Mountain, Cross and Shuffleboard Nats

[pixychick]

With Thursday being the 4th, we got out to work Wednesday on the new section of trail. We pretty much completed the first 2 turns that get us up from the sewer line. From here it is a longer leg of side hill until the next turn. I think I over did it a bit as I was wiped out on the 4th and cut my ride short, and ended up taking Friday completely off. A day off is never a bad thing once I convince myself that it is ok to do nothing.

This is a nice time of year to enjoy our pond behind our house. The baby wood ducks and baby geese are almost all grown. They should be flying soon. I lie in bed at night and watch the fire flies light up out my window. Summer goes by fast! Trying to soak it all up.

 

[pixychick]

I am writing here about the state of volunteering for trail work. This is all just my opinion, so I am putting it here, but you are open to comment.

Volunteer trail work has dropped off significantly, both in Ringwood and Jorba state wide. Several things could have added to this, but right now, the biggest draw on the volunteer pool is NICA. NICA is a great thing and I am so happy see more kids on bikes on the trails and at races. This is a great thing! Just the fact that the next generation has the opportunity to ride bikes and enjoy nature is a good thing. So I know that someone has to help them get into the sport. I went and pulled the numbers: 300 kids, approximately 600 parents assuming an average of 2 parents per kid, 2-4 coaches for 25 teams and random volunteers at the races and I start to see where all the volunteers are going. I keep saying to myself that these kids will be the next volunteers and we did get a few NICA kids that did big pay dirt this year. However, the few kids that get it and came out to work have not even made up 2% of what has been lost.

A few years without volunteers is not too bad, but I do not see this as a sustainable situation. At Sterling there has been funds to pay ameri-corps to build trails. While this sounds awesome to me, I do not know if this is sustainable either. Plus the next generation may get used to this and then not have the $ to support it. If this was Jorba funds would you want $80,000. of your donations going to building one trail? This could be gone in a minute, and without a volunteer pool, things could halt quickly. I really feel that the future of our trails lays in the hands of volunteers. I am not saying that people have to leave their jobs and build trails every day. I am suggesting that everyone that rides a mountain bike on trails, should go out to help once a year at their favorite or local park. Without volunteers these trails would not be what they are today and could quite possibly be much better.

So while I in no way want to bash NICA, I can not help but notice that it feels like something really good that was happening has been getting sucked dry. So how do we get NICA teams to do trail work? How do we get those last few riders that never volunteer? How do we get race volunteers to give another day? How do we get the last person with every other excuse? ... and how do we get them excited about it?

 

[pooriggy]

I am not certain why volunteering for TM is down, I can only share my thoughts on this matter. When I got into mtbing everyone was more about the Jorba TMs and coming out to volunteer their time. It seems as if folks have a been there done that mindset and the popularity of maintaining trails seems to have waned. While folks appreciate TMs, and wouldn't mind volunteering to help, they hang back because no one asked them to help. Similar to letting ones Jorba Membership to lapse, not until Norm emailed people personally did folks re-up their membership. Its a pia but I believe you have to have someone reach out to people personally and ask them to help, otherwise they hide in the crowd and do nothing, thinking someone else will do it.

 

[serviceguy]

@pixychick , I'll just offer my opinion for what is worth if you don't mind.

I live in Ringwood and while not enough skilled to take full advantage of the trail system here, I can still appreciate the effort that has gone, is going and needs to go into keeping these trail available to the riders.

At first I joined JORBA because I believe that was a way to chip in the maintenance of the trails that I would hopefully ride and enjoy in a few months, but I do understand that can't be nearly enough. So volunteering was the next step. I did a couple of dates for NICA just to find out that one of them was in coincidence with a TM at Ringwood (it would have saved me an hour drive to 6MR on top of the fact that I was gutted for not being able to attend the TM in the town I call home, but I don't commit to things and then back off a commitment unless there's a major reason for it). So you got a point there, based on my direct experience, even though I don't regret for a second helping out getting young kids interested in this sport, NICA seems to be taking from TM time.

That said, from the point of view of an OOS (literally and figuratively, I've got the shirt and the girth to prove it), I believe the key to have more TM volunteer would be to advertise them in a more pressing manner (as mentioned by @pooriggy, @Norm joyfully pushed everybody to volunteer at NICA and I am glad he did) and possibly have more of them during the weekends. In my specific case the second is key.

Reading everyone's riding adventures on the MTBNJ.COM website I can't help to envy the time and dedication that goes into riding, but at the same time I keep asking myself...is anybody working during the week here in NJ? I personally leave home at 6:30 am and limp my buttered ego back around 8:00 pm every day, spend little time with my better half (who's not a rider unfortunately) and then go to bed ready for next round the next morning. I would gladly put some of the weekend time (especially in the morning) toward some track maintenance in Ringwood, and I'm hoping to be at Sheperd's Lake (or is it pond?) on 7/20 for the extra TM day you scheduled, but I can't put in time I don't have during the week. Unfortunately, I don't see the average Joe taking a day off to do TM.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks for the time and work you guys put in the trails.

