A Day In The Life Of A Trail Builder
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- We spend a lot of our days riding trails, but how often do we help maintain them? Christina teams up with SORCA trail builders; Ben Haggar and David Reid for a trail maintenance day in Squamish.
Want to volunteer or donate to the trail maintenance in Squamish? Visit: sorca.ca for more information.
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You could make this into a series. A lot of us would love to learn the ins and outs of trail building or even just watch the pros at work!
totally agree
Check out BCpov channel, hes building a public trail from zero
@@sup_1312 I am subscribed. His build is entertaining as well but these people are professionals, different story.
@@sup_1312 he’s totally right
@@sup_1312 I dont realy like this trail build series from BCpov. Yes the builds are impressive but if you as a builder dont have the balls to send your feature your selfe the first time, than dont build it.
Most people / riders have ZERO clue, how much work it is to build a trail
Well said bruva
For sure! And usually, the flowier it is the harder it is to build. So much respect for the builders out there making it happen -Christina
Oh definitely I’ve built a secret trail and I can’t imagine what the maintenance would be like if hundreds of people rode my trail every week
@@LorieMTB I built a table once on a trail to help newer riders learn jumps, because the old jump was rotten and gone, lets just say the lip holded for like 4 weeks and you cant ride it anymore😂 and I spent 2 day only for one jump, I cant imagine all the other work
Yet they’ll be the first ones to say “what the heck bro, so much feature potential here!”
Just remember, every good trail crew has a Dave.
He's a special breed for sure and we love him -Christina
@@pinkbike SO TRUE!!! Every crew needs a Dave if they don't already have one xD.
I guess that means my lokal trail is bad
Yeah ahaha
lmao we have a dave in the same role too
I had no idea Trail Fairys were actual people! To think I thought trails magically appeared! 😄
Hmmmmm... 😄
Ha you are funny
sooo.... I should stop leaving broken derailleur hangers under my pillow?
BCpov thinking hes cool when hes at the bottom of the skills list.
No Dig, No Ride! Support your local trail builder(s)! :D \m/
Ps. The thumbnail is amazing 🤘😃
“What’d you do this weekend?”
“I played Xbox all day and night”
“What about you?”
“Built trails with my buddies, explored the woods, found a lake, got chased by some dogs, walked on some train tracks, sent a gap, oh, and went to church”
It’s sad to see child hoods turn from that to that but that hasn’t stopped me from doing everything listed above, and even though our trails are about a mile long everybody on my NICA team is impressed with our work.
Ur so Right the childhood has had a change in the past years and i am proud to to be raised more of the old fashion Way and being a totalt outdoors freak as a 15 year old
I’d like to think I classify as a trail builder, but after seeing this, I’m not. The amount of work put in...
Not all heroes wear capes. Every little bit helps and clearing drains for runoff is also very important and requires little to no experience or tools -Christina
@@pinkbike Not all heroes wear chainsaw chaps!
I am building my own trail right behind my house
cool! hope you will progress a lot on the trail
a la Berm Peak!
Building is only the beginning. Trail maintenance needs to be going on for years just to keep trail open. Where I live we are in a yearly fight against brush growing and overtaking trails. Some trails can disappear in less than 5 years.
Blackberry bushes are my Nemesis, Alders too
Thank you to all the Trail Builders out there! We love your work!
My everyday routine haha! There is no better feeling than creating a trail which people enjoy riding! 🙂🤘 Thank you for making this video Pinkbike 🔥🙌
Quality of content on pink bike in the last year 📈📈📈
We owe so much to our trail builders. If you're a trail user, donate money or time!
If you have the time to ride your bike, you have the time to volunteer at least a couple of times a year. Donations are great, but actually getting out there is much appreciated by the people doing the work.
Great video. Would love to see more of these featuring different builders and features!
Im looking foreword to this years projects, I started working for a trail building company last year.
Great video, but we have great difficulty in stopping people building with wood on our legally grey trails. Landowners that do turn a blind eye to our trails hate the idea of wood rotting and becoming unsafe so will tear down any wood structures and it's risking a clamp down on our access. Also, cutting up the landowners crop of the trees to make trail features is definitely a way of getting access shut down!
