# 2011 Trail Building Goals



## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

Happy New Year everyone! I'm posting this mostly to keep myself honest but I'd love to hear what your building goals for this year are.

I'm selling my house and moving to an area that has an extensive trail system so I'm not sure if they would benefit from more trails. This year my goals are to build more features and less mileage. I've already set up my contacts with the local government and private landowners, so I'm good to go.

Lots of woodwork this year.


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## techfersure (Dec 17, 2010)

My goal is definitely to add more features tuned to five or six inch travel bikes.I've been experimenting with what I call AM trialsin lines,trails connected to interesting rock features that you have to pick and finesse your way through with different levels of difficulty,many with no allowance for failure it would hurt you if you miss the line,if it can't hurt you it's no fun!


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## crux (Jan 10, 2004)

techfersure said:


> My goal is definitely to add more features tuned to five or six inch travel bikes.I've been experimenting with what I call AM trialsin lines,trails connected to interesting rock features that you have to pick and finesse your way through with different levels of difficulty,many with no allowance for failure it would hurt you if you miss the line,if it can't hurt you it's no fun!


Trips to the ER I deem are no fun. Hell the mouth is still ripped all the way thru on the right from one simple fall. Think that trails should be difficult and safe. If you get hurt to the point where you can not ride out it will quickly become no fun for anyone on that ride.


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## techfersure (Dec 17, 2010)

I'm not advocating that extreme is for everyone but there is a demand for it ,at least in my area for consequential lines that take total commitment and focus.no one wants to get hurt it's a calculated choice to take the risk,but at least I get to chose the level of risks I'm willing to take.I find this very fulfilling and challenging.


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## Boulder Pilot (Jan 23, 2004)

Continue to educate Land Managers that _quality_trails are the most effective management tools in terms of cost and personnel resources to direct people where you want them to go.

The key word of course is _quality._ 99% of the trails we have on the ground were _constructed_ by motorcycles, ORV's, cows, and the all to familiar "people traveling from point "A" to point "B". We are home of the largest open space park in a urban setting and the "trails" were constructed by fricken TANKS! You read that correctly.

Our City & County will need to find other free labor to do band aid patch work on POS trails. We've been making great progress working with CDF&G and USF&WS. Building trail in some of the most sensitive habitat. We've got plenty of work lined up for 2011.

Happy New Years to all of you that make it happen, especially all of you that have the knowledge,skills and devotion and build quality trails as volunteers. I know we do what we do for various reasons, expecting acknowledgement and thanks not one of them. Thank you all again, for you deserve and earned it. Now get out there and dig.


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## roxnroots (Aug 12, 2010)

Want to finish helping build our new 12-mile or so trail system in a state park meant to be a blend of fast/flowy XC with a lot of swoopiness and sections of somewhat more challenging fun over natural features requiring a little more skill.

Nothing we're designing and building is meant to be Mountain Dew extreme in that if you don't pick the exact right line you get seriously messed up. I'm personally not a big fan of serious chokers on trails meant to restrict access to more-experienced beginners or intermediate-level riders. In my area we're seeking to increase interest in mtbs at the family level, not core riding which we already have in other nearby places.


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## Jrkimbrough (Sep 27, 2008)

Finish up a partial loop of phase 2 on our local trail before spring, then when it warms up spend a good amount of time on some trailside features I've been eyeing for a while. (berms, jumps, logrides).


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## pinkrobe (Jan 30, 2004)

Main goal:
- Win lottery

Other main goal:
- Fix two big wet spots on a trail we built in 2009, but didn't have the money/manpower to fix in 2010

Other multi-year goals:
- Mountain Bike Skills Park within the city limits
- Get 40+ km of new trail built in a XC ski area
- Re-route 25km of the Trans Canada Trail
- ????
- Profit!

I'm sure there are other goals, but these are the big ones for the next while.


