Haven't logged in here in a long time, hope it still works.... Meadows Trail work today led by Kioti. Group of 11, fixing ruts, brake bumps, adding drainage and building berms. Thanks Jim for organizing and everyone else for the hard work! (this is a cross post from the STR Facebook page)
It was good working with y'all again! We still left two nasty right turns that need some love and attention, but turned up the fun factor on about eight turns for sure. KG (Kevinator) took on the top mud puddle almost by himself and turned that into a nice little section while the rest of the crew went to town on turns 7 and 8. thanks Jim for the organization and tools. And major props to Cynthia (hotpot) who was a demon with the McLeod and pick.
Man, that was fun! We had a beautiful day and great digging conditions, and I'm really happy with the amount of repairs and improvements made today. Thanks to each and every one of you who came out and put in the hard work.
It's good to see people out working their local trails. I gotta ask tho. Is that big left hand berm a before or after? Based on the shovel marks I'll guess after. Even with rain being as rare as it seems these days, water management and erosion control are still primary drivers for soil management. Whats's the drainage solution for that particular turn?
We have drains above and below the bermed turns, the raised berm itself deflects run-off from the left slope (looking up), and there's lots of brush and very little collection area on the upper right slope to generate run-off. Any run-off that does find it's way into the bermed section is directed to the inside of the turn, and then spilled to the outslope via a low-key grade reversal at the lower end of the turn. This technique improves on the out-slope concept for off-camber, multi-use turns by giving mountain bike tires something to push against while turning, as opposed to constantly degrading the out-slope by skidding off the trail or going wide into soft soil and falling over into brush, which causes an unsightly widening of the trail and habitat destruction.
I'm glad to hear you guys obviously know what's up. I'm just used to guys in my 'hood (marshall cyn) with a couple shovels thinking they're doing anyone favors. 99% of the time the berms are ill-conceived, unnecessary wildcat trails cut switchbacks, and random piles of dirt for jumps have crappy landings. Sorry for the digression. Keep up the great work down there!
Thanks Jimmy! This particular trail has a number of challenges and we're trying to solve them in a way that protects the environment while enhancing the recreational experience. It has high usage on a relatively low-angled slope with fragile to non-existant brush. So the theory is that making the trail more enjoyable AND sustainable keeps more users on the trail. Nature's the boss, and users put the theory to the test. Re-read some of this thread and you'll see that there used to be wooden fences to try to keep people, and perhaps game, from traveling up and down the fall line. Fall line trails are often unsustainable, and the gradient is too steep for climbing cyclists, but comfortable for up and down hiking. Of course, descending cyclists can ride the fall line, but we're trying to make the trail fun enough they'll choose to stay on it. Banking and berming the turns is one way to do that, and built-in drainage makes those turns sustainable.
I saw a single mcleod and a beautiful berm and wrongly assumed the worse… I flipped through this thread and am grateful to see the effort you're putting in down there. Every winter I do a day or two of work in my 'hood but never can seem to find the time to organize a bigger outing. Props to you!
Anybody ride it today? Curious how it rode, and if the berms were solid enough. And @Jimmy H, I get what you're saying when it comes to do-it-yourself trail fixing. Quite often it's just a disaster done by people who have no clue what they are doing and without authorization for doing the work. Jim knows his stuff and has authorization, as does Kevinator and Rynine. I don't know crap, so I just provide rider input and then do what Jim tells me to do.
I haven't rode Meadows in years. Looking forward to give it a go. Thanks to all for your hard work building it up.
I am sorry that I couldn't contribute to the trail repair but I am not sorry that I was able to ride Meadows today and my o my...greatness! The top section is always is a little sketch but we all know that. Regarding post 122, I am not sure if the picture of that berm and turn is the same one but one of those turns is now super awesome. The dirt was nice and grippy so it made the ride all that more fun. Thanks to Kioti, Herz and the rest of the crew!
I went out and hiked the system last evening. The cleaned out water bars worked perfectly. There was some pretty good erosion on many parts of the trail. It really needs more drainage slots near and in the steeps. Still pretty moist, one dude rode it Sat and it left massive wheel grooves in many places. I passed a dude riding at sunset he was muddy and so was the bike but his rig was not scaring the trail. So I am off to ride it today, will be slow due to the high moisture content but the tread will not get damaged if I do not skid too much. Happy sluggish trails
Wanted to go ride meadows today, but ended up walking up mathis only to drop Car Wreck. Wow! That trail has changed quite a bit since opening day. I will make it out to Meadows - I need to improve by a second so Jeff Ward and I aren't tied anymore.
Great run down the repaired Meadows today - first run since last Saturday's trailwork. I LOVE the extension of the berms on the top two right handers. The whole thing is running great except the two middle right handers we didn't get to. Gotta yell out or use your bell on the super-fun grade reversal section that dives into the bushes (about 1/2 way down). Short sight lines there, and soooo much fun to rail. Blessings to somebody who added two key berms to some outsloped sections of Rock-It (past the little climb). Those were strategically placed on some sections that required a little 'tip-toeing" previously. Nice work! So much fun today! Chris - get off the STRAVA man - that stuff isn't healthy! (waving smiley)
I get some new tools for Christmas....trail-working tools! http://www.trail-insight.com/trail_boss/ Can't wait to get back out there and work on it (officially, with the blessing/approval of the Rangers), then ride it, then work on it a little more, then ride it a little more still. Work, climb to top, descend, climb back up to work site...repeat.
It's not! Brings out the competitiveness in me! I want to merely track my climbing but when I see how close I can get to faster times it drives me. I need to just cruise and play around, stop and smell the roses I don't know how I can find 14 seconds on five oaks or 11 on Lynx haha ... San Juan will b a nice cruise tomorrow
A huge THANK YOU to "Kioti" and friends for all the hard work that has paid off in a big way. I rode Meadows Sat & today (Wed) with a Luge Run Tues night, and have nothing but gratitude and appreciation for the work they have done on these two trails. The Luge and Meadow are in the best shape they have been in years. Thanks to all those who did the work.
