NEMBA News 2002

Bicycle Dealers Rally Around NEMBA Land Purchase

Land Access Raffle Winners Announced at NEMBAFest

GB NEMBA Builds Five Boardwalks at Great Brook Farm

NEMBA Trail Grants Awarded

Keyes Loop at Great Brook Farm

NEMBAFest 2002, Pedro's-Harpoon MTB Adventure Finale

South Central NH NEMBA's Poker Ride

New Trail at Great Brook Farm

White Mountains NEMBA Completes Ambitious Bridge Project

GB NEMBA's Trail Care Trailer

South Central NH NEMBA Builds Bridge in Amherst NH

Two Maine NEMBA Chapters

Massachusetts NEMBA Chapters Initiate Trail Guide Program

New Hampshire MTB Patrol

Vietnam Update Donations Needed

NEMBA Joins Massachusetts Forests and Parks Partnership

EFTA Donates Trail Tools

NEMBA Donates Computer To Lynn  Woods

NEMBA Attends Connecticut Trails Assembly

Building Expert Trails at Lynn

Bicycle Dealers Rally Around NEMBA Land Purchase (03/2002)
The owner representatives from Belmont Wheelworks, Landry's, Cycle Loft, Milford Bikes, and Bicycle Alley met with NEMBA personnel to discuss bicycle industry support for NEMBA's land purchase initiative. All the companies -including International Bikes, who was unable to attend the meeting-showed a solid commitment to the project and pledged significant financial support. In addition, the shops have sent out packets of information to the majority of New England bicycle dealers seeking support, and they are in discussions with their suppliers for similar support.

The first supplier to jump on board was Trek Bicycles, based in Waterloo, Michigan. Trek has committed $2,500 cash and a Trek Fuel 100 dualie that retails for $4,400. Quality Bicycle Part, one of the industry's largest suppliers, also showed support for the project with a $3,000 donation. Hopefully, many other dealers and industry players will soon be on board.

Land Access Raffle Winners Announced at NEMBAFest (12/2002)
This year's raffle brought in $3800 for NEMBA's Trail Grant Program, and we have some lucky winners of this year's raffle. Paul Flaxman of Hopkinton, MA, won his choice of a Specialized FSR or Enduro mountain bike. Paul Peaslee, son of the trail-care-trailer-toting dad of the same name, won the AdventureBus trip in Moab, and George Comeau of Cheshire, CT, won the RockShox Psylo suspension fork. Lucky guys!  However, we're all winners because we now have refilled the coffers of our grants program so we can give away the dough to build more cool trails for biking! We thank Specialized Bicycles, AdventureBus and RockShox for making this year's raffle successful.

GB NEMBA Builds Five Boardwalks at Great Brook Farm (12/2002)
It was the longest but most productive workday yet at Great Brook. Twenty-nine volunteers built a total of 220' of boardwalk in five sections, clearing the way for an additional 3-mile loop in the park. Nearly $2,500 worth of ACQ lumber was furnished through a MA Recreational Trails Program Grant, and Greater Boston NEMBA made full use of its new Trail Care Trailer. The new generator electrified the new circular saw and recharged batteries for the new cordless circular saw. The router engraved "NEMBA" into each of the boardwalks, and the Husquavarna chainsaw cleared the site with the help of numerous pulaskis, McLeods and other implements of trail building torture.

After breaking for lunch and a ride, ten of the volunteers stuck it out past darkfall to complete the last boardwalk. Luckily everything went smoothly after we dismantled the park's gate after being locked in the park at night with our vehicles and stopped by the Carlisle constabulary forces for not hooking up the running lights of the trailer. It was a great finale to a great year of trail care, and much fun was had by all!

NEMBA Trail Grants Awarded (12/2002)
The fall round of NEMBA Trail Grants has awarded cash grants to three recipients. Gary Graham will be undertaking a couple of bridge projects in Wrentham State Forest in Massachusetts using new environmentally sound lumber (ACQ). White Mountains NEMBA will be purchasing a brush-cutter to fulfill their stewardship agreement on trails in the White Mountain National Forest, and Seacoast NEMBA will be constructing a 120' boardwalk in the Henderson Swasey Town Forest in Exeter, NH. All three projects will better multi-use trails systems that are popular for cycling.