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## TFitz (Jun 21, 2008)

Big Finn Hill Park in Kirkland WA (Seattle suburb) is my focus in 2011. In adjacent St Edward State Park we have a couple steep sections eroded by a mid-December monsoon to fix. The same monsoon blew out a bridge near sensitive habitat (beaver dam) that the county and local environmentalists want to protect, so a properly designed replacement bridge is our big-money project for the year. Of course, the county has no money, so fundraising is the first goal. We have a good relationship with the county and also hope to rebuild a few "features" and fix other problem areas here and there in the park.


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## Fattirewilly (Dec 10, 2001)

Increase the radius and length of a couple berms on my neighborhood trails and add alternate lines

Start/Complete 1 mile "advanced" trail

successfully pitch "stacked loop system" in convoluted master plan process


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## singlesprocket (Jun 9, 2004)

second that on features, more flowy/jumpy stuff for shorter travel bikes that milk the contour for all it's worth...


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

To finish the loop and host a state series race in May!


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## Berkley (May 21, 2007)

Instead of working on building entirely new trails, I'm going to work on improving the current trail layout. That means connecting fragments of singletrack into a loop system, improving less-used trails so they're more fun and building a more connected trail network that's easier to follow. 

I'm also going to try and build more berms and corners, without creating a drainage nightmare.


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## crux (Jan 10, 2004)

techfersure said:


> I'm not advocating that extreme is for everyone but there is a demand for it ,at least in my area for consequential lines that take total commitment and focus.no one wants to get hurt it's a calculated choice to take the risk,but at least I get to chose the level of risks I'm willing to take.I find this very fulfilling and challenging.


I've done quite a bit of rock climbing so I can respect that attitude. It is when people go out of their way to make a section hazardous that I start having issues with. (Actually seen someone want to place sharp pointed sticks over a log ride.) Then again I also have issues with people sanitizing a trail. If you can not ride it then walk or try again.

As for my 2011 goals. Map and define some nice routes in the area. We have quite a vast terrain where it is easy to spend an unplanned night outside. (I've come close, but never overnight)

Second goal is to build a Chinese Downhill type trail similar to what I rode in Tahoe locally. I honestly believe the terrain will dictate what type of trail one can place in an area having it flow smoothly. Any features will be solid avoiding a repeat of the above image late this season.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

techfersure said:


> I'm not advocating that extreme is for everyone but there is a demand for it ,at least in my area for consequential lines that take total commitment and focus.no one wants to get hurt it's a calculated choice to take the risk,but at least I get to chose the level of risks I'm willing to take.I find this very fulfilling and challenging.


Are these public (sanctioned) trails? I'm asking because none of the land owners or managers where I build would allow anything like that. I can get away with some milder features (no gaps but table tops are OK) and anything high has to have a ride around and clear fall zones.

You don't have to answer, just blink once for "yes" and twice for "no".


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## techfersure (Dec 17, 2010)

Trail Ninja,yes this is public land,city and county.we have built a rapour over the years with officials by doing volunteer work,trash clean up days,trail maintaience days.we are not associated with any club,it's basically two guys myself and a good friend who organize and build but have a nice community of involved bikers who help keep the trails in good condition.funny thing is us mtn bikers are the only user group who actually do the work,no trail runners no hikers no equestrians help even though we do get word around and advertise and that's fine officials love us and allow us a lot of room for play and freedom to build just about anything but man-made features,which is fine I've become very creative using what's naturally available.we are totally blessed here but have done the work to create a welcome environment for mtn bikers by mtn bikers.


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## HypNoTic (Jan 30, 2007)

Unlike some other area, we already have a massive amount of technical trails. What's missing is beginner/intermediate trails. And this is true for XC and DH. So the main goal is to promote "complete" trail network, starting with beginner stuff all the way to very advanced technical/gnarly/crazy stuff. Because of that, we'll be building a LOT of easier stuff.

This lead to 3 main objectives:

1) get the proper tool for the job. Instead of having a do-it-all mini-X, I'm about to replace a John Deere 27D with 2 different machines. A 17D to run with the Ditch Witch on singletracks projects, and a 35D for bike park and big downhill trails. 

