Can anyone dig on Monday Mornings?

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
I can dig Mondays. Can we knock the bridge rails off, by accident?

after June 6.

They are now 43" between rails, 45" between posts. That was as far as i could go without bridge surgery.

Temp patch on the bridge deck - ran out of wood, and forgot to bring the charged batteries with me.
Not to mention I was already 7 hours into the day.

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Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
The bridge near the furnace@waway has lower rails....
 

KenS

JORBA: Director
JORBA.ORG
maybe if you make it wide enough, you won't need to make rails
Absolutely, there is a standard for that. See below.

For those wondering why we are bullish on railings, we must always manage risk when sending so many (We anticipate nearly 400) 6th to 12th grade students into a racing situation. For many of these riders, NICA is their first foray into mountain biking (1/3rd of riders are beginners) and first racing experience (9 out of 10 registrants). Our standard of care is significantly higher, particularly when it comes to man-made structures. We have no tolerance for negligence or internet commando-styled assessments of a trail ("my 3 year old can clean that blindfolded"); safety is simply non-negotiable when it comes to our student athletes and their riding experience.

From our course setting manual:

Common incidents involving bridges:
• Rider slips on wet bridge
• Rider rides off side of bridge
• Rider stops on bridge or after bridge and next rider(s) fall off bridge
• Rider injures themselves from impacting the bridge

To use a bridge on a NICA course, we want to ensure there isn’t a high potential for a crash from that bridge AND there not be a high mechanism for injury should there be a crash.

To address this, we’ve created these bridge guidelines:
  • The course entering and existing the bridge should be straight enough, so that the rider doesn’t need to turn on the bridge.
  • Poles or tall plastic ranch stakes should be placed in a funnel shape with ribbon to ensure athletes are forced to ride single file before entering the bridge.
  • Bridges that are narrow, should be located where riders are riding a slow speed
  • Bridges should have railings if more than 18 inches off the ground. This is the height at which riders will definitely endo if they ride off.
    • The only exception to this rule would be if the bridge is wider than its length and at least 4 feet wide
  • Rub rail should be added to narrow guardrails to help prevent a tire from wedging into a baluster
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
("my 3 year old can clean that blindfolded")

I kind of got the opposite vibe here, that the rail made it look harder. That was my initial thought. Making it wider makes sense, for sure.

On the points above, you know I know, but I want to add that as a NICA coach we see all kinds come out. And if you have never been involved with a NICA practice/event, you really have no idea what "all kinds" can mean. If any 1 of these kids eats it and goes ass-over-teakettle then head first into that stream, let's just say that would be...not good.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
going off the side of this bridge is an auger into the other bank.

and while 1 kid riding alone might not go off, it is a race.
one could dab on the bridge (or brake check!) and the next kid goes off,
perhaps earning a purple cast
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Some of these kids have never ridden a bike at all, yet alone in the woods over any type obstacles. I've scraped kids off the ground in the parking lot trying to get their bike off the car 🤣
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
If anyone feels like lugging wood to the bridge i was working on,
I need 5 pieces of decking, and 4 2x6x? (whatever is in the barn - 16'?)


Drive through the gate at Jaques and all the way to the bridge.
While you are down there, pick up the trimmed pieces that are garbage, and throw them in your
bonfire pile.
 
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