Bluff Creek - trail work

[shutter2ride]

I'm going to use this new thread to keep people up to speed on what trailwork projects we're officially planning or doing as impromptu work.

last Sunday was basically our first work since the summer, we built up the small berm near the field and removed a few roots, plus took care of the huge tree that leaning on the trail.

this afternoon James and I decided to skip work and built another small berm with the help from Kevin and Jeff. It's the sharp right turn almost immediately after the first bridge and this one took about 4 hours of work moving dirt; it's looking pretty sweet, should be fun when packed down... After that we spent 30 minutes removing a few roots on the last return section which has gotten really wide because of said roots (and water run off on this almost 15 year old section). The removal of the roots should make things a little smoother again and perhaps reduce the width a bit over time... maybe... until next time... (don't worry, we're not removing all of them, that's impossible at BC)

anyway, much more work coming, I'll try to post upcoming impromptu work and we're looking at the calendar to pick official/big workday dates and post them soon...

[david_satx]

good work guys, that berm after the first bridge is sweet. maybe we can do something under the big paved bridge next?

[mountainfuel548]

the new berm is pretty sweet, the guys spent a lot of time on it, they were out there the whole time i was riding... stopped chatted and was used as a guinea pig when it was finished. There are multiple lines you can take and suprisingly can hold a lot of speed even though it is uphill, james, kevin, and marcel did an awesome job on it!

[shutter2ride]

yes, we meet at 5:30, but each time we've tried the weather or already fallen rain has worked against us, this wednesday also looks suspect... but I'll keep you posted... a shovel is good, especially one of them square/flat ones

do you still plan work on wednesdays? If so, about what time? I can at least bring a shovel

[Mntbikinducky]

Yea it was fun helping James & Marcel on that was only out for a ride, had no Idea I would help ad some awsome to the trail !
Great plan Marcel & James very cool feature & it makes that whole section flow nicely !
Ducky

[Troy]

I just came back from a ride at Bluff. YOU GUYS ROCK!! I love it! The new berms were superb, as well as the roots you removed. Its perfect... well except the big stupid is kinda V shaped right now-but passable since I stay to the left side of it going down. Hopefully I will make it out to the next trail work-weather permitting. THANX for the great job!!

Big stupid is indeed the most passable on the left side if you have some speed, I went over it today with a shovel and took some of the bite out of the "steps" that had formed in the rut going down the middle... making it not suicidal if you tap your front brake on the way down. I believe those pot holes formed from trail runners running the opposite direction. I didn't do a whole lot, and I suspect most people won't even notice it.

I did take out a couple of roots passed Big Stupid, again nothing major.

Btw, if anyone needs to get their axes, or shovels, or whatever sharpened before a workday and I'm in my shop, I'll do it on my grinder for free.

[mountainfuel548]

why are roots being taken out? thats part of the fun and since riding all day sunday and monday i didnt see any need in taking out any roots.... its makes you a better rider and more challenging

[Troy]

why are roots being taken out? thats part of the fun and since riding all day sunday and monday i didnt see any need in taking out any roots.... its makes you a better rider and more challenging

The idea here (as articulated to me) isn't to take out roots that make Bluff Creek the trail it is, but to take out the annoying ones on the flat areas that break up the trail's flow. There are some roots that make it more challenging, and some that just stick out for no reason really... the latter are the ones that have death sentences on them.

[mountainfuel548]

deal.. agreed, i dislike the random little nipples that stick up and the possibility of a nice hole in your tire sucks, although it has made me more viglant of the trail and of my surroundings soooo ya im 3 months into riding what the hell do i kno about how a trail should and shouldnt be and where a root should be, ill keep my mouth shut untill i have a handful of work days under my belt haha

[shutter2ride]

I'm normally also not a fan of taking out roots (as some know) but I have to agree that on some sections the many larger roots cause many riders to start creating smoother ways & lines around them, creating a pretty wide trail. wide is not necessarily always bad, but removing some of the roots can hopefully reduce the width of the trail in some sections... I still prefer to keep the ones that either create a little lip & "jump" or a technical feature... but we haven't done any reduction over the summer, and they will come back, it's a gift that keeps on giving...

it's a never ending discussion...

[Troy]

that reminds me-remember Bluff in the good ole days-when there was a log to hop over in the pathway? similar to the ones on the yellow loop at NuDraper. Whatever happened to it.

I, personally, loved that log and was really sad to see it go. I was also sad (and this probably dates me) to see the steep climb out of the trail across from the apartments leveled to make it much more friendly... THAT was years ago though.

[shutter2ride]

the log lost its anchoring when the dirt that held it in place washed away, no one bothered to put it back properly so it just kinda disappeared.

the climb out of the area near the apartments became more of an eyesore than just a challenge so we changed the trail to something with more contour and less incline to deal with wear & tear but with better flow. It wasn't to make it easier. Win some lose some...

I realize that we don't cater to everyone's wishes. It's a bit of a compromise between fun and something sustainable and something that doesn't get us sued when someone falls of their bike. Scared? Maybe, based on experience. We sometimes miss the mark, sometimes hit it. We appreciate the feedback, keep it coming. Believe it or not we do listen here on the forum and at the trail and are trying to be more progressive than say rake and ride...

