We’ve seen a recent surge of interest in trail building here on Singletracks and we just started a new forum for discussions about building mountain bike trails. But building the trail is only half of the equation; maintaining the trails is a long-term task that will never completely go away.

I’ve been dedicating more of my time lately to volunteering during trail work parties at my local trails. This blog post tells the story of our most recent work party, but also explains the why and the how behind basic trail maintenance.

De-berming and Nicking

We spent four hours on a Saturday morning (1/7/12) working on de-berming and nicking the Jake-to-Bull connector trail out at Bull Mountain which runs from the lower Jake Mountain parking lot to the upper Bull Mountain lot. Our main focus was the first section, which drops down from the Jake Mountain lot to USFS road 28-1. In my opinion, the entire Jake-to-Bull connector is (or was) one of the worst-draining sections of trail in the entire trail system, so our focus here was well-deserved, and really, long overdue!

The basic design premise behind a bench-cut singletrack trail is that you want the water to flow off the trail/across the trail instead of following the trail down the mountain. There are various techniques you can use to make this happen, but the most important is to make sure that the trail is out-sloped.

Due to heavy use (or a haphazard initial build), the center of this trail tends to pack down more than the outside, creating an outer berm that holds the water on the trail. Our job was to de-berm the worst sections of the trail and to “nick” the low points by building drainage channels off of the side so that the lowest spots at the bottom and tops of the hills can drain properly.

De-bermed section of trail.

The tools of choice for this work are a pulaski and a McLeod. The pulaski is used for the main grunt work of chipping down the hardened outer berm and digging the nick in. But a pulaski isn’t capable of finishing the job. After the main digging is done, the McLeod comes out and is used to pull all the loosened dirt and other debris downhill, away from the trail. Generally, after pulling the loosened dirt away we’ll notice that the outer berm is still somewhat present, and then it’s back to the pulaski.

Pulaski, foreground. McLeod, background.

It can take a lot of switching back and forth between tools or people and a lot of time to satisfactorily de-berm and nick a low spot in the trail. Of course, you can do a quick once over… but if you don’t put in adequate time to do the job properly, it will either not make any difference at all, or the small drainages that you’ve made will fill right up in a few months. The best plan: do it right the first time so you won’t have to be back for another decade or so!

De-berming of a low spot, before and after:

Note: the low spot pictured above was rather minor compared to some of the muck holes we tackled that day!

The final test to determine whether or not the de-berming or nick will succeed at diverting the water off the trail requires a very specialized tool: a soccer ball.

Yes, a soccer ball. The ball is rolled down the trail and supposedly simulates the action of water with relative accuracy. If the ball rolls off the trail at your newly constructed nick or newly removed berm, then good: mission accomplished! If not, it’s back to the pulaski until it does.

Dave Muse testing the trail with the soccer ball.

Get Involved

With these trail design philosophies, tools, and techniques at your disposal, you are ready to start giving your trails the TLC they deserve! Before you head out and start moving dirt, though, make sure you have permission to perform the maintenance, and make sure you are working in line with the general philosophy of the trail system. For instance, out here in the National Forest we aren’t allowed to just go out and put tools to trail old day we please. We have to arrange pre-scheduled work days, document all the hours we work, sign waivers, and follow quirky safety procedures such as wearing helmets while we dig.

If you are interested in helping maintain your local trails, one of the best things you can do is become a member of your local trail advocacy group (check out this list of mountain bike clubs and organizations). They will probably have tools you can use, instruction and guidance on where and how to maintain the trails, and it’s a great way to meet like-minded riders, too! And if you aren’t convinced that you should help out yet, here are 7 Reasons to Start Doing Trail Work.

Get Digging!

Your turn: Are you involved in maintaining your local mountain bike trails?

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GaDNR) is currently proposing a new fee to ride mountain bikes on trails in three state parks: Unicoi, Fort Yargo, and Hard Labor Creek (which will have brand new mountain biking trails opening in the next few months).  Fort Mountain State Park has had a trail fee in place for several years, and it will remain.  Area riders are up in arms over the new fee, but not because of the money.  In discussing the issue I’m going to focus mostly on Fort Yargo, because it’s the most popular of the three for mountain bikers.

I’ve spoken with several people involved in this issue trying to see all the different sides: Tim Banks, the Assistant Chief of Operations for GaDNR; Robin Allen, Communication Director for Southern Off Road Bicycle Association (SORBA); and Tim Schroer, owner of Dirty Spokes Productions who promotes mountain bike races, duathlons, XTERRA triathlons, and trail running races all across north Georgia, including Fort Yargo.

The Proposal

If the proposed system is put in place, it will require riders to check in at park offices before they ride.  They will fill out a form and pay a $2 per rider fee and be given a placard or something similar to attach to their bike or carry with them as proof they paid the fee.  This new fee will be in addition to the current $5 per vehicle parking fee.  An annual trail pass can be purchased for $25, and the annual parking pass cost will remain unchanged at $50.

