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Trail Building Guide (Jumps, Shore & Downhill) |
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Mountain Bike Skills -
Trail Building
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Written by stumpy_dan
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Hits 217
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
So you have discovered the holy grail. The ultimate piece of track or park for you to build your little dirt jump park, northshore haven or downhill track. Maybe it is your local wood or nearby hill.
Could be it's already being used maybe by local riders or it really is
virgin territory crying out for development. If you have no idea where
to start or struggling to make it happen (and generally happen fast)
then the core thing is getting organised and getting agreement. Come on
in.
Personally I have been trying to go through the process and guidelines from the IMBA (which I summarise below) to get a little jump park in Old Harlow "The Fifty in Newhall Woods" organized and set up and would shortly like to do something similar an area like Queens Woods in North London which is now nearer to home. We shall see!! It is not always so easy to get the piece of land agreed by the land owner first time (particularly if privately owned) but I think you need to take the view that Rome wasn't built in a day and essentially you will succeed as many of the barriers can be overcome if you are organised and think it through and of course never forget and be proud in your communication that biking is nearly always a fundamentally positive introduction to a community and it's youth and such tools and techniques exist today to make it safe for the rest of the community as well as the environment that gifts the ride. OK here we go.
- The first thing you need to do is to identify who owns the land. If it is on Forestry Commission land then have a play with this link http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/HCOU-4U4HZV Alternatively ask around in local shops and llok out for signs on the land itself etc. Once you have done this approach the owner and talk them through your overall ideas. Let them know you will only build with their involvement and using structured techniques and specifications. This is better done face to face or at least on the phone. If they agree follow up your conversation in writing.
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A word of warning that although you may decide to build without the landowners permission (or doing so already) that not only are you putting yourself and others at risk as well as watching your many hours of building trail / park being torn down time and time again by the owner; you may actually be presently surprised when you ask the Landowner and they say yes. In reality although a landowner may / may not be happy with a trail they realise that there is often little they can do to stop people building them and so would rather work with you than against you. So try it, and if you don't at first succeed review why and try it again.
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Get Organised and appoint a team leader as your main and single point of contact with the landowner. It may be worth starting a club-with a small membership fee to control usage, get building ./ maintenance funds and gain support (you can worry about this bit down the line) . The IMBA site is great for overcoming some of the landowners fears so I am-not going to better it just summarise what they are. Check out their link here: http://www.imba.org.uk/index.php?page=Jump_Site_Guidance
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If the land is privately owned rather by an organisation or public body then privacy will be a core concerns. Be sensitive to this.
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Fear of being sued is often a concern. You can overcome this.
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Unregulated expansion. Again work with them to agree rules.
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Damage to trees and crops. Put your green hat on.
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Effects on game shooting. Take this seriously if you want to ride.
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Conflict with walkers and horse-riders. They have as much right.
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Nature conservation and effect on local plant and wildlife. Be green, Be sensitive.
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- Once you have a basic plan get Some rules together and agree them with the landowner. Within these plans you will want to agree things like agree the border of the site, where warning signs will be used, what type of constructions are accepted or not, how the site will e inspected and monitored going forward, the safety rules and the rider 3rd party liability insurance requirements. accident reporting procedure, the process of dealing with conflicts and how you will avoid litter etc.
- Get a copy of the IMBA Freeride Guide: price £3 from the IMBA web shop
- Join IMBA and get a free copy of "Building Better Trails" - or buy from the IMBA-UK website for £7.50.
- Invest in a copy of the IMBA trail-building bible "Trail Solutions".
Persevere.
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enjoy your ride!
