While the MacDonald Pass ride had surprised me with the gnarliness and challenge of its singletrack, it’s also worth mentioning that route finding can also be a challenge. Again, what else would one expect from Montana mountain biking? The lower section of the descent continued to drop fast, but the trail fed into a section of tight, techy switchbacks that required near-trackstand skills to navigate. The descent was ripping alright, because it was steep, fast, and old school! However, that old school singletrack can be tricky to ride: with a narrow trail tread, the singletrack would drop straight as an arrow, allowing you to hit mach 10, then take an off camber turn hard to the right or left-I flew off the trail once or twice before reining it in, and began expecting an awkward turn when I least expected it. ![]() Since it was a shuttle, I was half-expecting bermed corners, well-worn singletrack, and a ripping descent. But in classic Montana style, once it was time to go descend, the singletrack went down-and FAST! Straightlining it down the beginning of the descent Now, that’s not to say I rode the whole trail: with temps hovering around 90, humidity higher than my pansy Colorado ass was used to, and steep, treed, technical climbs, I did a fair bit of pushing before I hit the descent. Indeed, the CDT portion of the route was the most technical, with large, bouldery rock gardens, and a couple of tricky sections I had to try twice to nail. The “traverse” along the ridge top actually consisted of a series of steep, highly-technical climbs and descents. Instead of a relatively mellow pedal along the top of an alpine ridge, followed by a technical descent, MacDonald Pass flipped the formula on its head. It’s called the Monarch Crest… perhaps you’ve heard of it? I wasn’t sure what to expect from MacDonald Pass, but based on my previous year and a half of living in Montana, I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be quite like the Monarch Crest. We have a popular CDT shuttle route near my home of Salida, Colorado. 3, 2022.Helena, Montana’s Shuttlefest began with the most backcountry trail that they routinely shuttle to: the MacDonald Pass portion of the Continental Divide Trail. If the application is approved, the toll increase would come into effect on, or after Jan. "They have maintenance to do on the bridge and they have projects for the upkeep of them, so I presume it’s in order to do those," said Tom Scanlan, a Dartmouth resident. ![]() "That’s a lot, and then with the pandemic and everything like that, it’s a lot of money to be able to push out when people are trying to save their jobs," said Cheryl Croxen, a resident in Dartmouth. While some understand the potential price increase is for bridge upkeep, others say it shouldn’t be a discussion while so many are struggling during a global pandemic. If we go to the McKay, on McKay Bridge, we need to look at restoring the concrete on the approaches, that’s the deck and the concrete that’s underneath." ![]() We’re going to have to do the bearing work and some concrete work on the MacDonald. "We’re doing the steel and paint work on the MacDonald. The bridges and other infrastructure are aging and this toll increase will help ensure safety and efficiency is maintained," said Steve Snider, HHB CEO, in a news release on Friday. “HHB is dedicated to providing safe, efficient and reliable bridge travel. The Macdonald Bridge and the MacKay Bridge are 66 and 51 years old respectively. In a release, Halifax Harbour Bridges wrote the increase is required to fund the 10-year plan to rehabilitate and maintain the two bridges, which are expected to cost more than $280 million. It would be the first toll increase in 10 years.Īn increase of 20 cents per crossing for regular passenger cars using MACPASS, from 80 cents to one dollar.Īn increase of 25 cents per crossing for cash customers from one dollar to $1.25.Īn increase of 25% per axle for commercial vehicles using MACPASS or cash. Halifax Harbour Bridges is asking the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board to increase tolls, beginning in 2022. It may cost more to cross the bridges from Halifax to Dartmouth in 2022.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |