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Accomplishments Trailwork Reports

Mechanized Trailwork Training

IMG_2669A core focus of CAMBC is to provide education to volunteers and other trail stewards in order to promote sustainable multi-use trail building principles. On March 25th and 26th, we hosted a two-day, hands-on training event for our partners in Albemarle County Parks and Recreation, the City of Charlottesville, and the Miller School. Albemarle County and the Miller School both recently purchased narrow gauge equipment specifically to help build and maintain area trails.

A Solid Foundation

In January, we invited the trail crews from Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville to join us in a trip to Richmond, where Nathan Burrell of Richmond City parks showed the teams around Bell Isle, a machine-built cross-country trail. Nathan described trail building as a three-dimensional planning process, illustrated by Bell Isle’s undulating flow, and noted the Richmond pump track as another possibility machines open to trailbuilders.

The visit provided some fresh ideas and reinforced the value of a close partnership between municipal teams and local trail use volunteers, who in Richmond dedicate thousands of hours per year toward building trails. Richmond City Parks and residents have come to rely on one another to create trails everyone wants to use.

Breaking Ground

On March 25th and 26th, CAMBC invited Professional Trail Builder Association (PTBA) member Brock Lowery of Ironwood Outdoors to come share his extensive experience in trail design and construction. He was joined by colleague Geoff Allen of Bergrad Trails, and a pair of Ditch Witch machines. Crews from Charlottesville City and Albemarle County parks departments, led by Chris Gensic and Tucker Rollins, met up at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir trails. Andy Guptill brought along the Miller School’s Mini-Excavator, and Tucker brought the county’s Ditch Witch.

Nate working a steep section

Brock and Geoff demonstrated taking small layers off the trail in multiple passes using a Ditch Witch. This minimizes damage to the machine, keeping it from spinning its tracks and widening the trail excessively. On many sections, the trail is initially sloped inwards, and left with a large berm on the outside. This is important on very steep slopes, they said, because the insloping leans the machine toward the hill in case of a rollover, and the large berm on the outside acts as a “rumble strip” warning the operator they may be backing too far over the edge. On subsequent passes, the berm grows, but the trail surface flattens and begins to develop a proper outslope. The machine moves on leaving a heavy berm, and a sharp cut in the hillside. After the Ditch Witch has moved on, the mini excavator or workers with hand tools then knock down the remaining berm and topslope to give the trail a finished look, and allow water to sheet off properly.

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Completed 4 foot wide corridor with a grade reversal, ready for finishing with hand tools.

Proper grading of the slope was discussed throughout both days, with methods like grade reversals or undulating the trail to control how and where water flows downhill, and to protect trees. Additionally, Brock and Geoff taught techniques for operating the Ditch Witch safely on steep terrain, as well as how to perform maintenance and repairs on the trail using hand tools.

About a quarter-mile of trail was built over two days, with everyone getting a turn training at the controls of the equipment. CAMBC is extremely pleased to have facilitated this event, and look forward to opportunities to work with the city and county putting this training into practice. Thanks to all CAMBC members and volunteers. This is how we put your membership dues, volunteer fund raising efforts, and donations back into the trails. Please join us on trailwork days. There is always something new to learn when you play in the dirt.

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Trailwork Reports

RTF / O-Hill Trailwork day

Thanks to everyone who came out to suppport CAMBC and the RTF on the recent trail work days. With the new CAMBC/UVA MOU in hand we set out to fix a section of RTF at O-Hill that has needed some love for quite some time. Volunteers put in 130 hours over two days. They laid stone to support the trail and keep riders out of the mud.

Thanks to everyone for supporting our in-town trails!!!

OHill Trail  - Small

Categories
Accomplishments Trailwork Reports

New Trail Park at Ragged Mountain Natural Area

image4The City of Charlottesville owns approximately 1000 wooded acres a few (bike-able) miles outside of the City proper where the City’s reservoir is located.  This terrain is mountainous mature forests with a dam that creates the reservoir.  A local foundation (Ivy Creek Foundation) had previously been granted permission to create and maintain a primitive trail system at Ragged Mountain Area, but bikes and other shared uses were prohibited.  Ivy Creek Foundation did a great job of managing the site for many years.  Last year the City undertook a large construction project to raise the Ragged Mountain dam about 50 feet in order to expand the water reserves.  Most of the existing trails were destroyed or submerged with the construction and a new effort was begun to relocate/rebuild the trail system.  Ivy Creek Foundation decided to give up their management of the property.  CAMBC and other partners including the Rivanna Trails Foundation, Charlottesiville Area Trail Runners, saw this opportunity to open up a dialog with the land manager, the City Department of Parks and Recreation.  We collectively advocated that when the trail system was restored it should be designated for shared use, including bicycles.  We’ve been in continuous dialog with the City’s Trail Planner for the last year discussing the change in use for the area, and planting seeds for a shared use trail park.