Please consider applying for the spring round of NEMBA Trail Grants. The application is very easy and can be downloaded at http://www.nemba.org/trailprotection/NEMBAgrants.html. Grants are available to all land managers, non-profits and NEMBA members. The next application due date is March 1st.

Keyes Loop at Great Brook Farm (12/2002)
Those of you who were at NEMBAfest were the first to ride the newly named Keyes Loop. Everybody knows Philip Keyes as NEMBA's executive director but few also realize that he fills a role as a volunteer just like the rest of us. Philip has adopted Great Brook Farm and has become the main point of contact for us at this park.

NEMBA has been working over the years to put in new singletrack and has transformed this park from a mellow double track ride to a challenging adventure. Philip was very instrumental in the creation of trails such as Deer Run, Stone Row, the Acorn Loop and now the Keyes Loop. The Keyes Loop is a short ½ mile section of trail that is very twisty and narrow. This trail has a big appeal to mountain bikers because of the challenging nature of its design and to hikers because as it winds it's way through the woods it reveals some wonderful glacial erratic formations.

NEMBAFest 2002, Pedro's-Harpoon MTB Adventure Finale (12/2002)
On October 20th NEMBA celebrated its 15th birthday in style. A thousand riders came out to the one-day festival to enjoy a bit of Indian Summer, kick back to some great music and wheel and deal-both in the huge vendor area and on the trail.

The celebration also marked a bit of new NEMBA history-raising $40,000 to initiate the purchase of 47 acres of Vietnam. The event allowed NEMBA to sign a purchase and sale option to buy the Liner Trust Land, a parcel that is one of the cornerstones of Milford's fabled riding area. As of mid-November, the legal documents have been signed, and now all of us need to turn this option to buy into a reality!

This will be the first time that any mountain bike group has stepped up to the plate to preserve land by buying and owning trails that we can genuinely call our own. Greater Boston NEMBA hosted the event with help from NEMBA's executive director and the day was flawless. Dozens of privateers hawked second hand bike stuff, while dozens of bike shops set up shop to offer great deals on new product and to demo their 2003 bikes. Everyone seemed motivated to get in on the action! On the trail, hundreds enjoyed the marked loops and led rides through Great Brook Farm State Park, and even the younger kids grooved on the technical kids rodeo, graciously organized by Joe Sloane—some wearing full faced helmets!

The Chasers got the crowd going, and Two Ton Shoe blew them over the top, playing a couple of rocking sets of upbeat funk/rock. The band seemed psyched to watch riders use their beat-up van as a launching pad, and Kevin Brody and friends staged a pumped up Trials Show for hundreds of onlookers.

From the length of the line at the Redbones BBQ feedzone, people worked up a pretty good appetite, and being the cool guys that they are, Redbones donated all the food and proceeds of the day to the Land Preservation Fund--totally $4000. The owner, Robert Gregory, and his wife donated an additional $2,000 to the cause.

The fundraising was fast and furious, in part due to an anonymous $10,000 challenge grant that was matched dollar for dollar at the event. One individual pledged $5,000 and it wasn't uncommon for people to donate a few hundred to help preserve Nam. Each time a donation of $100 or more was made, a cowbell was rung --and it seemed to ring all day!

We thank everyone who came and donated --if you haven't yet, please do!-- and we also thank the many volunteers who put in lots of time organizing and staging this world-class event. Special thanks to Ranger Ray Faucher of Great Brook Farm SP and to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, and lastly, we thank Harpoon Brewery, Pedro's USA, MetroSports and Mountain Bike Magazine for sponsoring the Mountain Bike Adventure Series, and we are already looking forward to next year!

South Central NH NEMBA's Poker Ride (12/2002)
On Sunday October 13th, the SCNH chapter of NEMBA with the support from EFTA, held a poker ride at Lamson Farm in Mont Vernon, NH to raise funds for trail maintenance and construction and to support the Lamson Farm Commission. Lamson Farm is a 350 acre farm that was donated to the town of Mont Vernon by the Lamson Family for multi use. The farm was in the Lamson family since about 1800 and is currently registered in the National Registry of Historic Places. SCNH NEMBA has been assisting the Lamson Farm Commission in maintaining the trails for several years.

