# Chaparral Rail Trail - bike camping trip over New Year's



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

I set out on a bike camping trip over New Year's eve. I'd heard that the trail wasn't in great condition so I took the MTBeater with knobby tires and my home built Neandertrailer. The knobby tires were a good idea. Towing a heavy trailer on this particular trail caused some issues. More on that in a minute.

This trail is not for the faint of heart, sissies, slackers or non-hackers. There are many obstacles, and many opportunities to bail out. You have to be committed to pushing through the whole way.

Here's the trail by the numbers. I started at the trail head in Farmersville, TX and rode about 45km to a campsite a few km shy of Ladonia, TX and that took me the better part of the day. I had planned on going in to Ladonia before backtracking a bit to the campsite but ran out of time. If I'd had a few more days I wanted to ride and camp all the way to Paris, TX or even beyond as the right of way continues for miles beyond that. Knowing what I do now, I'd do a supported tour and take only mountain bikes and minimal gear (maybe one pannier or a backpack with a change of clothes) and stay at a nice hotel in each town.

00.0km - trail head at 151 S Main Street, Farmersville, TX. Parking lot near the "Onion Shed". Trail is paved.
04.0km - pavement ends. Decent double track with hardpack dirt and gravel. Decked bridge shortly after.
08.0km - trail starts to get overgrown. Soft surface from here on out.
08.7km - large brush pile in trail, but enough room to go around on the left. Mud puddles begin.
12.0km - 13km - 2 giant mud puddles that take up the whole width of the trail. Either get wet up to your knees or force your way through the underbrush.
13.0km - Large, steep mounds of dirt where across trail on either side of road intersection
14.2km - mound of dirt so steep that trailer got stuck!!
16.0km - undecked bridge
19.3km - undecked bridge
22.0km - trail is paved with asphalt (hooray!) but watch out for deep and wide cracks.
24.0km - trail is again overgrown doubletrack (boo!)
27.8km - undecked bridge. Large scary gaps between some rail ties.
29.9km - undecked bridge. Treelimbs growing over bridge, hard to get bike through.
31.6km - decent hard pack, but dense brush on either side. No trees on the side.
32.3km - undecked bridge 100 meters long! Trees and brush growing over it.
34.8km - undecked bridge.
35.4km - road crossing in Wolfe City. Trail is gravel through town. Just east of town there were two dead cows on the right side of the trail. They'd been there long enough to not have any flesh but not long enough to get rid of the stink.
38.4km - Wolfe City Resevoir visible to the right of the trail. 
38.5km - Undecked bridge with overgrown limbs.


----------



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

Here's the signage at the trail head in Farmersville. It's fairly easy to find and there is parking right at the trail head.


















"Onion Shed" pavilion at the trailhead, parking is right next to this. There's also a playground and restroom here. The restrooms had flush toilets and sinks, but while the toilets flushed the sinks didn't flow. Also, no soap or TP so be prepared. Great place to get changed before and after a ride though.


----------



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

The trail starts off really nicely with great cement pavement. But then, after only 4km, it turns to double track. The double track varies from dirt, to gravel, to mud, to grass, to completely overgrown. Sometimes the gravel is hard packed, and sometimes it is deep and soft. You can't tell until you hit it. Nothing was serious enough to take me down, but I would definitely recommend knobby tires.


My touring rig ready to roll. Tent and various camping gear are in the trailer, bike essentials (food, maps, repair tools, etc) are in the pannier. Yes, I do have a full size floor pump strapped to the top of the trailer. After a previous expedition on a thorn infested trail I decided it would be worth the weight.











Start of the trail. There were a few walkers out but not many and I don't think they were accustomed to seeing anyone wearing lycra.









Pavement ends after 4km. It gets worse from here.


----------



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

Here's a sampling of the different trail surfaces.

Not too bad, gravel double track.









Grassy double track with trees encroaching. Some place you could avoid them, other places you just take a beating as you ride through.









Overgrown underbrush with trail completely covered in grass. Soft surface and riding requires a lot of effort especially when hauling gear.









This section through a town was paved (even had a bike route sign!) but there were cracks in the pavement that would swallow a mountain bike tire. I think this was in Celeste, and there was a gas station right off the trail so it was a great spot to stock up on sports drink and use a real toilet.









Gravel section in another town. If you detour off the trail, many of the smaller country roads look about like this.


----------



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

There were piles of junk and trash randomly on the trail. The trail often runs right between two farms or ranches and it looks like people have been dumping out here and generally not respecting that this is a trail. I saw everything from trash bags to junked furniture and appliances to dead livestock. Apparently there were earlier disputes and even a lawsuit about obtaining the right of way but it still saddens me to see people treating any land this way.

In one place a few miles in there were piles of dirt and gravel and deep ruts from construction vehicles. They weren't doing construction on the trail.