2) grow my team from 3 to 5 full-time builder. That imply more/bigger projects on the line, which is already looking very good for this new year 

3) manage to keep some time to ride!!!


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## crank1979 (Feb 3, 2006)

Berkley said:


> Instead of working on building entirely new trails, I'm going to work on improving the current trail layout. That means connecting fragments of singletrack into a loop system, improving less-used trails so they're more fun and building a more connected trail network that's easier to follow.
> 
> I'm also going to try and build more berms and corners, without creating a drainage nightmare.


Same here.:thumbsup: Working with sand is a bit of a challenge though.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

techfersure said:


> Trail Ninja,yes this is public land,city and county.we have built a rapour over the years with officials by doing volunteer work,trash clean up days,trail maintaience days.we are not associated with any club,it's basically two guys myself and a good friend who organize and build but have a nice community of involved bikers who help keep the trails in good condition.funny thing is us mtn bikers are the only user group who actually do the work,no trail runners no hikers no equestrians help even though we do get word around and advertise and that's fine officials love us and allow us a lot of room for play and freedom to build just about anything but man-made features,which is fine I've become very creative using what's naturally available.we are totally blessed here but have done the work to create a welcome environment for mtn bikers by mtn bikers.


Got it. Natural tech. Our land owners and governments are OK with that too. "If some fool wants to ride his bike off a cliff, we can't stop him". If it's rocks and dirt and doesn't look to inviting to beginners, they don't complain.

As for other users not working on the trails, I have a little insight on that. After a long meeting and discussion with a group of mostly equestrians and a few hikers I was surprised to find out that the equestrians were really proud of all the "trail building" they had done. Some inspection of the trails they had claimed building showed signs that from waist-high up, they had done clearing. They didn't care what the trail tread was like. The horses could handle it.

It's just a case of different ideas on what constitutes a trail. This may not be the case where you are but it was an eye opener for me.

Most hikers I talk to still think trails just "happen".


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> Same here.:thumbsup: Working with sand is a bit of a challenge though.


I still need someone to confirm this but I've heard that mixing calcium chloride with sandy soil makes something like concrete.

I build a lot of small features in sandy areas. If you can get leafy organic material to put on top, you can get it to bind fairly well in low traffic areas.


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## slocaus (Jul 21, 2005)

Trail Ninja said:


> As for other users not working on the trails, I have a little insight on that. After a long meeting and discussion with a group of mostly equestrians and a few hikers I was surprised to find out that the equestrians were really proud of all the "trail building" they had done. Some inspection of the trails they had claimed building showed signs that from waist-high up, they had done clearing. They didn't care what the trail tread was like. The horses could handle it.


Absolutely! Understanding what other trail users want and "see" is a huge part of multi-use trails.

Fishbum said it really well in the thread about "Why are loop trails preferred?"



fishbum said:


> In general, people that don't mountain bike do not understand that for mountain bikers the trail itself is what we seek, the trail is our experience... generally for hikers the trail is just a way to get to a destination (view, summit, point of interest...). For mountain bikers the journey is our destination (we want mileage).


The destination or just company and conversation with other riders is the equestrian "experience", and the details of the trail mean nothing to them.

We work in a CA State Park that gets heavy use from equestrians, hikers, and mountain bikes. When you talk to the horse people, you learn that brush up high is their priority. Also keep in mind that the horse does the moving along the trial, and the rider generally cannot even *see* the trail that they are traveling over.

Hikers can handle any amount of steepness and erosion (read unsustainable), and most of them are by nature, in varying degrees, somewhat to extremely anti-social. They generally hike one or two, and seldom will you see more than two hardcore, dedicated hikers together. Families, students, and visitors will go out in groups, but they are not dedicated hikers. Therefore, anything that intrudes upon their "trail experience" is not wanted, and that includes simple drain maintenance, since it "changes the trail" from its "natural" state.

