# Lots of 10' 2"x12" for trail features...what to do??



## flashpipe (Jul 6, 2009)

I'm looking to put my first mountain bike trail in my backyard (4 acres of flat, wooded land with several small walking/deer trails already.
My friend gave me about 20 PT 10' long 2"x12" planks, and a scatter of 6"x6"s and 4"x4"s and I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas?

Currently, I'm thinking of just laying some down flat on the ground to keep the undergrowth down on some sections of the trail, putting some up on fallen logs for little sloped elevated sections/jumps and I'd like to rip some of them lengthwise and cut others into 2'x12" 'planks' and screw them into the ripped ones to make some elevated trails 2-3' off the ground...and would love to make one into a teeter-totter...

I'll also be taking down some trees and piling up some wood, moving dirt to make some jumps, rollers, etc. Going to be a summer long project, but should make for some good riding in the backyard. 
Thanks for any input, advice, etc.


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## Wildfire (Feb 4, 2004)

flashpipe said:


> I'm looking to put my first mountain bike trail in my backyard (4 acres of flat, wooded land with several small walking/deer trails already.
> My friend gave me about 20 PT 10' long 2"x12" planks, and a scatter of 6"x6"s and 4"x4"s and I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas?
> 
> Currently, I'm thinking of just laying some down flat on the ground to keep the undergrowth down on some sections of the trail, putting some up on fallen logs for little sloped elevated sections/jumps and I'd like to rip some of them lengthwise and cut others into 2'x12" 'planks' and screw them into the ripped ones to make some elevated trails 2-3' off the ground...and would love to make one into a teeter-totter...
> ...


Depending on how many 6 x 6's you have, you might want to use your materials to make "puncheon" -- a simple, sturdy structure which can be used to form many kinds of elevated features. The plan attached will make a structure a little over a foot tall but you can easily make them taller. They are easy to build and will accommodate seasonal soil movements. Also attached a couple pics from a recent project.


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

I will just throw this out there: you should only be using wood to do what the terrain won't let you do. It is a last resort. Wood features take a ton of time and a ton of maintenance. If you need to surmount some big deadfall (ie BC style) or wet/swampy terrain, they are magical unicorns. If you already have dirt, rocks, roots, etc - you are probably wasting your time building stuff out of wood when you could be moving/clearing (or not moving) earth that will last much longer and provide more fun. 

-Walt


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## Wildfire (Feb 4, 2004)

Walt said:


> I will just throw this out there: you should only be using wood to do what the terrain won't let you do. It is a last resort. Wood features take a ton of time and a ton of maintenance. If you need to surmount some big deadfall (ie BC style) or wet/swampy terrain, they are magical unicorns. If you already have dirt, rocks, roots, etc - you are probably wasting your time building stuff out of wood when you could be moving/clearing (or not moving) earth that will last much longer and provide more fun.
> 
> -Walt


This is generally good advice, Walt. But teeter-totters are tricky to make out of dirt . My thinking was a) private property b) flat ground. Puncheon well-made of PT timbers & lumber should last 15 - 20 years with annual inspection/minor repair. Agree that dirt/rocks are better long term solutions where possible, but a few wood features thrown into the mix are kind of cool on a private trail system. Just my 2 cents. Good luck on your project, flashpipe.


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## robpo (May 25, 2014)

see saw sounds good but you need to be going in the right direction.


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

It's true that you can make some fun stunts on flat land - but if you don't need the wood to get over a natural obstacle, it's an insane amount of time to put in per foot of rideable trail. I'd use the wood only as a last resort to get over stuff you can't otherwise move/go around, and then come *back* when the dirt work is all done and awesome and see if there are spots you want to throw in alternate lines or teeter-totters or whatever.

There is an awful lot of random lumber rotting on trails all over the place because people got excited about building stunts and didn't realize how much work they are. I pretty much never see professional wood work in the Rockies anymore unless it's giant berms on flow trails or creek/swamp crossings. The teeters and elevated bridges got old (both literally and figuratively) fast.

_Walt



Wildfire said:


> This is generally good advice, Walt. But teeter-totters are tricky to make out of dirt . My thinking was a) private property b) flat ground. Puncheon well-made of PT timbers & lumber should last 15 - 20 years with annual inspection/minor repair. Agree that dirt/rocks are better long term solutions where possible, but a few wood features thrown into the mix are kind of cool on a private trail system. Just my 2 cents. Good luck on your project, flashpipe.


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## flashpipe (Jul 6, 2009)

These are great, thanks! I think I'm going to cut the supports with a sabre saw so I can put some mild rollers and angles in the path 
I'll put up some pics as I go along.


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## flashpipe (Jul 6, 2009)

Walt, good advice. I've already got some cleared trails in the back but there is a ditch that I need to go over (twice), there is one area that is always too wet to ride, and I'm also looking to work on my balance on narrow trails. I've already set up some of the boards just sitting on the 6x6s and have been riding those and can only get across 2-3 of them before falling off so even that is fun.

I'm mostly thinking of building a teeter, some (slightly) elevated paths with a small drop or two in the wet area and some sort of drop-in platform. Other than that, I'll be doing lots of shoveling, dirt piling and bank creating. 

Oh, and a wall ride would be awesome, but I'd have to set it up close to a drop in since it's hard to get enough speed up on the flat parts...

Thanks for the suggestions and advice!


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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

Walt, it's a backyard "track" the OP is building. It also sounds like he's trying to use up free wood. I get where he's coming from.
I only have one suggestion to add.

flashpipe, you will be wasting the wood if you just lay it on the ground to keep the vegetation down. It will rot pretty quick.


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