Brush pile deliberately placed in the middle of the trail.









Hot tub time machine


----------



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

Then we get in to the really fun obstacles. 


At some places where the trail crossed a road there were these tall, steep mounds of dirt. I'm not sure if they were placed there by people who opposed the trail to hide it or keep people off, or by proponents of the trail to keep out motorized vehicles. Either way, they are a pain to get over on a bike and they were so steep that the trailer got stuck on at least one of them.










There was also mud on the trail ranging from a small puddle here or there to small ponds that were wider than the trail itself. I don't know when it last rained, but the water had been there long enough that small frogs were jumping back in as I approached. There were two swamps like this and the options were to either go knee deep in muck or push your way through the trees and brush at the edge. I almost fell in once but somehow made it past.


























This one was the worst since the small trees on either side made it really hard to get around.


----------



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

But by far my favorite obstacles were the old rail road bridges. One was nicely decked. A few were (I'm assuming) decked and then covered in dirt to the point where you couldn't tell you were on a bridge until you noticed the sheer drop on either side. I didn't get any pics of those since I didn't have to stop for them. Some of them were not decked at all and between each railroad tie was a gap about a tie wide. These would give me pause just walking across. Walking across them while pushing a fully loaded bike hauling a trailer while wearing hard soled shoes with a clipless pedal cleat was down right scary. To top it off, in some places the ties were missing or broken and there were often tree limbs and branches growing over the bridge.

The wheel of the trailer would get stuck in the larger gaps and that was not good. I can't let the bike go or it will tip over and possibly dump my gear down a 20 foot drop. I can't let go of the handlebars or the front wheel will turn and drop in to a gap, possibly causing the bike to tip. The only solution was to heave-ho on the handlebars until the trailer wheel popped up, but that was precarious given the gaps in the bridge.

Here's a selection of my favorite bridges.

Easy:









No side rails, no deck, and gaps between the ties. On some of these I was able to bumpa-bumpa across with the bike and trailer but on others it was one step at a time.









Mind the gaps.









Trees and branches make it more difficult. I checked my odometer after this bridge and it was 100 meters long!









This was not the worst gap I had to cross. There's not much room for error as the bike and trailer wheels all had to land on the support beam and I had to find a place for my foot as well while making across to the next tie. A person could definitely fall through that gap. With the trailer in tow turning around isn't an option.









Some of those bridges also had a several foot drop back down to the ground at the end of it. Those were tricky as well.


----------



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

As I was at a cross road trying to pin point my location on the map, a car pulled up and by serendipity it turns out the driver is on the board of directors for the trail. He was able to confirm the road I was crossing and also let me know some of the future plans and improvements for the trail (decking the bridges, for example). I hope those plans come through sooner rather than later but I'm not holding out hope.




I got to my campsite just before sunset so I had to get the tent set up and cook up some grub to feed my growling belly. It got colder too, so I turned in way before the turn of the new year and stayed snuggled up in my sleeping bag and listened to the coyotes howl as I drifted off to sleep.










Our own RBR member Chain makes awesome butnz and decals! It's nice to see a smiley face after a hard day of riding.









I woke up to the sunrise and got everything loaded back on the bike. I had decided the night before that it wasn't worth taking the trail back and had plotted out a route on the country roads.


----------



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

I never thought I'd be so glad to see chip seal. From here on out the riding was still challenging but at least predictable. There were some rolling hills but nothing terrible. The drivers were all friendly even if they didn't quite know what to make of me. Most gave me the whole lane and many of them waved (sometimes before I did!).










This paved road is parallel to the trail. Can you spot where the overgrown trail crosses the gravel road? I'd never have noticed it had I not ridden it the day before.









These signs are here to confuse you. Glad I had a map.










That wraps it up. It was a helluva trip, a hard ride, but I had a great time and enjoyed the challenges. I'm just glad I didn't fall through one of those bridges or I'd still be stuck out there.


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

That is a very interesting ride report of a ride that isn't for the faint hearted.

Job well done.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:


----------



## camping biker (Dec 22, 2011)

Thanks so much for the update and photos. I am glad you had a safe trip and could actually ride the trail. I am glad I did not set out to ride this expecting just a gravel road! 

It looks like this has a lot of potential as a boy scouts endeavor and tourist attraction for people looking for something simple and family oriented. It would require a lot of fixing, but the idea of a gravel road or rail trail is popular throughout the country. There are some in Mineral Wells TX that I have heard were in much better shape. 

It sounds like this one has just fallen in disrepair, so the hicks have thrown trash on it. That is awful, but it can be bulldozed or moved eventually. It looks like the towns were expecting more from it since they paved portions of it and made park signs and parking areas. 