Why Riders Are Angry

What I didn’t mention above is that ONLY mountain bikers have to pay the $2 trail fee.  Hikers and runners can use the trails without the fee (though they still have to pay for parking).  This is the main reason many mountain bikers are angry – for being singled out.  Further, the trails at Fort Yargo were built and maintained almost exclusively by volunteer mountain bikers from the Yargo Area Biking Association (YABA) with very little cost to the State.  I haven’t been able to find the exact numbers regarding just how much the State actually paid for the construction of the trails but I would imagine the trail has more than paid for itself thanks to the crowds of people it brings to the park.  Last year the Athens Banner-Herald reported that the park had over 400,000 visitors and an economic impact of more than $24 million on the local area.  Before the trails were built it was one of the least visited of all the State Parks.

Volunteers have built some super fun trails in Fort Yargo State Park.  Photo: Athurber

Mr. Banks pointed out that mountain bikers are one of the last user groups to be charged for activities in State Parks.  Horseback riding, disc golf, swimming pools, and boat rental users have been charged fees for years.  While mountain biking doesn’t use facilities that the State maintains (such as boat rentals for example), riders do enjoy other amenities in the parks that cost the park money to build and maintain such as picnic tables, paved parking, shelters, bathrooms, water, etc.  I would argue that our parking fee would cover the minimal maintenance costs of those facilities, no?

When asked why hikers and runners wouldn’t be charged to use the same trails, Mr. Banks told me they believe that certain basic activities in State Parks should be free, and walking is really as basic as it gets.  I totally agree.  But, we’re using the same exact facilities, and it simply isn’t right to charge one group and not another.

Another reason riders are angry about the fee is because the money will not necessarily go directly back to the trails. For that matter, the money might not even stay in the park where it’s collected, instead going into the general park system fund.  Mr. Banks explained to me, however, this is how ALL fees are handled, so it’s not like they’re only using bikers’ fees to fund other activities.

Many riders feel so strongly that the fee is unfair and “punishment for success,” as one person put it, they are threatening to stop riding at the parks, and not renewing their annual parking passes.  There is also the worry that the fee will alienate volunteers who have spent years working on these trails, so much so that they just stop working on them.  Many of them see this as a stab in the back.  There is also a fear of the negative economic impact this fee could have on the areas surrounding the parks if riders do indeed stop riding there.

The trails in Unicoi State Park are part of mountain biking history: they played host to the NORBA Nationals in the mid ’90s and the current Georgia State Championship series often uses Unicoi for its season finale race.  Photo: mtbgreg1

Why a New Fee?

Because the parks need money, that’s why.  Since 2008 state appropriation funding to the park system has been cut by 46%.  Despite the cuts, GaDNR has been able to keep all GA State Parks open.  But, if they want to keep them open, more money has to be raised. Mr. Banks said they estimate the fee will bring in an additional $2,500 the first year from Fort Yargo.  This doesn’t seem like much money to me.  I asked why not simply raise the parking fee?  Well, they did that just a few years ago, and they try not to raise it too often.  It had been unchanged for about 7 years before the most recent increase.

Volunteer Rewards Program

The parks had several town hall type meetings recently regarding the new fees and many riders showed up and voiced their concern.  One of the results of those meetings is a volunteer rewards program.  Anyone who volunteers 20hrs of trail work will receive a free annual trail pass for their entire family.  This is a win-win: it rewards volunteers, and it will help attract more volunteers.  The parks will also be awarding honorary lifetime trail passes to people who were instrumental in building and maintaining the trails.

Brothers Steve and Randy Gordon founded the Yargo Area Biking Association and have been working on the trails there for years.  Photo: YABA

What About Racing?

Races at the parks draw big crowds, bringing lots of people into the park and surrounding areas who wouldn’t otherwise have been there – their economic impact shouldn’t be taken lightly.  The Dirty Spokes race I did at Fort Yargo last year had over 400 racers, and it seems to grow every year.  A lot of riders wondered how, and if, the new fee would change the race – would racers still have to check in and pay the $2 fee?  Will it cause the race entry fees to go up?  I asked Tim Schroer about how the new fees will affect the races and here’s his response:

I don’t know how it will effect races at the parks but hope people see and understand we have a great situation here in Georgia with some outstanding state parks.  The facilities at each of the parks here in Georgia are very well maintained / grounds well manicured and looked after (I believe the daily user fees in California are about $12 and the way our parks are maintained are so much better than the ones we visited this past year in California).

It is my understanding the additional fees will not apply to the events or participants in the events (but have not had a formal conversation about it / however our contracts are in and signed for 2012 and they do not reflect the new fees).  If there is an additional charge in years to come we will absorb the costs (we are in our 7th year of putting on these events and have never raised our prices.)

I had an awesome time racing at Fort Yargo last year.

SORBA’s Stance

When I spoke with Robin Allen it was clear that SORBA is taking the long view on this – how can it be used to improve mountain biking in Georgia?  The issue has (hopefully) opened a dialog between GaDNR and SORBA.  Robin said they’re trying to show the state just how awesome mountain biking can be for the park system.  If the success at Fort Yargo could be duplicated in other parks it would only be a good thing for everyone: the parks, riders, and communities around the parks.  SORBA had staff members (and plenty of local chapter members as well) at each of the meetings regarding the fee and they pushed for a fair solution, and especially something that rewards volunteers.  The parks listened (somewhat at least) and will be implementing the volunteer rewards program I discussed above.

