Last weekend a few buddies and I headed into the trail system to help out one of the local trail builders. As a group we managed to cut in, clear and open up two sections of trail in just one morning.
The sections are not fully completed yet, but are definitely ready for some riding. We even managed to build a couple fun jumps. What we did though is nothing when compared to how much this builder has done on his own in the last year or so.
The weekend before, the club was out in Snowden doing some much needed maintenance on a few trails. Without some good work days like this the trails eventually become deteriorated and unrideable.
One women that rides with us regularly spent the entire summer and fall last year using her days off to go out and cut back the overgrowth on a bunch of Snowden trails with her hubby and their friends. These trails are now wide open and ride just like when they were originally built. It’s amazing how much faster you can ride when you can see.
Riding into work earlier this week I had some extra time and headed for the trails. One of my favourite routes is the connector between Woods Creek and the Beaver Lodge. It was built by a couple of local guys that gave up a ton of free time to bring two awesome trail networks together. These few trails opened up a completely new riding area on the south end of town and we can now ride from the south side of McGimpsey Road all the way into Campbelton on single track and the ERT. What used to be quite broken up and impossible to link together without a bunch of pavement and traffic, now offers up three or four hours of solid single track riding, all within a few minutes of most neighbourhoods in town. Who knows, maybe eventually the Oyster River trails will link up too?
Now you may not have time to give up a summer of weekends, you may not be an accomplished trail builder and you may not have enough time to even spare a full day for maintenance but we can all do our part on our regular rides.
Just carry a small saw and when you come across a bit of blow down or other trail obstruction, stop and clear it. It will only take a few minutes and with just a little bit of help from every rider, the trails will remain in great shape for a long long time.
We have one of the most amazing trail networks in the world and there are lot of people that make it happen with building and maintenance. We should be very grateful for their efforts.
Thanks everyone for all the hard work!
I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’