“Pedal-Driven” Comment Contest

 Part of the fun of riding/trail building is knowing your not surpose to be even stepping foot on the land, but having bike parks is a mintanium way of riding, but if you really want to give it some gnar your own private/secret trails are unbeatable.

 In my area, the trail systems are on conservation land and are dominated by horseback riders, walkers, xc riders and nature enthusiasts. I am very pleased that we have access to a decent trail network, but the only problem is that me and my friends all have larger travel freeride bikes that don't exactly fit into what we are given. We resorted to building our own trails illegally in a woodlot that was quite hidden. We experienced a ton of fun in building our trail which encorporated drops, berms, and jumps, until a group of others showed up and decided to litter, destroy our jumps, and steal our shovels. If that wasn't bad enough, a few months ago a letter was sent to every house in my area saying that the city of Hamilton had recently acquired the very woodlot our trail was on. The activity of trail building is not permitted in this area as it is a fragile environment and we were apparently destroying it. So, now having nothing, we contacted the city about this letter that we received. The lady that we talked to was very understanding, she said that the city looked into giving us riders a place to build but had no where good to do it as they believed the only place that would work would be in a forest. When we told her that it does not need to take place in a forest, and that any open space such as a field would more than suffice. She assured us it would be brought up in the next city's recreational council meeting. Since we have no other options and our illegal trail has been found, we have nothing else to do but hope the city gives us somewhere to build. A group of us will be attending the IMBA trail building session this weekend at Christie Conservation Area to pay our dues to the biking community so that we may all have more trails to ride, but it still doesn't give us the same satisfaction of having our very own local freeride trail like we used to.

 GO MOOSE MOUNTAIN!!!!!!

 Mountain Bikers think all feel that it’s their responsibility to look after and maintain their local trails. Otherwise we all know that it can be simply taken away quicker then it took to build. It’s terrible when people leave their garbage on the side of a trail, but it’s also just as bad when you ride by a piece of garbage and you don’t stop to pick it up. Riders and People in general should always try to remember to "Leave the Trail, CLEANER then when you arrived." Because it will benefit both bikers, and hikers. I think there are some ups and downs, to both legal and non-legal trails. Legal trails are usually well looked after, and are generally pretty easy to maintain, but at the same time they are often ridden more, and might also be made to allow different rider ability’s. Non-legal Trails can be more fun because of the different types of features that people have built, and can be pretty technical, also because of different features it can allow a rider to progress and get better, the down sides are that they can be hard to maintain, they have a tendency to get destroyed quite often, and can be hard to get to if hidden.

 have you ever had that one day were you wake up and all you hear is your little brother screaming your bad mood level is now at a level 2 then you get outa bed and find that dad was useing the soap and theres a hair on it level 4 so you get out of the shower get dressed go have fruit loops and theres not enough so just dust comes out level 5 you get on the bus to school and the radio is on justin bebier the hole way to school bad mood level 7 you get to schol get through 2 classes and its lunch you go to your locker to put your stuff in for lunch and you forget the combo level 8 by this time your about to rage you kick your locker and turns out mr princeipal was right behind you now your off to the office level 10 you get out at the end of lunch and go to class you think ok this day cant get any better WRONG your just passing english and mr teacher ishanding out a pop quiz for 50 marks and you tottally bomb it level 12 class over off to cooking you think sweet cooking exept your partners not here and your stuck with that one ugly smelly chick who can fart the ABC's level 15 reached you get home and you look at the computer and see your bro wants to go for a rip on your favorte flowey trail you ride your bike to the mountain you meet your bro there you climp up and get to the top and its like every ten feet of bikeing you ride you level down 1 and you forget everything you have not but a care in the world you feel like your on top of the world your so relaxed no message or ciropractor can make you feel the same way biking does to me biking is a message biking is a way of life i started biking a couple years back and i havent found anything that can compare nothing makes me as happy as i am when im riding my bike if you have had one of those days give me a props take it easy pink bike

 Scroll through some of the original photos uploaded to Pinkbike and you'll see photos of trails like Toothless and Special K. The thrill of the ride born on the steeps of these trails was shared on the website that today has become synonymous with mountain biking. These are the trails that form the origin of the sport locally, and due to their presence on the original Pinkbike have played a role in shaping our sport on a whole. As documented in Pedal Driven, the task of legalizing our beloved trails is not an easy one and for the Moose Mountain area where Toothless and Special K are located, there was no exception. In the winter of 2008 these trails faced their darkest hour, they were not legal and therefore not even recognized as trails and were set to be logged in the coming years. The riders of Moose Mountain banded together to form the Moose Mountain Bike Trail Society (MMBTS). With great effort from all involved the trails were legalized and recognized as sustainable trails by the province. MMBTS continues to gain steam, just this year proposals for two new trails were approved by the province along with a conceptual 5 year plan that includes even more trails to be built in the future. In a matter of three years the trails of Toothless and Special K, along with the 8 other trails now maintained by MMBTS have gained legal status and will continue to ridden long into the future, sharing the ride and the thrill of mountain biking with many generations to come.