Goals? We have about 20-25 miles of trail to reroute or open just in that State Park, plus other areas need repair and new trails. The goal is just to keep up with the massive amount of new trail building and trail maintenance that we have in front of us. :thumbsup:


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## crank1979 (Feb 3, 2006)

Trail Ninja said:


> I still need someone to confirm this but I've heard that mixing calcium chloride with sandy soil makes something like concrete.
> 
> I build a lot of small features in sandy areas. If you can get leafy organic material to put on top, you can get it to bind fairly well in low traffic areas.


The biggest issue with the sand is that some motorbikes sometimes get on the trails. So I mainly focues on drainage to keep the sand away. I'm going to experiment a bit with sandbags to build up berms on some corners and see how that goes this year.


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## kevmortensen (Aug 4, 2006)

Goal for 2011. Redo a section of trail I helped build about 8 years ago before I knew what I was doing. . . and to build the perfect berm.


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## Visicypher (Aug 5, 2004)

*Not so much concrete...but better stabilization.*



Trail Ninja said:


> I still need someone to confirm this but I've heard that mixing calcium chloride with sandy soil makes something like concrete.
> 
> I build a lot of small features in sandy areas. If you can get leafy organic material to put on top, you can get it to bind fairly well in low traffic areas.


Not so much concrete...but better stabilization. I don't mean to nerd out on you, but the addtion of CaCl will add compaction strength and some shear strength. The vendor of CaCl should be able to tell you amounts to use to acheive the properties you need.


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## Walt Dizzy (Aug 18, 2003)

-Continue work on my newest trail loop. This year we will start the descent into the biggest ravine in the park. Should be cool, many rocks lie ahead.

-Finish the 2nd reroute of our expert section. Some cool features will be lost, but that's more than compensated for by the reroute not being heavily eroded, fall-line, and chronically wet. There are two places where I may have to turnpike, I'm interested to see how this will work out.

-Plan for a reroute of a section of trail that currently occupies a steep abandoned road bed that is starting to erode into a truly nasty section of loose rock. The reroute will need to cross two fairly steep hillsides (~40%) with several switchback turns. I need to improve my switchback layout process, and hope to score a grant for a machine rental to speed the work.

Walt


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## Chalkpaw (Dec 28, 2007)

HypNoTic: Do you have any photos or website that can direct me towards riding in your part of the world?  From your goals, it sounds like you may work in a bike park?


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## Skookum (Jan 17, 2005)

i've got my fingers in a few things, but i'm completely immersed in a dual line race trail right now. While the focus is the trail, i mean to have a good time ensuring everyone i come in contact with get's something positive out of the experience.


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## indytrekracer (Feb 13, 2004)

*2011*

Lets see
1) Build a cribwall
2) Reconfigure 2 miles of old moto trails at my local park.
3) Finish the trail started with State Grant funds with volunteers.
4) Start construction and manage a 2009 $120k RTP grant
5) Help manage and start construction on a $150k 2010 RTP grant
6) Open trails at another state park
7) develop a trail plain for a State Reservoir.

I got the crib wall done last week, so the rest should be easy. I hope to spend time actually building trails, but fear it will be another year of pushing papers to keep others moving dirt.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

indytrekracer said:


> ...
> 4) Start construction and manage a 2009 $120k RTP grant
> 5) Help manage and start construction on a $150k 2010 RTP grant
> 6) Open trails at another state park
> ...


The unsung heroes of trail building!

I'd rather dig all day with rocks in my boots than spend 5 minutes in front of some committee trying to convince them that mountain bike trails won't end the world.


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## leadvegas (Nov 20, 2007)

2011 goals.

Finish building intermediate trails.
Start building beginner's loop with the IMBA Trail Care Crew visit in June in Leadville.
Start and finish flow/jump trail. 
Get more people building and riding.
Ride trails with my son on his Strider.
Make Leadville into a town known for TRAILS and not just a long bike race!


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## Slowup (Dec 16, 2009)

Strictly speaking, I don't have a trail building goal but I will be attempting to develop a relationship and access arrangements with BC Parks for one of the more popular provincial parks.
The existing trail system is sorely in need of some love & attention and hopefully we'll be able to work toward developing new.