What is the Answer?

There’s no getting around the fact that the parks need money to stay open. I understand that, as do most other riders.  Like I said, the money isn’t why riders are angry.  It’s the principal of the matter.  They’re angry because they’re being singled out.  They’re especially angry since they’re being singled out to use facilities they built and maintain for the park which have greatly benefited the park via increased visitors and parking fee revenue.  No good deed goes unpunished as they say.

Now, I don’t think the answer is to apply the trail fee to everyone.  Sorry, but I can’t stand behind charging someone to walk in a State Park.  In my opinion, there shouldn’t be a trail fee, period.  The only fair solution in my mind is to raise the parking fee.  This is completely fair since everyone would have to pay it, not just one user group.  And it would raise much more money than charging mountain bikers to ride.

If the park system would work with riders we could be a huge asset to them.  We’ll help secure funding to get new trails built, and we’ll swing the tools to build them as well.  We’ll maintain them for free.  Those trails bring a new group of people into the park that otherwise wouldn’t have come.  Races will help draw even more people into the park.  We don’t just come to the park with bikes and riding gear – we come with money to spend in the surrounding communities.  We camp, stay at hotels, buy gas, eat at local restaurants, and shop at local stores.  But by discriminating against mountain bikers by charging riders, and only riders, a fee to use multi-use trails, the parks would be biting the hand that feeds them.  Many riders will simply ride someplace else, where their volunteer work isn’t rewarded with a fee targeted only at them.   There are 172 trails listed in the Singletracks trail database for Georgia - riders have lots of choices.

Got An Opinion?

GaDNR is accepting comments on the new fee until Jan 20th (Friday).  If you would like to submit comments send them to Director.GSPHS@dnr.state.ga.us

Also, as always, use the comments section here on the blog to tell us what you think.

I’d like to thank Tim Banks, Robin Allen, and Tim Schroer for taking the time to answer my multiple e-mails, phone calls, and text messages.

Most of the country has been suffering from a horrible snow year, but for many people this just means that the mountain biking season hasn’t come to an end yet! When I went home to visit family up in Wisconsin, I packed my skis because I was so stoked to hit the slopes during my annual winter trip. And there was snow on the slopes… but that was the only place that had snow, thanks to an artificial snow-making system.

I had several friends head out to Levis Mounds to mountain bike that week, and they reported back that the trails were almost completely bone-dry, save for a few small snowy patches in the shade. They’ve even posted a few videos to Youtube from their recent trail escapades:

Now I really wish that I had brought my mountain bike, too!

Other Regions

Many other areas of the country are having a similar winter. BendBulletin.com recently published an article about the best places to ride your mountain and/or road bike in Bend, Oregon during this incredibly dry year. According to the article, several trail systems including the Peterson Ridge Trail System and Maston Trail System are 100% free of snow and are in great riding condition!

The Boise Weekly out of Idaho recently published a short article in their recreation section entitled “Still No Snow… F*** it, Go Mountain Biking.” Apparently the trails in Boise are also in great shape, varying from frozen to tacky depending on the sunlight-to-shade ratio throughout the day.

Mountain bikers in the Northeast have been out on the trails too, according to an article on Boston.com entitled “Hey la Nina, where’d you go with our snow?” The article also cites abysmal snow conditions in the Lake Tahoe and Mammoth areas of California, Utah, and Colorado. According to the article, the only places in the country that truly have snow are Wyoming and Alaska.

And Alaska has truly been pounded! Just check out this photo from Cordova, Alaska that I saw on AK_Dan’s Facebook Profile, originally taken by Rob Campbell:

In case you’re having a hard time understanding what you’re seeing, those are the cables for a chairlift, and the metal piece sticking out of the snow is the top of the chairlift pole!

I’m sure those hardy Alaskans with their snow bikes are pushing the pedals anyway, though!

Common Sense

In the southern US, from the East Coast all the way to the West, we generally enjoy a 12-month riding season, so our tires have been rolling along like normal, although with slightly higher-than-average temperatures.

Since there is not snow on the ground to deter riders in many areas, trail advocacy groups all over the country are kindly asking that, while there are great opportunities to ride singletrack this winter, please exercise common sense and don’t ride wet trails. Please only ride trails when they are either dry or fully frozen! Riding soggy, wet trails can cause incredible trail damage, and this time of year the ruts you can make will freeze in place and will remain for many weeks (and even months) to come.

As one of the articles linked above mentions, riding through wet areas causes ruts, and riding around them widens the beautifully-narrow singletrack trail. If you encounter mud, please turn around.

If the trails are wet, it is the perfect time to go out and explore your local back roads! Many areas are blessed with extensive networks of unpaved forest roads that wind all through the mountains. While somewhat monotonous by mountain biking standards, riding dirt/gravel roads is much more fun than freezing through the high speeds of road riding. If you’re lucky, some of your local back roads may be passable only by 4×4′s… and mountain bikes! If you’ve got technical back roads, winter is the perfect time to go out and explore them! When dry trails return this spring and summer, you can jump back on the singletrack in earnest. But for now, if the trails are wet, please exercise restraint!