 Please congratulate Dchomey and the rest of the crew from Moose Mountain Bike Trail Society on winning the grand prize of the Comment Contest. Way to rally support for the cause, we're excited to see how Pedal-Driven can help facilitate cooperation on Moose Mountain!

 There are surely two sides to this coin.

Overall, legal trails are much better plan. They can be safely maintained, and you never have to worry about the landowner taking a shovel to your jumps. Sanctioned parks in my area (I5 Colonnade, Beacon Hill) receive attention and maintenance from builders, and greatly contribute to the local race scene as well as progression of the sport in the region. When both builders and riders create a united front (like in "Pedal Driven") much can be accomplished; trails may become sanctioned, building funds acquired, and mountain bikers as a whole gain reputation as a law-abiding citizens, contributing to communities everywhere.

Illegal trails also have benefits-privacy, you can build how you like, and the thrill of creating something to ride that is wholly your own. The fact is, if everyone, everywhere could have banger trails, for every discipline of mountain biking, of every skill level, there would be ALMOST NO need for illegal trails!!! the fact of the matter is, this is not possible in most communities. The urge to ride compels riders to turn outlaw and build trails, often illegal, to pursue the love of riding.

I feel fortunate to have such amazing trails in my area, and that i can keep illegal trail building to a minimum in my area is great. The most positive thing i have seen in terms of progression is the gathering of a group of determined riders, pushing for the legalizing of trails in their area. this marks a huge progression in the maturity of our sport, and the commitment of our riders.

 Through legal trail communities are aided in times of recession, people and youth are provided with outlets unto which they can express themselves and their energies. In Washington duthie hill really helped the community. You started seeing more kids on huffies riding for the first time on a board walk through picture perfect scenery and trees. People started to rediscover the thrill of the wind through your hair and face going fast on your bike. You'd overhear people talking about how they'd started getting more exercise and losing weight. More parents would be in local bike shops getting entry level bikes and when asked about where their children were riding they'd say duthie hill. Duthie hill unlike illegal trails had real lines and was super fun to ride. Volunteers helped knowing that they all had to help to make it work, and duthies popularity even got some people to be hired by evergreen to be official trail builders. We need more of these ride centers. Even collonade under i5 cleared out drug dealers and homeless people and prositutes. None of this happens with illegal trails WIth illegal trails they are unhealthy for the environment, people get hurt, mountain bikers get a bad reputation and less people are encouraged to check out mountain biking. Communities are hurt as often these trail builders who are busted are considered bad people and fined. THey are not, they're good people trying to help a good sport, but we need to recognize that trails need be built properly and legally if we really want mountain biking to progress as a sport and one day be on the scale of other sports such as swimming, road biking, maybe even foot ball or even basketball. Legal trails are the only profitable way to expand mountain biking as a sport and help the communities and people it entails.

 In my opinion illegal trails are way better than legal trails because I've found when you build a legal trail there is too many rules and restrictions and they never let you build anything big. I've previously helped build a legal downhill trail and dirtjump park and it drove me nuts have everything has to be so small and easy. At the dirt jump park the local government was scared shitless of the beginner line so you could see the expert line was tiny. Any tricks ive found for dealing with land managers is that the more people you know the better and what they don't find out wont hurt them so try to keep good dirt jump spots and DH trails secret from them as long as possible.

 One case study can be seen at Moose Mountain in the Calgary region. For years, guerrilla builders developed a system of mountain bike trails in this multi-user area and tip-toed around the government, hikers, equestrian users, and even industrial development. As the sport became more popular, the government could no longer turn a blind eye to the increase in user traffic and potential conflicts. At least one trail was even closed. The builders and riders banded together to ensure their voices were heard by other area users and the government to protect the trails that they had worked so hard on and enjoyed so much. With power in numbers and organization, the MMBTS was formed and quickly lobbied the government to have their efforts and enjoyment of the land legitimized. They can now address other user groups' concerns head-on to create solutions agreeable for everyone instead of hiding in the bushes when someone comes near. Though organization and collaboration, common concerns such as liability, environmental degradation, and public conflicts can be resolved to create fun, challenging trails that help grow the sport and the community. The future is bright for mountain biking, but not if the sport is kept in the dark.

