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This is a question I often ponder while I am alone doing work on the trails that so many people ride. I love riding my bike but I also love to get dirty and lay down sustainable singletrack to ride on. I also love seeing my trail being used for runners, hikers etc. I just love seeing people outside. Does anyone echo this? I’m starting a club and its not been easy. I guess the old saying rings true, “20% of the people do 80% of the work.”
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No, trail work is not as fun as riding….
I know its not a good excuse, time is usually the major factor for “why” I can’t always get out there & help…. As a result, I try to support the trail work financially by donating money to organizations that build & maintain local trails.
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No, for me, trail work definitely isn’t as fun as riding… but it’s more fun than sitting behind a desk or on the couch!!
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I guess the point I am getting at is that I feel it’s more enjoyable to ride on a trail that you have worked on. I feel that if every mountain biker gave one day of trail work in place of one ride our trails would be that much better.
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I’m with you! People think its crazy but I love to be outside getting dirty. I’m working on building a trail in the woods behind my house, nothing crazy but something fun to do, and I try to pitch in with trail work whenever there’s a build day.
I stop all of the time during rides to clear branches on the trails and such. I know its not necessarily building, but much needed maintenance. I was on a group ride Sunday and we came across 4 or 5 trees laying in the middle of the trail and everyone pitched in to move them out of the way.
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I love trail work but it fills a completely different void than riding does. That being said, I would not enjoy doing it in a group. My brother and I will clear big stuff together and that’s about the maximum amount of co-workers I’m comfortable with.
We cleared a fall on Brush Creek about a week ago. During that time we had one person offer to help, three people say thanks and one person say he wished he was that good of a person to want to clear obstructions. I think that’s a good representative ratio of people that are willing and prepared to work on the trails they enjoy.
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Definitely not as fun. You’ve got to incorporate the trail work in with a ride to get people to show up
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Not as much fun no. But anything that gets you outside is better than the alternative. Plus a group ride after a work party can be a lot of fun and a nice reward for all that work.
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I would say probably not as fun. I am not sure where or how to find out about trail work. I have wanted to participate but information is difficult to come by.
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Definitely not as fun as riding, but there is satisfaction in building a new trail or feature or just maintaining an existing one. Riding Pastor check with your local bike club if there is one; they generally have scheduled work days each month. Often food and swag is provided after chores are completed.
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I’ve been on a brief trail build (basically replacing one that had long since disappeared under brush) and I have to say that was a lot of fun, and awesome to have that kind of effect on a trail system, but going out just to do work feels like a different story. That said, I’m a huge proponent of the post-storm leisurely clean-up rides that my local group does, though I can see how a dedicated day of work without bikes could be more effective.
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Is trail work as fun as riding….heck yes….actually more fun. When you work on trail you get to sculpt and develop the trail like you want to ride. I will always remember the sections of trail that I have built throughout the years and its so much more fun riding trails that you have shed blood, sweat and tears all over to make. Its a different experience and I encourage everyone to get involved and get digging. Its a lot of work…and it will bet your disproportionate upper-body in shape haha.
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Thanks for all the replies…I held our first real club meeting Thursday and our first official trail day is ion the morning! It snowed a little earlier today. Not expecting a large crowd but hoping a few show up. We are clearing large stuff for a major work day to come in a few weeks. We always ride after work!
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I have just as much fun designing, flagging and building trails as I do riding them. Especially during our group trail build events. I enjoy meeting all of the new people that come out to each build and teaching them how to build sustainable trail. And the biggest benefit is all of the added trail we have every year!
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It definitely can be if you know what you are doing (Mastery), have Autonomy (doing your own thing) & Purpose (lots of happy riders for many years).
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Definaty trail work is not fun. however its rewarding… other than building some small jumps as a kid on the farm, never really built anything. After recent “trail build” I have new respect for the trails I ride. it took lots of us ( about 8) to build a recent table top on a new section of track. I see a different side the the coarse i ride that have been built before me. Bottom line, if you like the trails you ride, help out on new features at your local track for the new comers.
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My blog post about this is up now…feel free to comment here or there and let me know what you think.
http://thewvpedaler.blogspot.com/2016/03/is-trail-work-as-fun-as-riding.html
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Two different kinds of fun. Sometimes when I ride, I can’t wipe the smile off my face. It is simply a feeling of pure joy, the kind you experienced routinely as a kid. Trail building gives me a different feeling, one of serenity, purpose, satisfaction. I suppose one could say this is a more mature type of fun, basically fulfilling.
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Can be good fun and a nice way to socialise but time on the bike is what I enjoy most!
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personally I love building trails, I started work on the backwoods of a local lake in my area. It started out as dirt but now other people have started to add on and it has gotten insanely fun! Just recently I built a wooden bridge across a creek and with some help I added about a half a mile of fresh new trails for this summer. But riding trails is totally different and still really fun.
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I think it is just as much fun as riding. Yeah, call us crazy but that is what I think. If I could I would spend half my time riding and the other half building but right now time is the issue. I remember a build out on Feeder Line and I was thinking that I would never be able to ride this corner I am building. Now I can ride right thru and that feeling is so fine. One of the best feelings in the world. In my opinion of course.
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I enjoy scratching on the trails as much as riding. I wish I had more riders to break the trails in. Try them out and tell me what they think. Weird problem wanting more users.
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