But hey, if conditions are dry, get out there and shred some mid-winter singletrack!

Your turn: Are you still pushing the pedals in your neck of the woods?

10 Reasons to watch Pedal Driven, a BIKEumentary:

1. You saw the earlier Singletracks blog post by trek7k about the fundraising efforts to complete the movie. If you pledged, you’re part of the effort.

2. There are secret/illegal/pirate trails in your area and you want to watch the story of how a group of passionate, dedicated riders got their stealth trails approved by the federales.

3. You know some of the guys and girls from the Leavenworth, WA area who are featured in the documentary.

4. You love trees, but instead of hugging them you prefer to shred among them.

5. There’s a special place in your heart for 4th period civics class.

6. You negotiate instead of aggravate.

7. You want to see incredible footage of IMBA crews in the process of designing, building and testing trails. I never knew why the IMBA-made trails I’ve ridden were so amazing, but the movie does a great job of documenting the process.

8. If you’ve ever been frustrated by that “No Bikes” sign in your favorite slice of wilderness and want to know the whys and hows of getting it open to you and your dirty little friends, this film will open your eyes.

9. City slickers who battle traffic to get to the trailhead will be green with envy at some of these small town communities with singletrack that rolls right out of people’s backyards. Aspire to move into the sticks…

10. You want to learn how to contribute to the efforts of people who love to ride trails, want more of them, and want to make sure we take care of our natural resources while we’re out there enjoying them.

I personally found it hard to set aside time to watch this now that summer has arrived in all its midwestern glory. I’ve been getting in daily trail miles and every hour in the dirt makes me want two more. If the sun is out I have a hell of a time looking at a screen when I could be shredding singletrack.

But this documentary was inspiring in the fact that there are dedicated individuals who took the time to put on clean pants, meet with forest service officials, lobby local governments, sign petitions, turn shovels, lift logs and generally put in the time and effort it takes to get trail access for all of us. And for that, I salute every one of them. Thanks to you all!

Oh, and to Howell at the Moon Productions, the team that made this movie: you are a rad group. Anyone who is willing to put in the time, the dollars, the sweat and the love into documenting our favorite outdoor pursuit (and how to make it better) deserves mucho kudos.

The deets: Website | Facebook | Trailers | Where to buy it | These folks made the thing | Screening tour dates | Get involved!!

Professional mountain biker Mike West was caught riding in an area around Flagstaff Mountain back in March that’s closed to protect golden eagles. After pleading guilty to “driving a vehicle in violation of the regulations,” he was sentenced to 60 hours of community service, three days in jail, and slapped with a $500 fine. His three day prison sentence and the fine have been suspended – as long as he doesn’t get in trouble over the next year. The article I read also notes this isn’t West’s first offense – he was given 12 hours of community service in 2006 for a similar offense – so that may have played into the sentencing decision.

Boulder is clearly sending a message with the prosecution and harsh punishment. Unfortunately the timing wasn’t great: the city council was set to consider allowing mountain bike acesss in the West Trail Study Area just days after the news broke. Not surprisingly the council “voted to uphold a current ban on mountain bikes in the vast majority of the study area.” (though we’re guessing they would have done this anyway)

West says he didn’t know the trail was off limits and he regrets his actions. He’s scheduled to speak to students in Boulder about the negative consequences of riding illegal trails and the environmental impact that often follows. During his trial West was suspended from the Yeti team, though he’s since been reinstated by team leaders.

The video below shows a short interview with Mike and I really found myself identifying with what he’s talking about: the desire to explore new trails, experiencing natural beauty from the seat of a bike, and also the need to get involved in advocacy groups like IMBA. Very few of us can say we’ve never ridden an unofficial mountain bike trail; this incident should just solidify our resolve to get more great trails open to bikes and to promote the low impact nature of mountain biking to non-riders.

This Saturday I’ll be heading to Lake Hartwell on the Georgia/South Carolina border to help with the trail work day at Paynes Creek, soon to be SORBA’s newest mountain bike trail. Assuming all goes well and plenty of volunteers show up this weekend, the official grand opening is scheduled for the following weekend, April 29.

This is a great opportunity to volunteer for a number of reasons:

1. Helping build new trails is exciting and it’s a chance to preview the course before it’s officially open!
2. Trail work days are a great chance to meet other mountain bikers.
3. Singletracks is giving away free trail membership certificates ($19.99 value) to EVERYONE who works this Saturday.
4. The weather is going to be fantastic and any excuse to spend time outside is a good one.
5. There’s a free lunch for the volunteers.
6. It’s a good chance to learn trail building techniques from the pros while getting a “hands on” application of best practices.
7. Giving back to the trails always feels good and if you ride often it’s the right thing to do. If you’ve never volunteered before, this is your chance!

Full details are available here and on the SORBA calendar. See you Saturday!

This is my third and final post covering the first ever Southern Mountain Bike Summit.  In case you missed the first two posts, part one can be found here and part two can be found here.