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## ebxtreme (Jan 6, 2004)

1. Finish two downhill trails we've been working on in the mountains. Both of these are multi-year projects.
2. Start the build out a trail network on the NE side of Galbraith Mountain. That will entail: two connector trails that hook into a future County Parks trail network, 2 descending trails, 1 bi-directional/climbing trail. Scouting for these has been taking us months and we're still not done.
3. Build with Fletcher Love and many other folks our 2nd machine built jump trail. Routing and clearing are done.
4. Perform a major re-route to an existing trail (Scorpion).
5. Finish a new connector above a trail we built last winter (Atomic Dog).

It's gonna be a busy winter/spring, but we've got a ton of folks helping on these.

EB


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## indiemtbkr (Jul 9, 2005)

1) Finish the new Freeride trail by adding in ladder drops and fine-tuning some of the jumps
2) Add more wooden features to the skills park- Rollercoaster, step-up jump, advanced skinnies, easy boardwalk and log-rides
3) Help finish new XC re-route and build 2 new sections of XC trail.
4) Help finish the advanced DH trail by getting the Wall-ride and canyon-gap jump built
5) Get more dirt so we can expand the dirt-jump park and build more trails.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

Slowup said:


> Strictly speaking, I don't have a trail building goal but I will be attempting to develop a relationship and access arrangements with BC Parks for one of the more popular provincial parks.
> The existing trail system is sorely in need of some love & attention and hopefully we'll be able to work toward developing new.


Where? I work *in* BC Parks but not *for* BC Parks.

I'd be interested in how that goes. The guys up in the North Island are trying to get access to Strathcona.


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## Slowup (Dec 16, 2009)

Trail Ninja said:


> Where? I work *in* BC Parks but not *for* BC Parks.
> 
> I'd be interested in how that goes. The guys up in the North Island are trying to get access to Strathcona.


Golden Ears outside of Maple Ridge. It's basically in my backyard and the trail system is slowly being overgrown and had zero maintenance for a good many years outside of the cursory pirate drainage fixes and tree removal.
It should prove to be challenging with the horse people having such influence in this particular park.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

I'll suggest trying to work with the horse people. It's working out well in my area (Parksville). It's harder work building a bike trail that will handle horses but those folks have a lot of influence. They're a lot more organized than the bikers around here.


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## Slowup (Dec 16, 2009)

Trail Ninja said:


> I'll suggest trying to work with the horse people. It's working out well in my area (Parksville). It's harder work building a bike trail that will handle horses but those folks have a lot of influence. They're a lot more organized than the bikers around here.


I hear you and agree. It's just painfull to watch horses chew the crap out of trails, never mind dodging bombs.
Golden Ears has a long history with horses dating back to the logging days so the horse group will be a force to be reckoned with.


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## zachi (Jul 25, 2006)

We have several cool trail projects going. My favorite is another signature project involving 8 other builder/designers each with a segment on a two mile loop.

I am also working on new Ferro Cement Bridge designs for four new bridges we are constructing. The bridges will span around 8-12 ft and have a 2" thick tread and structural ribs. Goal is to create designs that are inexpensive and adaptable.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Get my local trail "finished" by the time the University (it's on University property) decides to do the grand opening - anticipated sometime in the spring.

Right now, projects that need to be done are mostly small - but turnout for work events usually tops out at 3 guys.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of college undergrads who show up on occasion and try to change design goals even though the goals for design involve fun technical features. They don't understand how flow impacts trail use and line choice and the projects right now mostly involve getting the flow of the trail nailed down perfectly. So of course the stuff we talk about tends to be nit-picky, but these guys protest doing anything at all, even though it's obvious from the lines people are taking, the flow of certain sections is not how we'd like it.

We've got a small core of guys who "get it" and I'm glad for that...it's such a rural area I'm surprised anyone does. But the ones who don't get it also don't realize that they should spend some time listening to the folks that do from time to time.

