been to, and really cant explain why. B-rad let me know when you guys head out again. Hell I will even come help build some single track too. Derek

[swedishfishmx]

Derek I know why, it's because there is a faint to strong aroma of poop depending on what portion of Oakland you are riding.

Just don't get roosted LOL

Give me a call or text me your #, mine is 816.820.3805

[TheProfessor]

Swedishfish,

Great to meet you on Sunday! It's always nice to put a face with a name and ride with new folks! (Nice picture by the way!) For some of the people asking questions, here are a few answers;

The riding area is in the Oakland district of Topeka, however, the official name of it is the Riverside ATV Park. The riding area is on the Kansas river and is a clay/sand mix. The closer you get to the river, the more it turns to sand and vice/versa. There is a levee that you ride over to access the area. The area is considered a "floodplain" and that is why the city let it be used as an off-highway park.

The reason that the air smells like poop at times is because the Topeka Water Treatment plant is located on the border of the riding area. As I understand it, the treatment plant has not dumped anything on the riding area. (At least not in the six years that I have been riding there.) The area did however, used to be a landfill. So, you will occasionally see stuff sticking up through the ground like an old tire, etc.

Some guys have tried to organized the area into a riding club called the S.C.T.R.C. (Shawnee County Trailriders Club) They have asked the head of Topeka Parks and Recreation to build permanent parking and bathrooms like you will find at Lake Perry's offroad area. At this point, all they have managed to accomplish is getting half of the land shut down. (It appears as if some of the trails have been going through private property for 20 years!) They have a website and you can visit it at http://www.sc-trail.com/

I agree with Swedishfish, it would be great if there was an established ride day or time and if the trails were marked a bit more clearly.

Hope that helps,

Michael

[Blazin Bob]

Professor, I would say that you are pretty much spot on with most of the comments you made about Oakland. The one point I disagree with is the statement that the guys who started the club for down there have "managed to get half of the land shut down." If you draw an imaginary line straight down the road that leads to the riding area up and over the levee and all the way to the river, everything on the east side (to the right as you face the river) is in fact privately owned. The sad thing is most of the best trails have always been on that land. Like many things, all it takes are a few of the wrong people to cause a problem and then the landowner doesn't want anyone on the land. Being in a flood plain there is not a practical way to fence it to keep people out. I think there have been no trespassing signs put up by the landowner, but they end up getting torn down. Over the years there have been a few attempts to get the place shut down but it hasn't happened yet. One big problem is you have a totally legal place to ride your off road vehicle, whatever it may be, yet people continue to do high speed runs up and down the main road into the place (Chester). Its mostly quad dudes, but I have seen guys on dirt bikes do it to. All it does is upset the neighbors in the area and I cant say that I blame them. Then the neighbors call the cops and they come down or people ride on the private landowners land and leave trash or destroy his fields/crops and the cops are called again and the place ends up getting a lot of bad attention... Anyway, not trying to bag on ya' Prof, and I am not the all-knowing expert on everything Oakland,(been going there off and on for over 30 years. Damn I'm old!) but I just didn't think it was fair to say that the guys who started the club got half of it shut down. As Dan says: "It's all good!"

[TheProfessor]

Blazin' Bob,

No offense taken. I think you are spot on about everything that you wrote. Especially the frustration of the landowner when people ride in his field. I am just frustrated with the approach that the club has taken. I was riding there the day the original two members were recruiting members for the club. I was also a part of the initial emails regarding the clubs mission statement. There were some pretty bad ideas floated out in the beginning. I had been riding there for years and maintaining the trails and was a bit upset when some guys who had not been there for years, and self admittedly "only ride once or twice a year", show up to "fix" the trails.

Since the club's inception, and because of its actions, Oakland riding area is in jeopardy of being shut down. The club approached Shawnee County Parks and Recreation and had a series of communications with it's director. The idea, which was well-intended, was to highlight the poor amenities, lack of restrooms, parking, and security concerns of the riding area. Unfortunately, the result of the meetings stirred lots of complaints from local neighbors for some of the reasons that you outlined. And, the director of the Shawnee County Parks and Recreation reaction was that "we may invest in the park or we may cut bait and shut it down".

I apologize if I have misquoted, or misrepresented any of the timeline of events and I will be the first in line to congratulate the club if they negotiate upgrades to the park from the county. However, from my perspective, its frustrating when a place that's convenient and free to ride may get shut down because people who are not riders and do not understand the riding community (both quads and bikes) misrepresent me and my friends to the people who operate the park.

Hope I'm wrong,

Michael