The Take Away

I’ve been involved in MTB advocacy on the local level pretty much since I started riding a few years ago so I know that a lot of work goes on behind the scenes and that mountain biking is a lot more than just riding your bike in the woods.  But I didn’t realize just how much work happens, and how hard people have fought for access to land and trails.  It was really cool hearing the success stories from the people largely responsible for those successes.  All great trails take a lot of work, and a lot of time, to become reality.  Take the Coldwater Mountain project for example – people have been working on that for over a decade and not even a single foot of trail has been built yet!!

Some of the people responsible for the summit, from left to right: Karen Into (President, Pisgah Area SORBA), Liz McNamara (Vice President, Upstate SORBA), Tom Soret (IMBA Southeastern Regional Director), Robin Allen (SORBA Communications Director), and Walt Bready (SORBA Promotions Director)

Several presenters gave some really interesting statistics that local clubs can use as ammunition when fighting for access.  Here are a few examples:

• Over 50% of children in the US are obese
• There are 1.5 times more mountain bikers than golfers in the US
• 1 in 5 Americans over the age of 16 ride a mountain bike
• Mountain bikers have 30% more voting power than voters aged 65 and above
• For every $1 spent on trails, $4 is saved on medical expenses
• 55% of trail users exercise more than before they had access to trails
• More useful statistics can be found from the Outdoor Industry Foundation and the Rails and Trails Conservancy

If you’re not involved in advocacy on at least some level you should be!  Trails don’t build or maintain themselves you know.   Head over to the IMBA website to find out if there’s an IMBA club near you, or how to start one if there isn’t a club in your area.  And if you’re not already a member of either a local club or IMBA, what are you waiting for?  A basic membership with IMBA is only $30 - it’s the least you can do to give back to the sport you love so much.

Ride Report: Black Mountain

After the final session on Friday afternoon everyone headed over to Poppie’s Market and Cafe.  From there we rode 2.3 miles on a scenic greenway trail, and then split into three groups.  There was a 4-mile ride for the beginners, the intermediate ride was 4.3 miles, and the expert ride was 9.3 miles.  I did the expert ride, and we rode an old Pisgah classic: Black Mountain.  After we split off from the intermediate ride we regrouped at some horse stables before starting the big gravel road climb up Clawhammer Rd to get to the trail.  Todd Branham, owner of Blue Ridge Adventures, was our ride leader, and he told us “You’re about to do most of your climbing right here.  Once you get over this steep pitch the rest is easy.  This will gain about 1200 ft in 3 miles.”   He wasn’t kidding, we were about to go up, up, and away!

Lucky for me, a friend let me borrow his Yeti 575 for the weekend.  On this climb I was extremely thankful for gears!  Even with the lowest gear ratio I can set up on my singlespeed I’d have been walking that whole climb.  It was steep, and it never seemed to end.  I got dropped pretty quickly by all the locals and people used to doing those big climbs.  Thankfully, I wasn’t the slowest person – several others were way behind me.

After the first few miles of stupid-steep climbing the road leveled out some.  We kept going up for a few more miles but it was a much more mellow grade.  One of the redeeming values of the climb is the great view on the way up.  Once we got to the top of the road there was a little more climbing to do, but now on technical singletrack.  I walked it all.  I probably could have ridden it, but I was exhausted after more than an hour of climbing and once the people in front of me stalled and stopped, so did I.  After a minute or so of walking we were at the top – it’s all downhill from here!

Photo: Goo

The downhill was intense.  The top section was steep, with tons of roots, rocks, and water bars.  Drop after drop after drop.  I stopped after a few minutes and lowered the seat on the Yeti.  The rest of the downhill was a lot more fun without the seat in the way.  Part of the way down the trail changes from steep and technical to mellow and fast.  Big sight lines and huge 6 ft tall berms meant you could stay off the brakes and absolutely fly!  This is mountain biking at its finest.

At the bottom we regrouped and then rode back to Poppie’s on the greenway.  At Poppies there was something mountain bikers love, maybe even more than trails: good food!  I got a bison burger and downed it faster than I knew I even could.  It was the perfect way to end a great ride.

The End

This wraps up my coverage of the first ever Southern Mountain Bike Summit.  I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope it encourages you to get involved with your local club, and to attend events like this.  It’s pretty cool being in the same room as all the people responsible for the great riding spots in your part of the country, hearing how they made it happen, and how you can do the same in your town.

Big “Thank You!” and “Job Well Done!” to all the organizers and presenters.  Everything went off without a hitch, and all of the presentations were really well done.

Regrouping at the bottom of the downhill.  Everyone had a great time.

This is the second part of my coverage on the Southern Mountain Bike Summit that was held in Brevard, NC recently.  In case you missed it, find the first part here.  Okay, let’s get on with it.

Building Partnerships to Get Things Done

Day two started with a really good presentation by Sig Hutchinson, the president of TORC and owner of Sig Hutchinson Communications.  Sig knows how to get things done.  He is a mover and shaker in his community in Raleigh, NC where he is largely responsible for raising $140 million for open space preservation, parks, and an incredible greenway system that links several communities and parks together in Wake County.  The system currently has about 70 miles, and there’s another 40ish currently under construction.  Who wouldn’t want something like that in their town!?