 Bremen, the town I live in, is a flatass town with flatass people. However there are some zones in Hamburg built by a humble group of riders I've come to know quite well. There is an even closer zone in Northern Bremen. Both spaces lack sufficient trail features and getting supplies is often tight. Since I got here I've gathered a few kids at school, who are interesting. I want these younger guys to have opportunities, just as I have in California, to get out and ride without spending 200 euros on travel expenses to a bike park 4 hours away by train. I long to once again be able to just head off right after school to some trails with my chums. To keep building with my friends until the sun drops down beyond the horizon and sharing (our love) for the sport with any interested newcomers.....who abide by No dig no ride rules

Rather than giving the money to someone located in say Canada or the united state where there already is a well established riding scene why not put it to use in Northern Germany?

 hi kenny, " why not put it to use in Northern Germany?" thanks for this statement. the fact that you as a young american recognize our biking-problem in northern germany, and try to etablish this sport in our region is worth every penny. bikin is a passion of all of us. ridin with your buddys, compete with dem at races, havin a good time on tracks and trails... but not at all. in this case it means international relationship and northern germany needs every help. Now our story:

Dirtforce.de

after 2 years of using legal trails on leased land the regional gouverment canceled all contracts. hundreds of hours that we spend to build northshore-lines, racelines, jumps on flat land was shot down over night. they leave 40 riders of all ages in a deep depression. okay they knocked us down but we were not knockout. after 4 years of hard negotiations with our reg. gouverment, strugglin for new land, involving radiostations and the newspapers, we were successfully.since last year we got new land inkluding a 26 year leasingcontract. meanwhile we finished the downhill and the pumptrack. northshorelines, dirtlines, slopestyle and a 4x-track are in prozess. we have to pay thousands of € for trees to compensate our trailbuilding. we need every penny to finish this project. please help us to make a dream come true. please help us to give northern germany his lil' whistler. you have the chance to support not only the northern german bikescene. we expect riders from poland and an american bwoy known as KennyKillsIt. so we are back to international relationship...

Thank you a lot for readin this... (hell, my english is so bad!)

kenny u r welcome every time...

 Thank for that, it means a lot, it really does.
You're english was spot on and far better than my German

I'd rather not just sit back and complain about every little detail in this area, I'd rather get up and do something about it. Weather that means breaking out the shovels for an all day dig or running for student council re election to make sure that bike club project goes through, I'll do it.....Then take one hell of a nap cuz this shit's hard!


I say give some grant money to Dirtforce.de, they have an established organization that is in touch with the local government, but also slide a bit our way further west here. For that school ground pumptrack at the least. For the kids ya know

 Part 2 - Our project “Thrillium” (named after one of the logging operations we are passing through an the idea it is a thrill ride…) is located in the Yacolt burn state forest just 25 minutes north of Portland Oregon. This project is the first of its kind on Washington State owned lands and is part of the Yacolt burn Recreational Plan that you can find out at on the WDNR recreation website. It is a single use (DH MTB) one way trail! This trail comes down the northwest ridge of Larch Mountain and is fully shuttleable (Paved) from top to bottom. The trail will be 3.5 miles officially from top to bottom and descends approx 1600’. We will be looking to extend and adopt existing trails to the top of Larch Mountain which will extend the trail to over 5 miles and 2500’ of descent and pure radness!