I think I will wait till drier weather and make a day (or two) trip out of it by mtn bike. Perhaps your post will spark renewed interest and we can get cities to petition the state for more work to be done on it. Volunteers will likely help if they think it will bring something to their small economy or help foundations that help kids. Seems like everybody is looking for a job, so maybe the state can "stimulate the economy" by hiring workers to do grading or bridge work.


----------



## camping biker (Dec 22, 2011)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6624767513_d33f8e4e23_z.jpg









That bridge reminds me of some wooden bridges I've seen in Colorado, that are frequented by jeep adventurers. I always wondered, if any of the slats failed, or if a jeep became stuck, how would they get it out of there? 

If you want to view a blog about abandoned mine bridges (fascinating and scary) click here: Cool High Quality Pix: Crossing the Bridges of Death


----------



## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

great report, thanks nsj!


----------



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

camping biker said:


> It looks like this has a lot of potential as a boy scouts endeavor and tourist attraction for people looking for something simple and family oriented. It would require a lot of fixing, but the idea of a gravel road or rail trail is popular throughout the country. There are some in Mineral Wells TX that I have heard were in much better shape.
> 
> It sounds like this one has just fallen in disrepair, so the hicks have thrown trash on it. That is awful, but it can be bulldozed or moved eventually. It looks like the towns were expecting more from it since they paved portions of it and made park signs and parking areas.


From what I've read and the brief conversation I had with the guy on the Board of Directors, there are several issues going on here. One is that the land owners were opposed to the trail to begin with. When the railroad shut down, they wanted to reclaim that land and so they would put their own fences across it etc even though the Rail Trail organization had rights to it. The other major problem is funding. Apparently the local towns don't want to take on the maintenance fees even if they are in support of it. And, purely conjecture here, but I suspect that the towns may not want to support it as that would put them at odds with some of the land owners.

Anyway, the trail has a lot of potential and a few work days with a few eager volunteer crews would certainly make a difference, even if it's just clearing the underbrush and such that can be done with basic tools. Repairing and decking the bridges and improving the overall trail surface would take a lot of money for materials and logistics.

The Mineral Wells Trailway is very nice. I've ridden it several times (it's even doable on a road bike if you're careful). It could use some work days as well, but overall it's in great shape.


----------



## camping biker (Dec 22, 2011)

I can see why landowners might feel a claim to it if they were holders before the railroad. If not, it just sounds like NIMBY jerks or anti-cycling fanatics. I hope it doesn't go to waste.


----------



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

wow. that looks rough.

but fun.


----------



## camping biker (Dec 22, 2011)

That is strange how both branches are marked West, but I suppose the addresses on the road there will be recorded as XXX 272 West, regardless of direction or side of the road, and it will change to East somewhere along the way. 
Good to know it is not hard to get to the paved roads if you need to skip a section or make time. 

FM 272 at FM 816 - Google Maps




nonsleepingjon said:


> I never thought I'd be so glad to see chip seal. From here on out the riding was still challenging but at least predictable. There were some rolling hills but nothing terrible. The drivers were all friendly even if they didn't quite know what to make of me. Most gave me the whole lane and many of them waved (sometimes before I did!).
> 
> https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6624768467_9873742798_z.jpg[/IM
> 
> ...


----------



## Indyfan (Mar 30, 2004)

So I wonder who is the actual landowner of the trail. I hope that trail is just beginning. Seeing how rough that trail is makes me truly appreciate our KATY trial here in MO. There were all sorts of "not in my backyard" disputes along the route when they were setting up the KATY. It's funny because now bordering the trail raises the price of a piece of property and it's generally prized, even in the most rural areas. I hope someone actually takes control of that trail and does the necessary improvements/maintenance because it looks like it has great potential. Especially as a year-round attraction.

Bob


----------



## camping biker (Dec 22, 2011)

*re: potential year round*

I agree. Long, fairly straight trails are "boring" to many people, but if you imagine it as a training exercise or a way to just zone out for a day, I think it's cool. Plus, people that live near the trail in any of the towns would surely like it for a place to jog or bike with thier kids away from cars. 

Currently, the Federal Government owns the trail. That is where the landowners got mad, as far as I know. "Eminent Domain" tends to piss people off.


----------



## innergel (Jun 14, 2002)

Who knew that was up there! I've ridden the roads around Farmersville several times and they are generally open and nice. 

I'll have to take the mtb to Farmersville when it gets warmer and give it a go. It should be easier when it dries out some. Ultimately it would be best to have someone have a SAG vehicle available at the stopping points.


----------



## camping biker (Dec 22, 2011)

With a GPS and a cell phone, you could just have a family member on standby with a pickup or van. Also good for notifying EMS where the heck you are if something happens. If you are going to carry a bunch of gear, 2 lb is not much extra and you can split the load among riders. 

From the reports here, trailering is difficult, so I think you might want to pack minimal supplies and do without a trailer (rear rack bags and stay in a hotel in the small towns).


----------