Sig’s presentation focused on how to deal with people to build partnerships.  As volunteer groups, most MTB clubs are very willing to ask for things such as donations, land to build trails on, access to existing trails, etc.  But we don’t always think of ways to give back to the people that help make those things happen.  Sig talked a lot about how people are under appreciated.  So when we work with someone, we need to give them credit for what they do to help us.  Get the media involved, send out press releases, let people know about the good work that person did.  They’ll be a lot more willing to help you again later if you do.

People slowly filing into the room Saturday morning.  Half an hour later the room was packed out.

Working With the USDA Forest Service

This was another panel session where several people gave short presentations.  One thing I quickly learned is we actually have some good cycling advocates who work for the Forestry Service. One of the speakers, Jim Schmid is a Trails Manager for the Forestry Service who was a mountain biker before mountain biking even existed.  Back in the 70′s he didn’t own a car so he biked everywhere and he was the first person in his town to buy one of the 1982 Specialized Stumpjumpers (the first widely available mass-produced MTBs) and he’s even cycle toured around Europe.  He is a true bicycle fanatic – and it’s great to have people like him working on the inside with us.

The big take-away from this session was that the Forestry Service is a multi-management agency.  They have a lot to deal with, including: conservation, restoration, timber, fire management, recreation, and wildlife just to name a few.  So again, patience when working with them is important.  Things take time, and we need to realize that.  Even when they get behind a project 100%, it will not happen quickly.  And they do like working with volunteer groups such as mountain bike clubs; without us working with them there would be a whole lot less trails for us to enjoy.  The southern region of the Forestry Service has over 10,800 miles of trails!  Without volunteers to help maintain them that number would be much, much smaller because the Forestry Service simply doesn’t have the budget or manpower to do it themselves.

Creating Great Trails and Communities

This session focused on why we need trails in our communities.  Trails offer a lot of benefits to communities aside from being a place to have fun.  They’re cheaper than other recreational facilities, they preserve wildlife habitats, they can revitalize derelict property, and they can be an economic boom to communities that embrace them.  Trails also get people exercising and create healthy lifestyles.  One statistic given was that 55% of trail users exercise more than before they had access to trails.  In other words, trails get people off the couch and outside getting healthy.  This presentation also gave tips on how to turn your trails into a destination trail system – somewhere people will travel to from far and wide to ride.  The speakers offered tips on what the trails should offer, the types of lodging trail users will need, and even how to advertise and market your trails.

IMBA Club Care

The final session of the summit was another Trail Care Crew presentation – how to build a sustainable mountain bike club.  And once again, Steve and Morgan did a great job with this presentation.  They gave advice, learned from successful clubs around the country, on how to increase membership, organize meetings, and avoid volunteer burnout.  They also explained why clubs should put on events, and how different events work better to reach certain goals.  For example, hosting a skills clinic would not be a good fundraiser, but it would be good at building a riding community and growing club membership.

The Trail Care Crew spent some time with Upstate SORBA before the summit.  Photo: Upstate SORBA.

Up Next

That wraps up my coverage of the learning sessions.  As you’ve seen, there was a LOT of information thrown at us in those two days.  Find out if a regional summit is coming to a town near you, and if so, go check it out!  There is a ton of knowledge to gain at these summits and it will only benefit your local club and riding scene if some of your folks can attend.

In my third and final post on the Southern MTB Summit I’m going to present my big take-away, the overall impression I was left with at the end of the summit.  There will also be a ride report from Friday afternoon’s ride – these things aren’t all work you know!

This year IMBA is hosting half a dozen regional summits across the US and I got a chance to attend the the Southern Mountain Bike Summit in Brevard, NC this past weekend.  The conference was hosted by IMBA-SORBA and the Pisgah Area and Upstate SORBA chapters.  The summit brought industry leaders, professional trail builders, local club members, and land managers together for two days of seminars covering a wide range of advocacy topics.  Yours truly was there, and it was great!  All of the speakers were really good, and I learned a lot.  There was a ton of information thrown at us in those two days – I took over 11 pages of notes!  We got to do a little bit of riding as well on Friday afternoon, a classic Pisgah ride, but the planned Saturday and Sunday rides were rained out.

This was the first regional summit IMBA is holding in 2011; there will be five others this year in other parts of the country.  Going forward SORBA plans to host one of these summits every two years opposite the biennial IMBA World Summit.  If there’s a conference scheduled for your area I highly recommend you check it out – there’s a wealth of knowledge to gain and you’ll meet some very cool people and have a lot of fun.

I’ll be breaking down my coverage of the summit into three parts.  This is the first part, and it will cover the seminars on day one.  Part two will cover day two, and part three will be my take-away from the summit and a ride report from Friday afternoon’s ride.

Tom Soret, IMBA’s Southern Regional Director

Opening Remarks:  Krista Rettig

Krista is a great advocate for cycling and she’s very energetic and passionate about all types of cycling.  She’s a former mountain bike racer and longtime employee at Trek.  She is currently serving as the Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs for Trek so her talk focused on the importance of cycling in modern society (all forms, not just mountain biking) and how advocacy groups can approach local governments to get projects going.  She emphasized the use of statistics and hard data to convince people, specifically politicians and government employees, of the value of cycling infrastructure, be it a paved greenway or a gnarly singletrack trail.  She also gave advice for local clubs and talked about how Trek is doing their part.  Did you know that for every full suspension mountain bike Trek sells they will donate $10 to IMBA, and some of their dealers will match that?  Next time you’re shopping for a Trek, ask your local shop if they participate in that program, and if they don’t, try and get them to sign up!

Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew: Land Manager Training

The Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew is a free resource for IMBA clubs all over the country.  There are two crews that travel around the country 10 months out of the year teaching clubs and land managers how to build, maintain, and manage sustainable mountain bike trails.  The program was started in 1997 and has been, and continues to be, fully funded by Subaru, one of IMBA’s long time supporters.  Subaru covers ALL costs associated with the trail care crews – gas, food, lodging, salaries, everything.  None of your IMBA membership dollars go toward the Trail Care Crews – it’s a FREE program for IMBA.  Subaru also offers discounts on new cars for IMBA members as well.  That’s pretty cool for a car company to support mountain biking in such a huge way and for so long!

The crew that visited us was the husband and wife duo Steve and Morgan Lommele.  Their presentation was fantastic!  This particular talk was aimed at educating land managers about mountain biking: what we want in a trail, what we don’t want, and how we’ll help them maintain it.  The presentation covered the economic and social benefits of trails, sustainable trail building theory and practices, how to design for specific user groups (MTB, equestrian, hiking), and how to use positive control points and how to avoid negative control points.

Again, the Trail Care Crews are a FREE resource for your local IMBA affiliated club.  Ask them to come teach your group some things and they probably will!  Check out the Trail Care Crew website for more details.

Connecting With Agency Land Managers

This session had several short presentations made by land managers followed by a Q&A session.  The panel of land managers represented a wide range of agencies from all levels: federal (USFS), State (NC DNR), and County (Forsyth County, GA).  They gave us the inside scoop on what they, as managers, are looking for in a partnership with a volunteer club, and what we should expect from them.  They also explained some of the restrictions they have and why things take so long sometimes – usually due to laws they must follow or simply bad timing.  One of the big points we need to remember is that land managers are busy, they have a lot on their plates, and we need to be patient with them.

Success Stories

Three success stories were presented by the folks involved in making them happen.  These stories showed what great things can be accomplished when a MTB club partners with a land management agency and the two work together for a common goal.  The timelines for these stories also illustrate the importance of patience!

Itusi Trail System – Lake Norman State Park, NC

• Project began in 2001, initially using volunteers to hand build the trails
• There are now five loops, for a total of 17.5 miles of singletrack
• The park did not spend any money on the construction of the trail
• The trails are directional to avoid user conflict, hikers and bikers travel in opposite directions.  The direction is changed every year
• Maintained by the Tarheel Trailblazers

Santos – Ocala, FL

• Partnership between the Ocala Mountain Bike Association and the State of Florida Office of Greenways and Trails
• 84 miles of singletrack!!!
• Freeride park, skills park, 2 pumptracks, and 3 dirt jump lines
• Trails constructed alongside the 110 mile long Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway
• Uses old limestone quarries for technical terrain
• Designated as an IMBA Epic Ride and a Ride Center
• 5 trailheads provide easy access

Coldwater Mountain – Anniston, AL

• This project is 11 years in the making, and construction is FINALLY about to start.  Remember that patience thing I mentioned earlier?
• Partnership between the Northeast Alabama Bicycle Association and Forever Wild
• Will contain somewhere around 50-60 miles of purpose built mountain bike trails
• Stacked loop system will have a little something for everyone, including TWO gravity zones!
• The entire area will be MTB and hiking/running specific – no horses, hunting, or motorized use
• Trail construction should start this year

Photo courtesy IMBA.

Up Next

Day two included sessions on how to build partnerships, working with the USDA Forestry Service, how to create a great riding community, and how to grow your local MTB club. Stay tuned!

Pedal Driven is a mountain bike documentary in production that centers on the conflict between illegal freeride trailbuilders and US Forest Service rangers in Washington state – and the creators need your help to finish the film. IMBA and others like Specialized, Shimano, and Yakima have already thrown their support behind the film and all proceeds from the release will go straight to trail building and mountain bike advocacy funds.

In order to raise the funds necessary to complete the film, the producers have set a goal of raising $15,000 toward the final production costs and that’s where we (mountain bikers) come in. With 8 days to go until the deadline, almost $14,000 has been pledged by individual donors. The cool thing about this portion of the film’s funding is that it affirms the grassroots nature of the sport and shows the strength and diversity of mountain bikers around the US.

There are a few interesting things about the fundraising you should know:

• There’s no minimum amount you can give. If you only have a buck to give that’s cool – every bit counts.
• Rewards are offered at various funding amounts. Give $25 or more and you get a copy of the DVD when it’s released PLUS a pair of Pedal Driven cycling socks. A DVD and a good pair of socks will normally cost you at least that much so it’s a win-win!
• At the higher funding levels the rewards get very interesting. Wanna pledge $5000? You’ll get a whole bag of goodies including a closing credit in the movie AND a mountain bike trail in Washington state named after you. Anyone want to pool together to get the trail named singletracks.com?