 Part 3 - Planning this is the important part because communication, understanding the rules, limitations, and knowledge of general good trail design are keys to a successful project and fun legal trail. So here is where my challenge to all the illegal trail builders out there comes in who say legal trails can’t be fun, well I call shenanigans on that strait up! You have to take more time to design the trail utilizing natural features to make the trail both challenging and safe. We put in over 400 hours in just the scouting and design phase of this project. That is a lot, but the results will pay off big time in the level of thrill and enjoyment people will get riding this trail. We had to really look at natural features and how we could in the future develop and link things up so they could be come bigger higher risk for those that wanted to kick it up a notch but safe for those not ready to go big. Really almost any trail you can find spots to do this and develop lines that use the existing trail but maybe gap a corner off a stump, a set of old trees you can go through that will eventually be a root garden with natural cascade, or quad up a set of tabled small doubles into a 30+ foot gap. Smart planning for future development recognizing all skill levels is what makes this work.
We have started the build process of this trail in 5 sections and 3 of those sections are almost complete. We have 2 zones with in 2 different sections where we need privately contracted owned and operated heavy equipment (IE they carry their own insurance) to build two short sections of trail like A-line/crank it up. We also need resources to build two parking lots, a trail head, and to install another gate to finalize this project. We plan to have most of the trail “rollable” at completion of the next work party. Reality is recreation funds in this slow economic time are hard to come by and the WDNR needs our help to raise funds to complete the trail.

 Part 4 - I almost forgot to mention we also Maintain Cold Creek Trail which is 7.7 miles of the 35 mile loop of the Tarbell multi-use trail system located across the Yacolt Burn State and Gifford Pinchot National forests. Cold creek is an amazing trail and can be partially shuttled as a downhill trail and is a intermediate level descent, but here is where it gets amazing….The Cold creek trail can be ridden up as a expert level climb to the top and then connect up to Thrillium for a 5+ mile expert descent. Making a 13+ mile all mountain loop you would be challenged to find anywhere in this area all trail and all rad! Most importantly ALL 100% LEGAL……

Thank you for listening and I hope you accept my challenge!

 Part 5 - An additional very important factor is the the way we build this trail and its success will be come a model for the future of mountain bike user specific trail systems in the state of Washington. Both the Thrillium and Cold Creek / Tarbell System will serve as a training area for the next generation of riders and racers of all genres in the Southwest Washington and Portland Metro Area. The Cold Creek mountain Bikers also supports the High school mountain bike league through our members. This is the area's first ever cycling team for the Washington High School Cycling League. We have assembled a handful of students from 4 Clark County schools as well as adult coaches and volunteers. All of these projects are a huge investment in our trails, our stewardship, our future generations that will all lead to a solid future for mountain biking in the Pacific Northwest.

 ...contiued from above

It’s crazy to see mountain bike parks popping up everywhere, especially ones like Duthie Hill in Issaquah, WA. What’s better than a FREE and LEGAL bike park that has everything from simple XC trails to trails that have 20-foot booters? Not to mention volunteer hands pretty much built the whole thing and if you want, you can volunteer your time to new trails or polishing up some old ones.

Duthie Hill is a great example of what can be created and maintained by a mountain bike community. If we can show that effort in the illegal trails we build too, we might be able to turn some important noggins our way. Take pride in building your trails and be fervent about cleaning up after yourself. Putting passion in both of those areas is our key to the golden age of mountain biking.

 The conversation went a little like this:

"Why are you digging up the ground for a bit of fun and leaving rubbish everywhere."
"Where's the litter?"
"Eeeeeemmmmmmmmmm... but I know local trails,"
"Really with jumps?" (Because me and my mates didn't know and we had been doing the sport in that area for roughly 4 years)
"Penshurst,"
"You mean the trail an hour away (drive) which my mother can't drive me to daily because she works abroad,"
"Well can't you stay inside and play with your video games or whatever?"
"What and become obese, I think not I like to keep active, fit and adrenaline pumping, furthermore I'm not going on diet, I like my food thanks."
"Supposedly what happens if someone gets injured then and they try to sue the council?"
"I haven't heard of anyone suing the council yet for this reason, besides its on an illegal trail and it's COMMON SENSE!"
"Well you choose you place to build it didn't ya; cause I saw it!"
"WWWWWOOOOWWWWW why where you walking on the pavement and not in here (it was in the middle of a triangle where roads secluded it - so no one goes in it, also about a quarter of an acre in size). Crucially we live on the Ashdown Forest! 8000 acres!! And you have to pick on this one free spot here!!!"
By this point he just left in silence.

IN MY OPINION MTB’S HOULD BE ALLOWED ON THE FOREST AS WELL! WE SUPPOSIDLY CHURN UP THE TERRAIN! HOWEVER HORSES ARE ALLOWED AND THEY CHURN PATHS INTO A STICKY MUD BATH THAT GETS WIDER AS THEY WALK AVOID IT BY GOING TROTTING AROUND IT!!!

 Also just want to add. Once there was a wilting tree to the side of one of our trails and to restore it to its usual form we diverted water from the a large puddle in the middle of our Dirt sets. Its so strong now it resembles with the surrounding immnumrable ancient oak trees!

