Spring is coming and with it better weather and a new season of riding. That means it's time to get back to work on the trails and get them in shape for a summer of Fiver races, trail rides with friends and eventually dry, dusty weather.
As part of the NSMBA's Trail Adoption Plan (TAP) we've been a sponsor of Pennzoil on lower Fromme with Santa Cruz Bicycles now since 2019 and with massive help from NSMBA builders Sarah Brassil and Gordon McNaughton. In 2022 we had probably our best year of trail building ever, with huge turn-outs and consequently managed to get a huge amount of work done essentially fully rebuilding the trail top to bottom over the course of the year. Pennzoil is in the best shape it's ever been in, and we're hoping for 2023 we can continue to maintain that as well as possibly spreading the love to some other nearby trails.
Sarah and Gordon make a lot happen behind the scenes, but we mainly rely on volunteer man-power, because many bodies make light work. So once a month we hold a public Trail Day where you too can come help put some work back into your local trails. We take a break over the driest summer months resuming in the fall, subject to weather and trail conditions.
The Essentials:
For those wishing to attend, please sign up via the Google forms in the links below. Our trail days run from 1-5pm, meeting at the bottom of Pennzoil on Braemar Rd. We appreciate any and all time you can spare, so please don't worry if you can only show up for an hour or two! All tools are provided, just bring a pair of gloves, sturdy footwear, wear appropriate clothing and bring some water. Pizza and beverages are provided at the end of the session.
Some sessions this year will be held on Lower Expresso, meeting a little further East on Braemar Rd at Dempsey/Braemar parking.
Thanks - we can't wait to see you there!
May 12 Trail Day
May 12 marked our second trail day of the year, and following the success of our first one we had an awesome turnout yet again. At the busiest point we counted 16 people, which gives us a ton of man power to get a huge amount of work done, and we can really get a surprising amount of work done in four hours.
Again the weather was amazing for this second trail day, having had a little rain a few days before - the dirt was perfect with just enough moisture in it to pack in well and sculpt some amazing turns.
Starting one corner down from the top of the trail, the aim for this trail day was to re-armour the rock garden before the wooden roll. That rock garden gets pretty worn out every year, where a water course crosses the trail resulting in a lot of the dirt getting washed out and some of the armouring breaking loose and leaving big holes in the trail, making the section more difficult than it needs to be. We dug out the trail and re-armoured it with wooden stakes to hold the armouring in place.
We wanted the trail to have the same feel as before, while being rideable for all levels of trail user, so the inside left line was kept about the same, just with some holes filled in, and the outside right line was buffed out to ride a little smoother, giving riders a black and a blue trail option before the wooden roller.
As always, thank you to all of the trail builders and volunteers that came to help out, thank you to Santa Cruz Bicycles for providing food and beverages, and thank you to the NSMBA for everything they do!