[Mntbikinducky]

Personally I like the give/take vibe goin on at Bluff . Yes they may take away something that ya sorta liked but they replace it with something as cool or cooler! I think that the work that has been going on at Bluff has made it a better more fun trail
overall! Keep up the great work & as always I'll help when I can.
Ducky

[shutter2ride]

OK weather permitting Shane and I will be at BC tomorrow/Sunday at 10:30 am to do a rough cut of a new section of trail, to clear it somewhat so we can better flag the final line (for an official workday in the very near future). if you have time to help move some trees & brush join us, James may even show up to do some dirt work...

(we're hoping the runners will be done and some parking will be available by 10:30)

Marcel.

[Mntbikinducky]

Sorry I wasnt in town this weekend Carmen & I did the Muddy Buddy in Dallas on Sunday
Ducky

[shutter2ride]

we had a few people do some rough cutting this Sunday morning, to prepare for an official workday (we're targeting Nov 14th). We cleared the entry and walked the entire section and reflagged a lot of it - to move the trail further away from the houses across the creek (somewhat out of view). The entire project consists of 4 sections of trail, we have the option of not opening the entire thing if necessary, depending how much we get done on Nov 14th.

unrelated to the new stuff, I rode the trail last evening and it's pretty awesome (and sketchy) right now with all the leaves on the trail, for rider and dog (pretty funny at times).

Unfortunately what also stood out last evening is that someone has removed all the roots on 'the Wall', just before the section we rough cut on Sunday. This is the wall with the easy bypass on the left side. Not sure who removed the roots, it wasn't anyone from the Sunday crew (I checked), but that was the wrong spot to remove roots. If you can't make it up the wall because of the roots you should have left it untouched and used the BYPASS instead. You've now removed the most technical aspect of the wall, the roots. Anyway, hopefully this unnecessary change will create another cool way to ride the wall, like catching some air and do a 90 degree turn at the same time to keep going in the right direction... I really hope that us posting about root removal here doesn't give anyone the impression that it's open season on ALL roots, cause that's not the case; some define a section of the trail and we don't aim to remove those. To the person removing roots, like the key ones on the wall, please stop it... I can see how this opens the door to criticize some or all of the work that has officially been done by OEF or OEF people like myself but I hope one can see that some of us do care about what is removed and what is not, what is worth keeping and what can be replaced by something better/longer/funner, there usually is discussion before something is taken out (permanently)... the above is an example of something that we had no plans to make easier, because there is a bypass...

thanks for listening...

[david_satx]

Agreed. I dont know what it looks like now but that big root at the top made it what it is.

[shutter2ride]

the ironic thing is, that it would have probably broken in the near future from normal use. then we would be accused of removing it... now it's removed before that can happen...

[Troy]

Oh damn, that sucks. Somebody needs to get shot... well, maybe not shot, but at least hit in the head with a shovel. That was a "fun" root (it has knocked me on my back once or twice, but hey, its a freakin caution trail). I think that AT LEAST, we should come to the understanding that caution trails should be pretty much hands off as far as making them more user friendly.

[BHowe]

that really disappoints me......... I was just getting close to being able to clean it and now that has been taken away.

On a lighter note, great to finally get to meet you Marcel. I'm looking forward to helping this fall.

Brandon

[prophet1]

Removing the roots from "the wall" definately removed any challenges. That was, and still is, a cool spot on the trail.

Also, I wish the little jumps would go away. They would be cool if they had a transition, but the flat landings are no bueno.

That being said, the trail looks great and has a great flow.

Good work!

[98Homegrown]

As far as I know, no one has claimed responsibility for the little jumps.

[shutter2ride]

and to be honest I like them, there are a few that do offer an almost perfect transition onto something else, they make up for the flat ones that are indeed a bit of a rough landing (fine on a fun FS bike though)...

[Troy]

and to be honest I like them, there are a few that do offer an almost perfect transition onto something else, they make up for the flat ones that are indeed a bit of a rough landing (fine on a fun FS bike though)...

I agree. There isn't a single jump that you HAVE to hit, you can go around them rather easily. I think they break up some of the monotony of some of the flat areas.

However, after just putting in 12 miles at BC today I have to say that the majority of the root removals I agree with, but there are two missing that I don't. There was one at the apex of a slight but abrupt up hill right in front of the second transition into a field area (~5 mins in) that is missing. The other was on Beaver Leg that was after a sharp turn going perpendicularly across the trail, because of it's location it forced the rider to make a semi awkward turn (otherwise their wheel would glance off the root), I know there are several turns like that still, but I will miss it.

All jokes about hitting people with shovels aside, I would like people to please be conservative when thinking about cutting roots. Of course, this comes from someone with no responsibility over the trail, or any means of enforcement... but I pretty much learned how to ride on that trail, so I've made friends with a couple of the features on it... don't take my friends away There are lots of roots that need to go away, but plenty that need to stay.

It should be noted that I have a steel 26" hardtail, so don't accuse me of riding some plush bike over these obstacles, I feel them every bit as much as anyone else does.

[shutter2ride]

Hi Troy, we try to change within reason, believe it or not we try not to remove without giving something back in one or another way. the first example of root removal will actually become perhaps a bigger issue for some as that entire spot is actually going to be redesigned, to make it part of the new section that we'll put in place. so if the root was not removed last weekend it would disappear in a different way a few weeks from now... I'm not saying the removal was good, just stating that things will change there very soon...