Getting Back to my Roots

I have not posted anything for some time. Mostly because I have not done anything that I felt like posting to the world wide web. The other day that changed. I had taken two days off from work, well I have been ordered to take time off... I figured I need to do something other than going out for a training ride. I needed to slow down and do something for the trails that I ride on. I armed myself with an E-Tool (Army shovel) and put it in my CamelBak. I took an easy ride to the Lakeview trails and my plan was to start working on the low areas and turns that had dirt burning-up on the low or outside and not letting the water drain out and keep those areas wet. In some places, it was causing riders to take a different line. That is something you are not wanting to happen with a trail system. Here is one of the many examples of what I am talking about:
As you can see this turn is staying wet because the topsoil has been pushed to the outside of the turn and is burning up so the water will not drain out. This will happen from time to time on its own. But this is due to riders riding when the trails are still wet. I would say there are some other factors that also cause this to happen. You can also see where the riders are taking a new line. This is making the trail footprint wider. Again something you do not want to take place with a trail system. Five minutes later:
All I did was take my E-Tool and rake the burm into the train. Then I cut a cleanout on the backside. I am sure when the trail packs in again I will have to make an adjustment on the cleanout. OK, Here is one that is more than a one man show:
I did not know how deep this hole was until I got off the bike. See the E-Tool in the picture. After taking sometime looking at this one I figured it was best to fill-in the hole with some dirt from another location. I think the line is the trail you can see on the left. My bike is on the new line that some riders are taking now. It was great just taking the time to work on these areas of the trail. Other than a few planes fling over it was quiet in the woods which was cool. It has been a long time since I have done trail work and it is something most all of us need to due. So take the time to slow down and link-up with your local trail group and give back to the trail you ride. You will get more gains out of this than that training ride!

Comments

Mission said…
Great work Brian. We will be doing some additional work on this trail Saturday, let me know if your interested in joining.
Unknown said…
Don't take out all the berms...some are there by design, but some are self-made from rider/trail input...the problem is when the berm traps water creating a mudhole.

Popular Posts