 

[pixychick]

Thanks for this feedback. I know we called for volunteers a few years back when we did the causeway and people came out of the wood work. That was great to see, but I hate to cry wolf every time as people really need to go out and work at their home parks too. That is most important for survival of trail maintenance. Another thing that is happening is that volunteers are stepping up to set up programs with land managers in their home parks and diluting the volunteers from the old standard parks. So that being said, hiring some salesmen may be in order.

 

[Norm]

I would be happy to have this conversation with you (and ART) IRL. Just say the word. But not tomorrow or Tuesday.

 

[pixychick]

I would be happy to have this conversation with you (and ART) IRL. Just say the word. But not tomorrow or Tuesday.

Glad to continue conversation when you are rested and ready. Contact me anytime.

 

[pixychick]

So there are a few things that perhaps I should separate: trail maintenance and trail building. Many parks do not allow new trails until old ones are maintained, and some parks have a no new trails at all policy. I can understand that volunteers get excited and come out to volunteer when a new park opens, and that excitement can fade when no new trails appear. However, right now new stuff is being built very fast and people are riding the crap out of it, giving kudos to builders and not showing up to work.

The state of NJ has also tightened time line restrictions on building. This means if we fall behind schedule, we may loose approval on a proposal if we do not get to it within a time frame. Previously we tried to stay ahead with approvals so that we could keep working. Now we may look to improvise and do more maintenance in between projects. This is not a bad thing in any way, as we have had some great momentum in Ringwood the last few years. We just may not be able to continue in the same way.

I suppose the important thing is that mountain bikers can continue to have access and enjoy all these trails. Yet mountain bikers seem to love new trails and variety. We have some great possibilities ahead as far as trail upgrades in Ringwood and it may come down to whether mountain bikers want it enough to make it happen.

Enough on trails today. It will stop raining soon and I will head out into the woods to start working. Happy Trails!

 

[serviceguy]

So there are a few things that perhaps I should separate: trail maintenance and trail building. Many parks do not allow new trails until old ones are maintained, and some parks have a no new trails at all policy. I can understand that volunteers get excited and come out to volunteer when a new park opens, and that excitement can fade when no new trails appear. However, right now new stuff is being built very fast and people are riding the crap out of it, giving kudos to builders and not showing up to work.

The state of NJ has also tightened time line restrictions on building. This means if we fall behind schedule, we may loose approval on a proposal if we do not get to it within a time frame. Previously we tried to stay ahead with approvals so that we could keep working. Now we may look to improvise and do more maintenance in between projects. This is not a bad thing in any way, as we have had some great momentum in Ringwood the last few years. We just may not be able to continue in the same way.

I suppose the important thing is that mountain bikers can continue to have access and enjoy all these trails. Yet mountain bikers seem to love new trails and variety. We have some great possibilities ahead as far as trail upgrades in Ringwood and it may come down to whether mountain bikers want it enough to make it happen.

Enough on trails today. It will stop raining soon and I will head out into the woods to start working. Happy Trails!

Couple of ideas...

Can the cost of trail maintenance be evaluated to some degrees and a gofundme campaign open to fund the labor? This would allow those that do not have any time to spare to volunteer by proxy funding TM (it's easier to make a donation behind your wife's back than to disappear for half a day, speaking for a friend).

What about using NICA to promote trail building volunteering among young riders and their parents especially during the off-racing season? That would be another way to keep them kids out of trouble while not in school.

 

[pixychick]

Couple of ideas...

Can the cost of trail maintenance be evaluated to some degrees and a gofundme campaign open to fund the labor? This would allow those that do not have any time to spare to volunteer by proxy funding TM (it's easier to make a donation behind your wife's back than to disappear for half a day, speaking for a friend).

What about using NICA to promote trail building volunteering among young riders and their parents especially during the off-racing season? That would be another way to keep them kids out of trouble while not in school.

I am not sure about goofundme. For one labor is what we want, not money. However, I'm sure Art would take some beer tips at any time. There could be insurance and liability complications when paying trail builders. I do not think Jorba is ready for that just yet. But is something that could be possible in the future.

NICA promotion would be great. I am not sure how much we would get, but that is something to think about. NICA is fairly new to NJ, and I would hate to put pressure on kids, families and coaches that are already overloaded, but if they want more trails to ride on, they may need to be more involved. I could say that it stinks that kids in NJ have to work so hard to ride a mountain bike, but I think those of us that make the effort really reap the benefits in more ways than just riding a bike. We are a strong community.

 

[pixychick]

Slow, but moving along. Those are all transplanted Ferns in the first picture. I ran out of water and will need to get some in tomorrow or maybe it will rain.

 

[pixychick]

Looks like we are rained out for tonights work. I did get a chance to ride this section this morning and it rode great. I know from the pictures it does not look like a lot of rock. These few sections close to shepherds will be less technical. This is not because we are turning RW into 6mile, but more to keep trails high and dry in this area. Often we will open up drainage areas, create water exits off the trail, and then raise areas with crush and top with clay to keep crush in place. It may seem over the top, but we want the trail to stay dry. That is whole reason we are rerouting the trail from across the road to this location.