Everyone loves to run their mouth when it comes to trail building, but when its time to actually get your hands dirty, nobody shows up.
Same bullshit every time.
i quite like trail building, its pretty fun and weirdly therapeutic.
I second that. I just put in 13 hours getting our local jump spot tuned up and now everyone shows up to ride. The things we don't do for ridding buddies. 😂
@P hello.... let me introduce you to my kids, the rake and the shovel and the weed wacker....care to do some babysitting?
I've built trail in Wyoming, Colorado and now Michigan, by volunteering with local clubs. My husband and I just built a trail in our 8 acre stand. Wood jump, berms and skinnies. It's just fun to be creative in the woods!
That's awesome. Yes. I've said it like this. I've been riding mountain bikes since the mid 80's. I've ridden 10's of thousands of miles of trails that someone has worked on and I've not had to get off of my bike to hike a bike over something. So I am trail angeling my local trails here by keeping them cleared, maintained. Thank you to all the trail angels out there. Aloha!
4:44 He doesn’t know how to use a saw. If it is possible you try to cut as near as possible on the saw.
So jealous of all the trees up there! If we want to build anything out of wood down here we gotta go buy it. Rocks though, we got em!
What a great video. Question for bike associations: what is usually lacking more, donation dollars or volunteer manpower?
Manpower is needed most.
Very nice PSA and advocacy for the the local clubs and trail builders.
I wish someone would fund my builds or donate equipment!! Some UK councils are blind to the MTB community and always make excuses around liability... They really need to look and see how places like this work so well
Yeah, this blows my mind, unmaintained trails are worse of a liability than a well maintained system. Sure it costs a bit of money, but it also improves the health of your residents!
@@slowspoke1027 exactly, and its so unclear for builders that want to create something safe, if they are even allowed to build in these places so makes us become a bit more underground as we dont want to annoy anyone, just want to make a trail for everyone to enjoy on land that is otherwise unused. Gets people out, gets people fit and you rarely meet a biker that wont stop for a yarn so brings people together through common interests instead of the usual division of everyday life like in politics.
I build because i love to see people enjoying the trails I hand a hand in creating, great feeling!
@@almightybo2 if your area doesn't have a trail association maybe see what it would take to create one? If you can get a few MTB friends to join in and get some signatures from riders around your area that say they support the idea and write up a proposal for your local council, gotta start somewhere, first step is making the government in your local area aware of the need 🙌
@@slowspoke1027 few guys in the area have only just started the trail association so its early days unfortunately. The councils have been sitting on trail centre plans for at least 5 years so speed is not in their vocabulary when it comes to MTB. Then theres the risk of revealing where the trails are to these councilors and them being destroyed. Slippery slope. Some non-MTB council member would look at a road gap and say its too large and unsafe, an experienced rider would say its too small...
Biking is only getting more and more popular! Maybe send them this video as a little push :-) if you build it, they will come! -Christina
Next dirt jump builder?
That's an idea! Will have to wait for the jumps to fully melt out but definitely maybe?! -Christina
@@pinkbike Thank you, one thing i feel you guys are lacking is freeride and dirt jumping, but your videos are still amazing.
@@JCBros-dc5zp thats because no one who rides fr or dj wants to spend time writing essays then speaking them to camera.
Thank you so much to all trail builders!
A Come-Along or some Ratchet Straps might be needed, when pulling up old structures. i.e. Posts, Bridges, Stumps.
I am jealous! Texas has more rocks than dirt.
Quite surprising info there... would be keen to check out the Texas trails one day! The come-along is a quite popular tool for sure!-Christina
Come-a-long is a useful tool for sure
Christina is a more better rider than a digger. :)
Thank you, I think?? I'm happy with that -Christina
At least they let her play with some boy tools for the camera❤️👍
Respect
With Amazon smile a portion of all my purchases goes to my local trail!
thats pretty great!
Wow I didn't realize how damaging to local ecosystems building mountain bike trails is. I thought mountain bike trails where all about conservancy? That is a whole ass construction project in the middle of the wilderness, not cool
HEROS - HELPING THE GENERAL POPULATIONS MENTAL HEALTH. I love the fact that they are actually using the correct PPE when using the chain saws.
