Trail: building, science, art, journeys, and gear
Trail: building, science, art, journeys, and gear
source December 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the law that created the Recreational Trails Program (RTP), one of the most important sources of funding for trail projects. Through all the years of competition for Federal dollars, the program has been continued helping States, volunteer groups, and project sponsors to improve our nationwide system of […]
25 years of the Recreational Trails Program Read More »
*for big bikes In thinking about jumps and rollers I assume the safe bet is to make them smooth (not too jerky/bumpy) for bigger bikes as they have the biggest wheel base. For extra large 29ers this is somewhere near 46 inches…which led me to produce the following thought experiment: [rethought/updated, the Brachistochrone or cycloid
Smooth Jumps and Rollers Read More »
The relatively new GTQE was created by the BLM and IMBA. A link to the document is here: GQTE Dirt Rag has an overview here: Access: How to build friggin’ awesome mountain bike trails (that are actually legal) It is a nice document, but don’t get bound too tightly by the pages.The Pennsylvania Trail Design
Guide for Quality Trail Experiences (GQTE) Read More »
I was pleased to finally experience the new skills area at Raystown Lake, PA. It’s special for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is the first of it’s kind built on federal land. I feel like mountain biking has already secured a place in our culture as I see it used
Raystown Lake Skills Park Read More »
Some people may not be familiar with the terms trail gentrification, trail sanitation, or dumbing down. I linked to a post related to this about a year ago. I’m sure there are more terms tied to the same whipping post, but no more come to mind other than “flip-flop-ready”, and “stroller paths.” These words are
Flow versus Flowy Trails Read More »
This piece is interesting in that a community, or many in a community (Eagle’s Nest Township, Minnesota), do something we have been told not to do: feed bears. It begins and ends off the bear topic, but it is interesting nonetheless as it investigates our perceptions of what we perceive to be real, if not right
Black Bear Reality Check Read More »
The Bergen Record ran a story on one of the TCCC crews PDF format The_Record_(Bergen_Edition)_20170722_A01_2 The_Record_(Bergen_Edition)_20170722_A06_3
Ramapo Crew Spotlight Read More »
I read a great article recently on Woody Keen (here). What an inspiration. I continue to run into other Keen-like figures on the east coast, and I recall working with a few on the west coast as well. Some were purely mountain bikers, some purely hikers, some both. Regardless, as Keen said, “We’re still fighting…
Recreation in the Forest Read More »
While I admire dry stone artistry, walls, fences, borders, and enclosures stir up mixed emotions for me. Walls were not the cause of Manorialism and Enclosures, nor nation-state borders and landlordism, but in my mind they helped spell the end of liberty in the form of dispossession and expropriation via the realization of primitive accumulation.
Great Zimbabwe’s Stone Ruins Read More »
Another one for the “bucket list.” What better use for an old coal mine than a whole new universe? This is just what the Duke of Buccleuch and architect Charles Jencks did with an open cast coal mine located within Scotland’s Lowther Hills. read more
From Mine to a Universe of Rocks and… Read More »