I’ve already pledged my 25 bucks and I’m stoked to see how this film works as an advocacy tool, especially when presented to land managers and non-mountain bikers. Check out the trailer and if you like what you see, toss a few bucks to make this film a reality! Click here for the full trailer.

Have you ever cruised down a freshly cut mountain bike trail and wondered how it was built? These days more and more mountain bike trails are being constructed using heavy equipment and we were interested to learn a bit about some of the tools of the trade. If you thought your mountain bike was the most powerful tool on the trail, think again!

SWECO 480 Trail Dozer

photo courtesy oregon.gov.

The SWECO 480 Trail Dozer is designed specifically for trail construction and as such it can be a little pricey (we found used 2008 models selling for as much as $70K online). The SWECO 480 features a 4 cylinder, 80HP @ 3,000 RPM Isuzu Diesel engine and has a max travel speed of 5 mph. A 48″ dozer blade, 3-shank ripper, and side brush screen come standard.

Ditchwitch SK 500 & SK 650 Mini Skid Steers

photo courtesy ditchwitch.com

The SK 500 and 650 mini skid steers from Ditchwitch are the Swiss Army knives of trail building. With more than 70 compatible attachments, this work horse is highly maneuverable (just 36″ wide) and is powered by a 24 HP Honda engine.

Toro Dingo TX427 Narrow Track Utility Loader

photo courtesy machinerytrader.com

Much of trail work involves moving dirt around and this is where a narrow track utility loader like the Toro Dingo comes in handy. For around $12K you can get a used Toro TX 427 featuring a 27 HP Kohler engine. This tracked vehicle produces just 5.1 psi ground pressure to keep damage to a minimum while digging and hauling during trail work. By our calculations that’s less than the pressure many mountain bikes put on the trail!

Bobcat 418 Compact Excavator

photo courtesy bobcat.com

Narrow trail corridors call for mini versions of much larger construction equipment as the Bobcat 418 demonstrates. Excavators can be used to dig drainage ditches alongside trails, remove stubborn rocks, and even grade trails. At just 28 inches wide, the Bobcat 418 can fit just about anywhere.

Muck Truck

photo courtesy mucktruck.com.

This super small mini-dumper can fit almost anywhere and is a workhorse on many trailbuilding projects, even those that don’t involve a lot of heavy machinery. The Muck Truck is gas-powered, four wheel drive, and can carry just over 500 pounds up 30-degree slopes! Best of all, most trailbuilding budgets can afford one of these to keep around for future trail maintenance and repair.

Of course this list isn’t meant to be exhaustive – there are literally dozens of different types of equipment (both powered and non-powered) used in mountain bike trail building. For more info be sure to check out the Professional Trail Builders Association website.

Thanks to seenvic of Long Cane Trails LLC for helping put this list together.

In 2007 IMBA rolled out an ambitious plan to create mountain bike “Ride Centers” all around the US and we were curious to hear the latest at the IMBA World Summit. IMBA executive director Mike Van Abel did mention the Ride Center initiative in his keynote presentation but only after speaking at length about the new(er) “Gateway Trail” model.

According to recently collected survey data, mountain bikers are looking for more trails closer to home (no surprise here). While Ride Centers are designed to be “destination trail systems,” they’re typically sited in rural areas where there’s plenty of land to support dozens of miles of singletrack. As such, most mountain bikers need to drive to get to the trails which can limit usage significantly.

Gateway Trails, on the other hand, are designed to be accessible to the widest audience possible, including kids who aren’t old enough to drive yet. The ideal Gateway Trail includes purpose-built singletrack for beginner and intermediate riders and often includes a pump track as well. Like gateway drugs, Gateway Trails are designed to get folks hooked on mountain biking so they’ll want to get their fix on more advanced, epic rides outside of town.

Lately I’ve found myself looking for ways to “ride to the ride” as often as possible and the Gateway Trails model scratches where I itch. Loading the car and fighting traffic after work is often a big hassle and can take some of the fun out of riding. For me, heading out the front door and warming up on the pavement is a welcome change and makes the well deserved singletrack seem that much sweeter.  If only there was more singletrack within say 10 miles of my house (any further than that and I might as well ride my road bike).

Riding to the ride is also great for the environment since it gets more of us out of our cars and onto our bikes. Even if you don’t care about the environmental stuff, consider this: some MTB trailheads are in danger because of crowded parking lots. Just this week we read about a trail system in Idaho where residents are blocking access to trails because they don’t like all the cars parked on the street.

One of the first Gateway Trails IMBA talked about is the Valmont Bike Park in Boulder, CO (IMBA’s backyard, natch). Urban trail systems like those in Richmond, VA are also getting a fresh look, as are projects like the I-5 Collonade trails in Seattle. And don’t forget about Highbridge Park in Manhattan (NYC) – the pump track and trails there are being used by kids who had never heard of mountain biking before.

While we were stoked to hear about the Ride Center focus back in 2007, we’re even more excited about Gateway Trails. Not only are they convenient for old timers, they also bring new riders into the sport and get more folks out of their cars. Talk to your local club about getting on the bandwagon and opening more singletrack in your city!