Despite a few showers, there was a very enthusiastic response to the event. The fall colors were incredible and the trails at Lamson offered a combination of great single track, challenging climbs, and some exciting down hill. During the poker ride, participants traveled over most of the trails at Lamson Farm, stopping at seven stations to pick up a total of seven playing cards to form their poker hands. Thanks to the generous donations from sponsors, many participants walked away with great prizes. The prize for the best poker hand went to Fred Ries from Mont Vernon, who won a hydration system from EMS and a $68 cash prize. Bob Fleury from Milford had the second best poker hand and walked away with a camelback mule from Naults Cyclery of Nashua. The proud owner of the worst poker hand, Todd Mathews of Peterborough, received a $50 gift certificate from Souhegan Cyclery.

Lots of other prizes were donated by some great local companies: Always Therapeutic, Souhegan Cycleworks,  Walmart, Goodale's Bike Shop, Georgio's Italian Eatery and the Peabody Mill Environmental Center. We thank the Lamson Farm Commission for allowing us to use their beautiful trails, and all the many volunteers who made the event possible. See everyone next year!

New Trail at Great Brook Farm (October 2002)
Dateline: August 18th., 2002. There's nothing that pushes the buttons of our trail crew volunteers as much as building new singletrack. It's the Holy Grail (Trail?) of trail care! But the speed at which the crew cut through a half mile of tight and ultra-twisty singletrack was uncanny. As if possessed, they sped along like a trail building juggernaut, cutting in the trail and performing rock work and benchcuts as if it were nothing, completing the trail in a single morning. The new trail serves two important functions: it not only adds to the trail system, but also serves to channel mountain bikers off of the main drag that is highly congested with other trail users. It will form part of the ride at NEMBAfest, so you'll have to come out and ride it yourself!

White Mountains NEMBA Completes Ambitious Bridge Project (October 2002)
As part of the second annual White Mountains Trailbuilding Weekend, NEMBA completed a series of three bog bridges totaling 234-feet on the Winona Loop off the Lower Nanamocomuck trail in the White Mountain National Forest. Over 60 volunteers were involved in building the bridges, including carrying over 2.5 tons of materials nearly 1/2 mile to the site.

These bridges cap a project begun four years ago, when the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care crew came from Colorado to help NEMBA begin work on a perpetually muddy section on the Winona Trail, near Rocky Gorge. That crew created a rock-armored drainage swale that until now was a lonely feature in a sea of mud. White Mountains NEMBA officially adopted the trail two years ago and this year secured over $3,000 in federal grants to fund the bridge materials.

"The bridges were constructed using all-natural materials - cedar sleepers and tamarack deck planks - no pressure-treated wood was used" says Rob Adair, White Mountains NEMBA Vice President. "The top section is particularly appealing, because the rocky terrain dictated the line of the bridge and it turned out really interesting".

"We are excited about this partnership with NEMBA," says Dean Yoshina, U.S. Forest Service Assistant District Ranger. "This is a huge improvement that will be enjoyed by multiple user groups, including winter users. We are really pleased with the work done by NEMBA." NEMBA's annual White Mountains Trailbuilding Weekend draws cyclists from all over New England. In addition to doing trailwork, volunteers enjoyed lunch at the worksite courtesy of the Chinook Cafe, swimming, a BBQ party, and a group ride to sample their work the next day. Two lucky volunteers won massages from North Conway local Cathy Steers, and as part of the Rocky Mountain Bicycles NH Trail Care Series, all volunteers are eligible to win a full suspension Rocky Mountain frame and Marzocchi suspension fork, which will be drawn at the end of the season.

"I learned a lot building those bog bridges. It was hard work, but well worth it. Thanks to them I have a much greater appreciation for those who do trail work.", said Eric Lorentzen, a volunteer from Boston at the Trailbuilding Weekend.

GB NEMBA's Trail Care Trailer (October 2002)
Tom Grimble, Greater Boston NEMBA president, has been wheeling and dealing to get GB NEMBA's new tool trailer into action and it has finally debutted at Lynn Woods. Chock full of an array of implements of trail torture and construction—including a generator, gas and electrical saws, a router, rockbars, pickmattocks and the like-the trailer will increase GB NEMBA's ability to give back to the parks and be even more productive. Special thanks goes to Paul Peaslee for helping GB NEMBA to get one at a good price. Come by fall trail care events and check it out!

