Expert skiers with first aid and avalanche training get paid to slide around all winter making sure everyone makes it to the bottom of the mountain safely. Norway’s Trysil Bike Arena is taking that same safety service to the summer dirt this year, with their newly minted Trail Patrol.
The Trail Patrol consists of four full-time employees who will ride through the park any time it is open to mountain bikers, and help folks find their way and bandage cuts and bruises as needed. In addition to general safety and first aid, the Trail Patrol will continuously work on trails to make sure they are in top condition throughout the season. They will repair brake bumps, mend wooden features, remove fallen trees, reshape jumps and berms, and rake the tracks free of leaves and debris when necessary.
The Patrol will also help users understand the rules of the park, but they are in no way able to enforce rules or create strict regulations. Like much of Europe, Norway has Right to Roam laws that allow anyone to enjoy any part of the forest as they wish, so long as they are not harming the environment. This precludes groups like the Trail Patrol from doing more than informing and educating the public about the best and safest practices on the mountain. Fortunately, the rules they do have are made with common sense, and nearly everyone follows them without knowing they exist.
Located on the eastern border of Norway, roughly 2.5 hours north of Oslo, Trysil is home to a wide variety of trails to suit riders of all stripes. Trail manager Olve Norderhaug spoke highly of the park’s annually-growing swarm of riders. “Everyone in Norway has a mountain bike that they ride on gravel roads or on asphalt. Now we’re working on changing that idea, and now you can ride on super fun, purpose-built trails,” Norderhaug said. He mentioned that the first parks opened in Norway were built by advanced riders, for advanced riders, and that the team at Trysil aims to open the sport up to a much wider demographic.
The park offers all of the usual services including hotels, bike rentals, bike shops, restaurants, a brewpub, spa, pump track, skills area, and tour guides, along with a host of non-bike facilities and activities. There are over 100km of natural trails around the park for folks who want to explore and ride outside the flow. Look for a full report on the tracks in and around Trysil Bike Arena as soon as we can make it up there for a shred.
Finally, check out this video of what Trysil Bike Arena has to offer.
