How many of you like getting your hands dirty?

stumpyjon

Just wondering how many of you build trails as well as ride them. Been quite surprised at the number of riders who wouldn't think twice about getting filthy and knackered riding a bike but wouldn't dream of picking up a spade.

Mancunianfightingcat

I've just lost my dig day cherry and must say, I thoroughly enjoyed having some input on the trails I ride regularly. Sure it was hard work but I still managed to go for a ride when we'd finished digging.

If anyone's thinking about joining a dig day, but feels a bit apprehensive, don't worry.
You'll be working with a bunch of folk who all share a common interest and will welcome any help you offer. It's not like a proper job, you're not getting paid so do as much or as little as you like, it's not like you'll get fired for slacking!

Why not fit an hour or two's worth of building in to a ride your doing.
You'll appreciate the hard work that's gone into building that sweet stretch you've just nailed. If you think a bend looks like it will be a little tight or, a drop doesn't look gnarly enough, you never know , you may be the one who gets to design and build it for thousands to enjoy.

Come on guys and girls, get stuck in!

P-Jay

On my local loop there's a nice 300m-ish descent that's nice and rooty, few little steps to hop of and tiny little booters by no means gnarly, but it's a 5 min ride from my house and taken flat out challenging enough to be fun.

Been meaning to get my little folding shovel out to put some little jumps in and dig out some of the drops to make them bigger - has to be super stealth though because it's a bridal way and horses to do use it.

Maybe next spring, still got a buggered arm.

Bloody fly tippers like to use it, so sometimes you have extra obstacals to do, like a quick left-right shimmey around a washing machine, or take the fast right-hander super tight to avoid hitting the dumped car - I catch someone there doing it one day and there will be hell to pay!!

Alex

I spend more time digging than riding.

And a small amount of time shouting "gerrafekorfmatrail!" at people who ignore signs.

TheNorthernTrain

Never helped out on proper trails. But me and some friends built a couple of small jumps/berms in the local woods just to make the run slightly more fun.

ESHER SHORE

I am currently building Esher Shore's new facility which is a huge, multiple loop pump track on the site of the old Dirt Jump / Slopestyle park

its looking very good already (we've been working on it since August) and I am putting in 5-6 hours digging and shaping 4-5 days a week

should be open for Easter 2010

Alex

It's a funny old game, you start doing something but you never have any idea quite how long it's going to take until you're 2/3rds of the way through.

ESHER SHORE

I'd say estimate the time its going to take, and multiply it by 3, and then add another 1/3rd for good luck

things always go wrong when trail building.....ground conditions, changing plans, drainage problems, tool failures, failures for volunteers to attend etc.

Alex

Not to mention delays in getting materials moved, delays in getting plans approved, building something and then realising that it doesn't ride the way it's supposed to.

Ground conditions are the real killer though. Planning out a bench cut trail, digging test pits every 100m and finding good ground and then realising that in between each test pit is 99m of clay that needs to be surfaced over always adds a month or two.

salsarider79

The group I riding with in Norwich, have cut trails into a local woods. They hide the trails so well you'd never find them all unless you knew about them.
There is a lot of work that goes into keeping them so lovely to ride. I feel that if I'm going to riding the trails it's only fair that I help out when I can.

Northwind

I volunteer at glentress when I can, though since it's only fortnightly there that actually works out to me being there about once every 4-6 weeks. But I do some stuff locally, mostly just maintenance on existing trails since that's what's needed most here IMO. Nothing really major, more sort of holistic trail-healing Never built a trail froms scratch though I've cleared ground to make a rideable option around a degraded trail, which if it catches on I'll build up a bit.

it's just nice to give something back, and I do enjoy it... I guess if I was a builder or a gardener I'd enjoy it less but I fly a desk so it's another way to get out and get some exercise in. And locally, I just got tired of thinking "****ing branches in my way" or "This is turning into a swamp", my own rides are better for the work I do so it's not hard to motivate myself. the feeling of riding a trail you helped build is very, very good motivation!

(on one trail at glentress, which still isn't complete, I spent half a morning carefully digging around a nice patch of roots, rather than just building over or through it... Then went and rode the same section once it was finished, and crashed on my own roots )

MrChrisP

I'd love to get along to a dig day in glentress. Need to get a car first though otherwise I can't take my bike unless I can talk my mate into coming along too.

We built some bike jumps back home a few years ago but had a really bad winter and the whole place got flooded, runining all our hard work. We were going to try again the next summer but most of us ended up moving away.

ride_whenever

I have in the past, not any more as the local trails here don't seem to need it, that said there is clearly a small army doing some work. Those jump areas (that I don't use overly often) don't build themselves!

Hercule Q

we've been building new trails in the woods but i'm not telling you as its a secret

Northwind

MrChrisP wrote:

I'd love to get along to a dig day in glentress. Need to get a car first though otherwise I can't take my bike unless I can talk my mate into coming along too.

Join the trailfairies mailing list, you might find there's someone else going from your area with space for a bike... I'm the same, luckily a good mate of mine also volunteers so gives me lifts down.

trailstaron

Just spent the day in the woods by myself in the rain cutting out a short loop to give me a new trail to ride over the winter - just a nice tight / technical / slow trail to keep the skills in check - hard to find too so I can keep it to myself - selfish?!

Alex

It's not selfish at all.

There are two options when you build a trail:

1. Scratch it in very gently without going to any huge building trouble. You can build trail very quickly this way, but it'll only support a few riders per week before getting cut up and boggy.

2. Go the full hog of bench cutting it and surfacing soft sections. Very labour intensive, slow work, but will support a vast amount of riders.

The Northern Monkey

I've been meaning to but have been very busy these past few weeks
I really do wAnt to help out, it's a good way to show your grattitude to the people who originally built them IMO.

stumpyjon

Ben

don't worry, took me about 4 months between deciding to help at Gisburn and actually getting to a dig day. There's another one planned on the 13th of December, might be building some boardwalk over a boggy bit, plus there's still plenty of new trail to dig and lay.

I know what people mean about estimating how long things take, defnitiely a case of think of a number and triple it.

If you do get a chance to help take it, if you really don't like it you'll have at least put one day in which is more than many manage. Dig days are a bit like killing people, the first one is always the most difficult (or so I'm told :twisted: ).

sparrowlegs78

I'd come and help, but i've no transport at the moment, the motorbike is on SORN and the hubby works all the time.
I'm really good at piushing wheelbarrows
Caz xxx

Northwind

Heh, that's the best bit. 30 mtbers with legs like treetrunks and arms like twiglets trying to push wheelbarrows up a hill I can handle one, I just can't empty the damn things, can't tip 'em up

I think we need to find some way of recruiting people with massive arms... They say when Russell Crowe wanted to beefcake up for Gladiator, instead of going to the gym he went and worked on a farm for a few months, maybe we could do that. "Forget gym fees, come and whack a forest with a mattock" Raking stuff about with a macleod does wonders for core strength and the ol' 6 pack you know.

sparrowlegs78

I used to spend all day pushing wheelbarrows, i had shoulders like a rugby player, not good for a lady
Caz xx

fourcrossjohn

i prefer to build jumps rather than jump em