South Central NH NEMBA Builds Bridge in Amherst NH (August 2002)
On National Trails Day, South Central NH NEMBA worked with the Amherst Conservation Committee to reroute a trail and build a bridge over a small stream in the Hazeltine Conservation Land Parcel in Amherst NH. The original trail was prone to erosion and equestrians found the small bridge impassable. SC NH NEMBA purchased lumber and supplies through the generous support of a State of NH's Dept. of Trails & Recreation.

Because of the size of the project, the work had to be done over two days. Saturday, June 1st was devoted to prep work. Fourteen people were there to help, including 2 teenage boys from the local high school, so we split into two groups. One group went over to the bridge site to clear some of the brush and start placing the rocks that would be needed for the center support. The other group took care of preparing the lumber. A very kind family whose land abuts Hazeltine let us carry everything through their backyard, which was just a hundred yards or so from the site, thus saving us from having to haul 240+ board feet worth of lumber a mile down the trail.

On Sunday, a total of 20 people wound up coming to help. A bunch of folks worked on cutting the new trails and closing off the old trail. The stringers were bolted together. Some very strong guys hefted some amazingly huge rocks into place for the stringers to rest on. Work paused briefly while a thunderstorm blew through, then everybody gathered as the 36' long stringers were passed hand over hand and placed down on the supports. The decking was nailed on (the last few boards squeaked by with just 2 nails each! The next day we went out and put the rest of the nails in.) Then two ramps, one out of stone and one out of logs were built. The trail and bridge turned out great and everyone did a fantastic job!

Two Maine NEMBA Chapters (August 2002)
Maine now has two new NEMBA chapters. In the south, Mt. Agamenticus NEMBA was created by merging with the advocacy group, Agamenticus Region Mountain Bike Association. Now under the new NEMBA banner, Mt. Agamenticus NEMBA held its organizational meeting on July 16, electing officers and board members, developing plans for an upcoming trail clinic with IMBA's Rich Edwards, and discussing ways to educate local mountain bikers about the complex issues facing the park. The trails at Mt. A are managed by a coalition of seven major stakeholders, including the Nature Conservancy, the State of Maine, various towns and water commissions, as well as numerous private landowners. The group has already set up a website to educate mountain bikers about the issues and to announce upcoming events, www.mtanemba.org .

In the rest of state, Maine NEMBA was created to interface with public and private landowners to improve mountain bike opportunities by developing and maintaining trails.

Massachusetts NEMBA Chapters Initiate Trail Guide Program (August 2002)
Following on the success of CT NEMBA Trail Ambassadors, three Massachusetts NEMBA chapters have begun a similar program to provide assistance and information at over a dozen state parks and forests. Called Trail Guides, these volunteers will ride the trails as diplomats-providing maps, offering directions and helping park visitors to have a pleasurable and safe experience in the parks.

In addition to assisting park visitors and being a diplomatic presence, the trail guides will report trail problems to the land managers. "We're essentially trying to formalize what any good mountain bikers would do anyway while he or she rides: help out fellow trail users and be a positive influence on the trails." says Executive Director, Philip Keyes. "Since mountain bikers cover a lot of ground, they're in a perfect position to help park supervisors troubleshoot trail issues in their parks." The Department of Environmental Management and NEMBA signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the program in June. For this season, Greater Boston, North Shore and SE MA NEMBA have adopted the program at Great Brook Farm, Wompatuck, Harold Parker, Bradley-Palmer, Willowdale, Cleveland Farms, Georgetown/Rowley, Bald Pate Pond, Prospect Hill Recreation Area, F. Gilbert Hills, Franklin, Wrentham, and Freetown State. Additionally, the guides will operate along with NEMBA's bike patrol at the Lynn Woods Reservation and the Middlesex Fells.

Next year, NEMBA hopes to bring the program to other chapters and many other parks statewide.

New Hampshire MTB Patrol (August 2002)
The New Hampshire Mountain Bike Patrol is about to embark upon it's first active patrol season, We will initially operate at Bear Brook State Park, but hope to expand to other local riding areas as the program gains additional members, momentum, acceptance and recognition.

The fundamental goal of mountain bike patrols is to ensure trail access for mountain bikers and all trail users. Our mission is to be a friendly presence on the trails to assist all trail users. While the Patrol performs many functions, enforcement is NOT one of them.