I want to help trail building in my area, but i dont know who to talk to.
Ask a club near you, or other bikers.
Digging is great and makes fun.
@@mick4659 there are no building teams near me. How do I know where it is legal to build?
Get the boys and build it own. 🤙
We've got some awesome cycling associations here to facilitate dig days but there are also tons of social media groups getting the tools on the trails and suggesting areas that need improvement. Also, Trailforks is a great way to check on trails that need help now and throughout the season -Christina
This could be an entire series: an episode on trail organizations, how to work with land access, trail building ethics, practical trail building tips, line choice, etc.
Trail building is so absolutely essential to mtb but every time a video about it is released, it seems like the topic is brushed over.
Agreed! I'm glad we could dig in just a bit for now and keep the ideas flowing for future projects -Christina
So she can shred, but also helps out on the trails.
I will up my previous offer of making this girl a roast dinner to a roast dinner (w/Yorkshire puddings) AND! sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
Hit me up
Sick, I’ve always wondered what they do!🤔
Right?! Like ships in the night. We never really see them in their element but love a good bridge rebuild surprise on a favorite trail! -Christina
Dave is definitely the Man.
So satisfying to watch trail building, and more satisfying doing it, especially the wood working side of it.
Imagine doing this in a place with no rot resistant wood, it is either charring the wood harsh slippery chemicals or replacing every 5 years and then someone comments on how you should have made something different. I am not even speaking about the process one has to go through to get a sanctioned trail, government officials leaving you on read, absent land owners that are hard to track down, various natural areas illegal to build on checkered all over the place. While logging is happening a couple hundred meters away, with nee neighborhoods being built and roads constructed even though the population is shrinking. Trail building is hard mentally and physically, but damn does splitting logs make up for it
I am a builder myself, but we only use dirt. No rocks / wood etc. Pure dirt for our dirt jumps :)
Trying to get people to help me save the woods behind my house free riding out there they're turning into housing projects there could be Indian barrels out there a lot of pretty Creeks a lake in the but one day it'll all be housing projects. I hate that
Love these guys
Trail building!🤩
Trail building is hard work, assuming you actually put effort into it.
“Trail builders are the real heroes of modern Mountain Biking”.
Basically mtb people are ruining the last bits of wild forest . god i hate to be one of them
If we tried this in Australia, we would probably go to jail.
It can take a lot of time to get the government on board. BC canada does well as the province has recognized the benefit of tourism. Alberta (next province over) isn’t quit as on board but at least it isn’t totally against it either.
@@kyleslater5245 yeah, the area I live in is trying to get more trails approved. But looks like they will all be destroyed because daily walkers complain that it’s dangerous for walkers because they might walk into a jump or something along those lines. I know how stupid it sounds. It’s just people who have nothing better to do. Only the other day and aboriginal woman tried to stop us riding local trails.
Really interesting vid - thanks 🙏
Nice;)
I wish I had good local trails I had to make my own I really enjoy it though
No Dig, No Ride, pockets or dirt!
mds cara da uma depressão ver esses videos do brasil pqp aqui não pode ne cortar arvore que embaçam pq é crime ninguem trampa nas pista mas na hora de anda ta todo mundo lá e tirando o fato que sempre zoam as para construida de madeira quebrando
We are doing the best job ever plein air sutton represent ❤❤❤
Wish we could dig that easy here 🤙
I think there are always people who want to build trails, the problem tends to be access. Your local trail organization is a key tool for getting access to land to build trails on, and that's even more important. Out of curiosity, what type of land are most of the BC trails on? National Forest? I always find it interesting how much equipment and what gets used on those trails. I recognize that those forests are super lush and stuff grows like crazy so the destruction from equipment is therefore less of a concern.
Incredibly few bike friendly trails in national parks, typically crown land, wood lots, sometimes even private land
Thank you to all Trail Builders!
where do u get those bigass nails? what are they called?
lol the nearest proper trail is 20km away from me
She’s cute (even) when she’s working.
New hipster life path unlocked. Glad I don't have to choose between barista in a small cafe or barber anymore.