 Also round my way we've got a few legal trails recently like the parish council let the boxers have there trails as long as they fixed the river problem because the river banks kept collapsing in that area. However my friends and I had spent about two years working on a spot in the wood only two find that they had been biuldoes. It made me think why did they do that we were not doing anything wrong accept keeping kids off the street so we were actually doing a good deed. this really put me back and did not feel like spending any more time on the sport because I had no were to ride and if i did build a new trail it would be gone in a month or so. I actually felt like stoping the sport until a new place was built but it had its problems is was about an hours dive away but it really got me back into riding but i did not start building are local spot until I found pinkbike it really motivated me to build. That is why are local area could do with some proper trails because my friends and I had introduced loads of riders into the sport but then there sport stopped as are trails were destroyed.

Also I would like to pay special thanks to Amajors for letting a friend and I help build and use his trails they are some of the best hand build trails in the world check them out at:

amajors.pinkbike.com

My local area could really do with something like his because he talked to the farmer and he let him build there and because it is private there is no litter or rubbish that comes with some of the illegal trails build by less caring people.

thanks

 Part 2

State Parks and state land are maintained and paid for by our tax dollars. These lands are generally considered multi-use by land managers. Depending on the park it’s not uncommon to see hikers, runners, climbers, and equestrians all sharing the same land just the way parks were originally envisioned. With the exception of foot traffic, I would argue that equestrians and climbers represent a larger environmental impact and represent more liability and risk than bikers. It could also be argued that equestrian and climbing industries generate less tax revenue than our biking community. To this end, why do we continue to get singled out as being such a negative force in our communities? Do we have fewer rights to the land than other sports enthusiast? Apparently we do, and our elected officials don’t want to deal with.

I have participated in trying to “legalize” a DH trail system and was unsuccessful. The state was offering some sort of amnesty to the rogue trail builders [state term] whereby if we stopped cutting our own trails, they would reciprocate with a section of the land where we could cut more technical trails. 5-years later, nothing...except 10x rogue trail building once it was recognized we were getting slow rolled government. Many of the trails we have created have become multi-use trails that support hikers and in some cases equestrians. That said we don’t litter or bring in any pressure treated lumber…we build all natural.

As someone who has invested hundreds of hours of personal time into trail building and tens of thousands In bikes, I will not stand down on unauthorized trail building until the government and state land managers develop a formal process that will accommodate our sport.

Happy trails!

 Sustainability is the new power word in the eyes of the Officials. They want to see trails built in environmentally responsible areas, not in watersheds for example, or not disrupting the native species of animals. They want to see trails built to combat erosion, and features that are built to last. The last thing our cause needs is for some kid to get hurt on a poorly built stunt.

 This is where illegal trails hurt our situation. We have such a serious lack of legitimate trails to ride. Bikers on a large scale are building illegal trails simply because they have nowhere else to go. There towns sell the bikes, but no one is trying to legitimize any sort of trail system, so naturally illegal trails are built. This is where trails may be poorly built, unsafe, environmentally damaging, etc. Thus, these trails will ultimately be torn down. The alternative to this is, if a bike club chooses to reclaim old trails as there own. In this case the existing trails may be upgraded to meet modern standards. This doesn`t mean downsizing either, if you think legal trails cant be fun, please look at the trail system in Black Rock Oregon.

Unless, we as mountain bikers step up. Join your local club. If your town doesn`t have one, start one. Simply start talking to people in the business, make contacts. Get involved. Become an advocate. The very least you can do is to educate yourself.
Get on IMBA,donate, they have such a large resource of information for advocates.

To sum it up: A legitimate, dedicated trail society, with a legal trail system has huge benefits.
-To be able to secure the huge amount of private and government funding for the building and maintaining of trails.
-To be able to advertise the trails you built, show off, tell your friends!
-To be an environmental steward.
And to me, the most rewarding of all:
-To be allowed to build and ride bike awesome bike trails, with no fear of them getting cut down. To have everything we put so much time into protected!


Please check out our trail society website: The Castlegar Mountain Bike Society

Vince
www.castlegar-mtb.com

 I believe the Gorge Freeride Association is a top contender to host a premiere. Hood River Oregon is built 100% by volunteers and the 17 stewards use allot of pocket funds to complete projects. We are a well known biking destination and you can bookmark this blog to scope our fundraising efforts. Currently we have several new projects in the making and once complete will attract even more riders to the area. www.gorgefreeride.blogspot.com

 Just want to add we've never destroyed trees we've always built around them.