We are currently sanctioned as a chapter of the National Mountain Bike Patrol under IMBA. Patrollers provide assistance to hikers, equestrians, and especially mountain bikers. They give information, provide directions, help with minor repairs, and provide basic first aid. The reason we have chosen to work under the auspices of IMBA is that they assist in forming new patrol groups, certify individual patrollers, and help provide equipment and medical supplies at greatly reduced cost to patrollers.

We work with the land manager to identify activities that the patrol and agency could do together. Advanced Patrollers may wish to volunteer for duties such as spot trail maintenance, joint response to medical emergencies, search and rescues, etc. Also, with mountain bike patrollers providing information and assistance to riders, the burden of lost, stranded and injured mountain bikers should be eased for local officials.

We will also be offering our services to event organizers in the form or spectator and participant support, acting as Course Marshals for races, etc. For example we will be riding "sweep" at this years Bear Brook Boogie, where we will be observing and assisting in the event of any medical or mechanical needs. If you're interested in joining the NH patrol, contact John Gunterman at 603-268-0011 or NH_MTB_Patrol@attbi.com.

Vietnam Update Donations Needed (August 2002)
NEMBA's Executive Director, Philip Keyes has been working with a consortium of land managers and public agencies including The Office of Executive Affairs, The Trustees of Reservations, and the Milford and Holliston Conservation Commissions. Thanks to these efforts, the OEA has agreed to provide substantial funding assistance to purchase the Robsham parcel, provided that Milford and Holliston implement Conservation Restrictions and other stipulations. For our part, NEMBA must raise $250,000, certainly a big challenge, but it's much better than several million! The time has come for us to put our money where our mouths are. I know the economy is tight right now, but how much are these trails worth to you? If every 'Nam rider gave $50-100, that would go a long way toward meeting this goal. $100 is a fraction of what many riders typically spend on bikes and accessories each year. Don't forget to ask if your employer offers a matching program. Those who wish to donate to NEMBA's Land Preservation Fund may send tax deductible donations to NEMBA, PO Box 2221, Acton MA 01720. All donations will be used to preserve open space through the purchase of land and conservation restrictions, with the first order of priority being given to Vietnam.

NEMBA Joins Massachusetts Forests and Parks Partnership (July 2002)
NEMBA representatives attended four regional meetings organized by the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Environmental League of Massachusetts, the Sierra Club and the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group and signed on to the Forest & Parks Partnership.

A consortium of over 60 user groups and open space organizations are part of this partnership to advocate on behalf of the State Parks. The partnership will request more funding for the Department of Environmental Management, the state's largest landowner, via public outreach and education. and will seek to establish more cooperation and communication between the public and government officials. The coalition has agreed upon a “Common Vision” which includes 1) protecting the parks' natural and cultural resources; 2) providing greater funding for the stewarding of the properties; and 3) seeking more meaningful opportunities for citizens to set priorities and management goals for the forests and parks. NEMBA has signed on as a member and looks forward to working with this new coalition. To learn more about the Forests & Parks Partnership, visit www.forestsandparks.org.

EFTA Donates Trail Tools (July 2002)
The Eastern Fat Tire Association is proud to award twelve Trail Care Toolkits to organizations that provide maintenance on trails allowing mountain bikes. Each kit consists of one Pulaski and one McLeod manufactured by ZAC Tools. These are high quality professional tools that are recommended by IMBA for serious trail repair.

Organizations from five New England states will receive the tools: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island will be receiving these tool kits. Six kits will go to six different NEMBA chapters. Two will go to different VMBA chapters. ARMBA in Maine, Kingdom Trails in VT, Londonderry Trailways in NH and Burlington Wheelmen in Mass will each receive one kit.

The recipients qualified for the tool grants by submitting applications to EFTA. The applicants had to provide past year's trail care efforts as well as events planned for this year and show that they had landowner permission to work on the trails. EFTA is proud to support these organizations and congratulates them on their excellent grant applications.

The Eastern Fat Tire Association promotes and sanctions mountain bike races, recreational bicycle "fun" rides, and works on New England mountain bike trail access issues. EFTA is nonprofit; all monies generated are returned to New England mountain biking. For information regarding the Eastern Fat Tire Association, contact EFTA, 113 East Derring Road, Derring, NH 03244. Or visit us on the web at www.efta.com.