One thing I don't get is the mindset that's like "if you don't help build trails, you don't deserve to ride." No one pressures tennis players to string together nets on public courts. No one pressures skiers to groom slopes. So what's the deal? What's wrong with buying a bike and riding it on public trails, end of story? Do taxes not pay trail builders and it's fully a volunteer thing? If that's the case, I'd think the decision would be to either not build trails for free (the obvious choice for most) or build them for free because you want to. But to build them for free and then try to pressure others to get exploited, too, seems weird. I'm sure I'm missing something though. Can anyone shed light on the financial side of trail building?
its hard ass work. you can't just groom it. you have to really try, and there no guarantee it works fine. the real issue is that they degrade pretty quicky with silly riding like skidding and scrubbing. its always local riders who work on them, so thats another thing. also, you aren't going to get any friends with that attitude.
Sorry if it seemed like a bad attitude it's just incredulity and certainly being new. I've played sports my whole life and never heard of the athletes building the courts so to speak. I'm assuming trail builders should be paid 50-70k a year out of tax money since they're working hard doing stuff no one wants to do and it benefits the whole community. If they're not getting a salary by the government, you're saying the government waits until hard working riders do the work on their own, and then put big signs at the trailhead like "welcome to Oz Trails!" and then promote it like it was a government project? I have no clue I just want to be informed.
Tennis clubs have membership fees that pay for stuff. Gyms have either fees or government support, or both. Trails mostly have volunteers putting their time and money into building and maintaining. We build because we enjoy it, but even if the time is taken out of the equation, the 500 nails me and my crew will drive this week cost money, as do tools and chainsaw fuel.
If the NSMBA (my local association) didn’t have membership and sponsorship money to support the builders, we just wouldn’t be able to do the work we do to maintain our trail network
You learn from the best!
Thanks for that. That was great.
Really impressive how these builders farm the wood right from their surroundings! Cool video.
This video is a great insight to how woodworking/carpentry was done before the Industrial Age. Minus the chainsaws of course. Any woodworker worth his/her salt should be able to make boards with a chainsaw, draw knife, hammer and a few wedges.
Lovely little Axe flip at 00:56.
In Germany they would say ✨Naturschutzgebiet✨
Be sweet if border would open.
Im not a part of any group but i have helped over the last 10 years. The biggest thing ive built was a 12' x17' step down that went to a 15'x21' step up.
Abundant dirt and cedar trees would make trail building a cake walk. Rocks upon rocks upon rocks do not.
Wood trail is not a cakewalk and it has to be replaced every so many years. Rock will last, oh maybe only 50,000 years.
I love this! There should be more respect for builders! There should be more good quality trail building videos out there. Thank you!
0:08 ALLLL MINEEEEE 😍😙😙😙
Wish this was my job );
So hard to maintain trails in Don valley in Toronto, as trail builder kudos to you guys in BC!
you could make a series
Trial builsing raw would kinda be a sick video, asmr for mountain bikers hahah
Cutting your own planks is god level - Agree with someone below, would love to see more. Awesome work.
6:40 1.5 feet of overhang on each end of the boards? There's plenty of reasons why that's a bad idea.
WHERES PINKBIKE ACADEMY!!??
Awesome Stuff!!
Well Said 🙏
Love these videos
I like Sorca
I carried a saw and pruners all winter. I have some great trails now!
Oh to live in a place you can trail build and not have to buy rock lol
Wood lasts ten years, rock lasts 10 thousand years or so.
More on trail building, it is the beating heart of MTB
evviva la sorca
Please teach us how to build trails so we can do the same at our local area
how does one become a trail builder?
Wood cutting machine 😆
No dig no ride 🤙🏻
👍👍👍
Props to trail builders for sure!
Hitting a nice axe like that with a sledge is pretty hard on the eye. Old geezers would make a wood wedge if they needed one.
Wood wedges won’t start cracks, but builders here do use them the same as the plastic, for chasing cracks. That’s a good use of the invasive holly we clear out on the Shore :)
You may be thinking of use as felling wedges, which requires a lot less impact force.
hi all of Pinkbike
So awesome seeing this!
Gotta love dat VG
Funny how Canada is so wood based building
Over here in the north west wood 🪵 is just laying around . 🪵 Make some great features
Pls part 2
awesome