There are a couple drainage projects that need to be addressed and it's possible with the onset of the wet season here that we'll find some more. One of them we know how we're going to address. The University is hiring a crew to come sculpt drainage into our emergency access road with heavy equipment.

The other place needs some sort of solution. We're kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place here. The top of the hill houses a subdivision and the hillside has some SEVERE erosion as a result of runoff from said subdivision. The trail currently runs through the only area it can, and that area collects water after a rain. It's the only place where water actually collects on the trail (and in the dry season, the trail becomes a flat sandpit where speed cannot be gained and momentum cannot be conserved...riders have to pedal slowly to slog through the mess). We've discussed rerouting it, but that puts us too close for comfort to the erosion problems. We've also discussed doing some woodwork to elevate the trail and build interest into an otherwise straight and flat section, but our budget for materials is pretty tight. It's going to be a challenge to deal with that spot.


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## donwatts (Aug 1, 2006)

4 more miles.


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## bsieb (Aug 23, 2003)

Develop two inter-mountain connector routes of about 15 miles each. Bonus points for the quality of the dance.


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## sambs827 (Dec 8, 2008)

1. Mark, map, and "officially" open the 3-mile trail my club built. Present it as a gift from the Oneonta State MTB Club to the City of Oneonta, NY.

2. Drain some HUGE holes on a fire road that, when flooded, overflow onto our nearby singletrack.

3. Help develop a Forestry Stewardship Plan for the wilderness area attached to SUNY Oneonta.

4. Relating to #3, work with landowners, proxies, and professors to replace a rather nasty section of doubletrack with some smooth, flowy singletrack. 

5. Act as a Teaching Assistant in the Trail Design & Construction class offered at my school.

6. Build a mess load of rock boxes in some wet spots.

7. Fix some trail sections I built that other riders have griped about.


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## Pa Kettle (Jan 24, 2011)

Next phase of a project I have been working on/off for 15 years (so far).
Add several miles of new trails to take advantage of unused terrain and features. 
Re-route a few hilly trails built many years ago. Trails have held up really well but I've learned a lot over the years.... can always do better.
Install signs at trail intersections.
Update the trail map by properly GPS'ing the trail network.
Buy more tools.

Holding a fundraising event to raise cash to pay for the materials needed. I am sweating because a sizable chunk of my own money is being used for upfront costs with no guarantee if it will be sucessful.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

Pa Kettle said:


> Buy more tools.


There you have it. Everybody's 2011 trail building goal.


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## Bryce604 (Oct 6, 2009)

No set goals, I build when I'm inspired. Luckily, I've been inspired a fair amount already in 2011


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

My bike park project may not move much farther this year because of a city parks and rec budget now 50% of what it was in 2009 - a recession and local Tea Party gift.

I'll still be doing my work with Walt Dizzy and other club spots.


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

1.) Learn how to build.

That's enough for now.


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## SunDog (Feb 21, 2004)

Re-open a fire damaged trail for the USFS by coordinating an directing volunteers from a local MTB and hiker clubs.

Continue to modernize/repiar my local trail network. Mainly re-routing old equestrian fall line trails into progressive muti-use trails and performing restoration of the closed trail segements. 

Assist with a county project to complete a local BMX/MTB DJ venue. 

Assist with a county project to design a regional MTB skills park.

Assist with design an build of a pump track at a local high school.

Work on improving MTB'er relations with the local USFS management. Mainly to build momentum for several legal DH/FR venues and to re-work several sections of existing trail to make them more bike friendly (flowy).

Continue to develop relationship with local equestrian club.


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## Cedar Branch Biker (Jul 28, 2010)

Try to finish my "Minimalist Trail" before my wife has me committed! this past weekend had to go to the bike shop and buy a new rear derailleur after my old one messed up. She said that's because I ride in the woods. (She's not the outdoors type, obviously)


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

Cedar Branch Biker said:


> She said that's because I ride in the woods. (She's not the outdoors type, obviously)


Neither *was* my wife.


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