NEMBA Donates Computer to Lynn Woods (July 2002)
When we heard that the Lynn Woods ranger, Dan Small, was having problems with his old computer, we put out the word to see if we could get him a better one. Luckily, lots of our members work in the industry, and Andy Walter was able to convince his company, The Jones Payne Group, to pass on a Pentium II to the Lynn Woods Reservation. Andy and his wife Beau Walter presented the computer to Dan at the Pedro's-Harpoon ride at Lynn Woods. We thank Andy and his company for making the donation.

NEMBA Attends Connecticut Trails Assembly (July 2002)
On April 6, 2002, the Connecticut Trails Assembly was held at the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association headquarters in Middlefield, CT. This meeting was an all day congregation of Connecticut trail users and advocates, with the main purpose of initiating dialogue between the groups. John Monroe, of the National Park Service's Rivers and Trails Program, facilitated the meeting from a neutral perspective.

Cast of Characters
Those in attendence were NEMBA, IMBA, the Appalachian Mountain Club, Connecticut Forest and Parks Association, New England Trail Riders Association, Orienteering Groups, Hiking Clubs, Equestrian Groups, Hunters and Fisherman. Representatives of state and private agencies included State Police, DEP Forestry, DOT, DEP Police, DEP land managers, Northeast Utilities, a local bike shop, and several water companies. Mountain biking was well represented, with NEMBA represented by Philip Keyes and John Turchi. NEMBA member Alex Sokolow was present as an IMBA rep. Other NEMBA members in attendance were Paula Burton, with the AMC, and Barry Burke, with Pedal Power.

Common Ground

The day focused on finding common interests and threats to our access and enjoyment of Connecticut's trails. All user groups, agencies, land managers, and owners were encouraged to share ideas for protecting and expanding trail access. Common threats included development, landowner liability, and user conflict. Most groups shared common interests, a few of which were challenging trails, user education, conservation, and legal access. The meeting ended with most of the attendees agreeing that user groups need to join together to protect trail access, with more trails for all users as a common goal. If the various user groups remain divided, we will probably lose trails in the future. Another meeting was planned for the fall.

Building Expert Trails at Lynn (July 2002)

Prelude to a Gnarly Trail

Lynn Woods has seen a proliferation of illicit trails built to satisfy freeriders' need for highly challenging rides, and some of these trails are causing significant resource damage, much to the frustration of the Lynn Wood ranger. By allowing NEMBA to work with the freeriders to develop a new expert trail system, the freeride community is confident that the man-made stunts and informal trails can be shut down. It's a partnership that will dramatically improve technical riding opportunities in the park, and allow freeriders to legitimize their trail building creativity with NEMBA's and IMBA's help, and, most importantly, the land manager's support.

"We've been wanting to build this type of trail for a long time," says IMBA's Trail Care Crew, Rich Edwards, "and this is the most technically challenging trail we've helped build to date."
In the weeks and months prior to the clinic, NEMBA has worked closely with the freeride set (especially the cool folks at Sinister Bikes and Tuesday Night Rides) to develop a plan and the trail needed to access the yet-to-be-built riding area. After aligning the trail, IMBA's Trail Care Crew reviewed it and gave it a few good tweaks before construction took place at the clinic.

Breaking Ground, Moving Rock

The majority of the day -- ”right up until 5:30pm-- was spent building the new access trail, using as much slickrock and challenging lines as possible. Rising up from Ox Pasture Road, the trail immediately climbs a forty-foot section of steep New England slickrock with a 45% grade. Not for the slight of spirit, the first climb serves not only as a great challenge for riders (and hikers) going up or down, but also functions as a wake-up call that this trail is not for novice or even many intermediate riders. In fact, most riders might not even use this trail, but that's OK -- not all trails need to be built for the lowest skill caliber of mountain biker.

Continuing its rise up the slickrock, the trail bends along the spine of the rock dome and works its way up through some technical rock gardens. In places where it spills out onto dirt, the trail is rock-armored with pitched stone inlay. Here, rocks were set in like a series of books into the ground to prevent erosion and allow the trail to climb steeply without causing erosion.

Occasionally, huge boulders were moved out of the way to allow a clear but challenging passage. One boulder took seven people over an hour to move with heavy pry bars, and a huge dead tree was pulled into place to keep riders on the line and prevent them from takin short cuts through sensitive soils. Multiple lines were created at key junctures to let more skilled riders take the more challenging route, and in each case, much time was spent to rock-armor the transitions with large flagstones to make sure that the lines will stand up to the test of time.

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