We also want to help showcase Jorbas trail building at the festival. The festival is supposed to be for all levels of riders and we were lacking in inventory of less extreme trails close by. I say less extreme because rocks are not something that we can totally eliminate. It is RW and if you dig, you will hit rock. Take one out and it may look rockless for a bit, but after time another rock will peak it's head out and start claiming the trail.

Since we have started building trails to help connect Sterling to RW, we have been aiming for sidehill, less steep and not overly rocky. Several NICA teams have told us they use them for training because all the kids can ride them. This is a great thing and I am glad NICA get to ride on some real trails and not just bike paths and fields. So I am very interested in continuing some of this inclusive trail design in this area of the park. Obviously I am just 1 person in our group, and others may want want something different, so I am not saying that this trend will go on, it is just what we are doing now.

Also, now that we have opened communications more with NYNJTC, we have more possibilities. Several of our supervisors in the hiking group have expressed interest in creating a stacked loop system in RW. They do not intend to build more trails but loop together what is there so that it makes more sense for casual hikers. Hopefully we can work together on this and create opportunities for casual bikers as well. All good stuff if you can step back and look at the big picture.

Ideally, I would love to see several Jorba crews at RW so that we could keep up maintenance on all the trails.

 

[serviceguy]

Are these new trail identified on Trailfork / Garmin maps ?

 

[pixychick]

Are these new trail identified on Trailfork / Garmin maps ?

No. I believe trail forks is user sourced. So once the trail is open and people start riding it, it will appear. I plan to start riding it an putting it on starva soon so that people can find it. right now it is only a few hundred feet and the the section near the road is not passable. I would love to get the top passable, but the park back hoe is out of commission and the rocks they donated to raise the tread on the pipeline are over 400 lbs and can not get to the work site without the machine. We may just end up using a come along and using rocks on hand.

 

[serviceguy]

No. I believe trail forks is user sourced. So once the trail is open and people start riding it, it will appear. I plan to start riding it an putting it on starva soon so that people can find it. right now it is only a few hundred feet and the the section near the road is not passable. I would love to get the top passable, but the park back hoe is out of commission and the rocks they donated to raise the tread on the pipeline are over 400 lbs and can not get to the work site without the machine. We may just end up using a come along and using rocks on hand.

How long is the backhoe needed for? Is renting it for a day an option (probably around $350-$450 / Day), I don't think it would be a problem to find a few generous people willing to chip in...

 

[pixychick]

Well, Art and I discussed this morning and we may opt to use smaller rocks in the area and move them with a come along. The rocks that the park had, may have been too large anyway. You know how easy it is to get excited when big rocks are offered! The top part may still be 3-6 weeks away before we work our way up to that point.

 

[serviceguy]

Well, Art and I discussed this morning and we may opt to use smaller rocks in the area and move them with a come along. The rocks that the park had, may have been too large anyway. You know how easy it is to get excited when big rocks are offered! The top part may still be 3-6 weeks away before we work our way up to that point.

Are you planning any TM for this weekend at all? Trying to find an excuse to skip the 1 hour drive to the group ride all the way down to 6MR...just don't tell anybody!

 

[pixychick]

Thanks for the offer but we taking the weekend off of trail work to go out to Kittatinny to visit friends at the annual race.

 

[pixychick]

I went to the Kittatinny race on Sunday. Not able to recover or train for racing, I took my only 2 lap choice as a cat 1 racer to race 55+ open men. I have not raced or even elevated my heart rate much in the past year, so I pretty much just rode at a comfortable, steady pace for the entire race. It felt ok, and I was not last, nor did I get passed by anyone except for 3 fat bikes at the start that went off right behind my class. So while it was not terrible, it was not great either. It also confirmed that I really still do not want to race anymore. That being said it was nice to see some racers and nice to see some kids out racing on my old bikes.

Back in Ringwood, we are still plugging away on the last section of re-route. I would say that we are almost 1/4 way up this section. Looks like rain for tomorrow. so not sure we will be able to work. Hoping the rain stops by 4pm. I was hoping for a big work day Saturday, but with 98 degrees in the forecast, it will probably be a short day. We certainly need to pace ourselves with the heat. Today was only 2.5 hours and we were completely soaked like we dove into a pool, and in Art's case, more like a mud hole. We have gone from wet woods to powder dry. Summer is here!

As the days of summer tick away, I have already noticed fire flies diminishing and cicadas humming. The 4 gosling on our pond have grown and flown away. 5 baby wood ducks are full grown and 6 new little ones have arrived late. The older ones swim around by themselves and the 6 little ones swim all in a line behind mom. Now I know where the expression get your ducks in row comes from. Even when they stop to sit on a log, they are all in a tight row. Pond life is good this year.

 

[RNG1]

It was nice seeing you and Art. It had been a really long time.