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In the fall of 2014 the City held a public meeting to discuss changing use at this area and, thanks to advocacy from the club, there was unanimous consensus recommending the City open the Ragged Mountain Area to shared use.  The City’s trail planner now indicates the City is preparing an announcement changing the park trails to shared use.  In January CAMBC met with the City Trail Planner to begin a comprehensive trail plan for the park area.  Working with the endorsement of the City, CAMBC’s plan for the area would be part of a system of approximately 15 miles of nearby single track trails for beginner, intermediate, and expert use.

0 (1)The City then slated February 14 for a day to begin putting that plan to ground.  Working with the land manager CAMBC members flagged about one mile of new trail in preparation for the February 14 work day.  The day of the event CAMBC members provided tools and instruction to approximately 40 volunteers, including a UVA service fraternity.  This group cleared and benched approximately one mile of new trail on that day.  After the work was completed CAMBC broke out the grill in the parking lot and served food to the volunteers.  The land manager was so impressed with the turn out and the amount of new trail that was created in one day that he invited us to store trail working tools in the City-owned utility shed in the new park, and to continue to work with him to design and construct the rest of the trail system!

Thanks to all of our volunteers!

Keep it up CAMBC, together we are building a network of local, shared use trails that rival any place!

 

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Trailwork Reports

Pleasant Grove Trail Work Day – September 27, 2014

On Saturday September 27th Jason Smith from Fluvanna County Parks and Recreation, Walter Hussey from theRivanna Chapter, Virginia Master Naturalists and David Wood, John Petrylak and Josh Wall from theCharlottesville Area Mountain Bike Club (CAMBC) participated in a trail work day at Pleasant Grove park inFluvanna County.

The work day was focused on moving a bridge back to its original position spanning a largeditch along the Heritage Trail. The bridge was built by a group of local Boy Scouts early in the spring and shortlyafter was washed down a creek and turned 180 degrees during a torrential rain storm. Luckily, the Scouts did agreat job building the bridge and it survived the trip down the flooded creek intact. In order to move the bridge back to the trail the work team used chains, rope, and a tractor to slowly pull the bridge along 2×10 skids. The whole operation took about 4 hours and the crew was done in time to enjoy the Fluvanna County Wine Festival that took place at Pleasant Grove that afternoon.

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Trailwork Reports

CAMBC and RTF Trail Love Spring 2014

2014 Spring CAMBC RTF Trail Day-14
Todd Neimeyer discussing the circle of death with the undergrads and cub scouts
2014 Spring CAMBC RTF Trail Day-16
Al Inigo getting dirty
2014 Spring CAMBC RTF Trail Day-20
Jason Hiser swinging the rogue hoe
2014 Spring CAMBC RTF Trail Day-21
Todd Neimeyer making the trail smooth and buttery

2014 Spring CAMBC RTF Trail Day-15

Dave Stackhouse and Todd Neimeyer contemplated the correct method for bench cutting a trail
Dave Stackhouse and Todd Neimeyer contemplating the correct method for bench cutting a trail
Categories
Trailwork Reports

Trailwork: Patricia Ann Byrom Forest Preserve

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The first Saturday of each month is dedicated to expanding the trails at the Patricia Ann Byrom Forest Preserve. Albemarle County has invited us to participate in building singletrack in the 600 acre park. The park is currently open to the public, and has 5-6 miles of trail ready for use by hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians. The trails are extremely steep, and following the Little Flat Mountain Loop will take you to the Shenandoah National Park Boundary.

Nate Lopez, an employee of Albemarle Parks & Rec has been constructing beautiful rock switchbacks to wind the newest section of singletrack down through massive rock formations. Nate (working with Scud and others) was also responsible for the new switchbacks constructed at Walnut Creek Park last summer. 30+ volunteers from APO, a UVA service fraternity, have also been regular trail work volunteers over the past year at Byrom. In speaking with the students, many of them have a distinct love for the park, and love building trail.

The past few months have been focused on cutting singletrack off the main trail, and working up through a rocky ridge. The trail is steep, and proper bench cuts and grade reversals are required on nearly every trail surface. Because of the steep topography, mechanized trailwork is out of the question. That means the more volunteers that help at Byrom, the faster we have big mountain style riding in our backyards. If you’d like to volunteer, watch for the emails announcing regularly scheduled workdays. We as a club can step up and organize additional workdays. If you are interested, please send an email to mtb@cambc.org, and we’ll help you coordinate.

Once complete, Byrom is going to be an amazing place to ride. It is different than anything else in the Charlottesville area with long steep climbs, fast ridgeline decents, and mountain views. Much of the park is still a blank slate, so it is an excellent opportunity for us to help design the trails we want to ride.