 Thats exactly how i feel about this. Short term, an illegal trail is more exiting and gives you a sensation that you dont get from using a trail that everyone uses. Long term upkeep and worrying about whether people find it is the problem. I like our legal trails in Santa Cruz but they dont have the thrill that the illegal trails have. The illegal trails dont have to have limits. They have big stunts and ramps but our legal trails are adopted so that kids can use them which imposes limitations on waht you can do.

 Mountain biking is one of the funnest sports in the world and when my hubby introduced it to me, I was hooked! I am now part of a club called the Muddbunnies that encourages more female riders to get into the sport and holds club rides for all levels and all disciplines. This year, the club is hoping to get more females into trail building and trail sustainability and we have adopted a couple of local trails that we will responsible for - Team Pangor & Slash (both on Seymour mountain in North Vancouver). Last year we had over 25 girls come out to help maintain Slash and learn from the NSMBA trail builders. It costs a lot to get insurance for the club and as a policy, we can only ride on legal trails. I believe there should be more legal trails for all levels of riding, as I would love to take the beginners down some nice flowing single track, but can't, as most of them are illegal. We would use this premiere to raise funds and maintain trails for all members of the community. More females in support of riding = happy husbands = more children given the opportunity to ride = better future for biking and overall community understanding and support!

 Anyone else notice the spam Neg propping by destructide??

 Yes, it was noted along with a few others, and destructide and the others won't be winning anything from this contest. Thanks for pointing it out though.

 As for legal trails, I always enjoy riding legal trails, however, I find that usually they can be too crowded. One problem is the have a go guys who try and ride something beyone their skill level. Just because they have an amazing bike its no excuse... They should be more pragmatic and think that they should improve their skills before attacking harder trails. This causes problems for me because I will be flying down a trail and there will suddenly be a group of riders stopped because they cant tackle a section and I have ridden straight into people before because of this. Better education of riders or signs that are more clear about what can be found on that sspecific trail should be used so riders can asertain as to whether or not they can ride it safely. Anyways, Illegal or legal, as long as you ride safe and wear a helmet I dont care where you ride, as long as you are out..... On that note the ssun is out and its nice and warm, Im going for a ride.

 Here in Vermont, the USFS recently awarded $154,000 to legal mountain bike trail building in the Green Mountain National Forest - this will see a 9-mile loop in the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area in Goshen. There will be an upcoming article in Dirt Rag Magazine about this project. In a nutshell, legal trails are much better, because they are permanent! In this case, legal trails are also being paid for by the USFS, which is an excellent use of tax dollars.

Regarding tips for working with land managers - be respectful, show them that mountain bikers are good people who want to do good work in the woods. Also, make sure and follow through on details to the T.

We have been working on this project for 4 years and this year the USFS are making a big investment, as a result of our lobbying and advocacy efforts.

Get in touch if you have questions. Thanks, Patrick

Patrick Kell
Executive Director
Vermont Mountain Bike Association

 I live in north of Scotland were you could say is one of the many homes of mountain biking. I am of course a regular rider and frequent user of illegal trails (hey we all do it). I have found over the past few years the world has decided to become eco friendly and everyone wants to be healthy. Now in my local area we have had huge encouragement by our council and schools and even the forestry commission to get out ride bikes and be healthy. A few years ago our area was given a grant to develop a trail centre. Of course this all went to plan and everyone turned out for the open day even 2007 Junior World Champion Ruaridh Cunningham turned up and I am not lying!
Of course as you may expect with these trails they slowly became less popular with the locals as over the years they have been subdued to lack of maintenance vandalism and lack of use, though I do have to say they were very poorly laid out. They didn’t use the full extents of the hill poor decisions on placement of features and a very cheap hard pack which has washed away to boulders and is unbearable to ride on.
In summer 2009 the trails received some modifications and new sections were put in and once again they regained a little spark but quickly faded.
(part 1 of 4)

 I get props, then the disappear, no joke

 Too many people have been kicked off of legal trails so the government could sell the land to developers to validate your statement. Sorry bro. I wish legal trails were always backed up by the government, but too many other activists are working against us. Pedal Driven hopefully will help us get some more publicity and recognition from the local governments that prefer not to acknowledge us.

 Yes, Bartlett, Anjou and Bosc have spent their lives in the trees; they know what's ripe.