MTB Trailcare

Ash, Doug (from Lennox Head) and I (Louis) went up to the last point QPWS want fixed on Brett's this afternoon.  Ash had been collecting more rubbish around the velodrome for an hour before we arrived.  We're going to have to call him Ashley Steptoe!

On the way up we decided to clear a fallen tree from a fast section of fire road.  There are others down elsewhere, but this one posed more of a risk to trail users

We are really happy with the work today and hope QPWS will be as well.  Brett's Trail is ready for inspection, but to finish the job to our standard we would like permission to re-route 12m of trail, about 100m from today's work.  It would drain well and remove a series of tight, flow-killing, boggy corners from an area that will otherwise always require maintenance to remain stable

Back to today.  This corner was a concern for QPWS due to erosion.  Apology in advance for photo quality.  Some were taken in near dark conditions

It is not so much water as tyre erosion, but both are a factor.  In reality, this was a place where two straight sections of trail come to a crazy-tight elbow-corner.  Going down the hill (clockwise on Brett's), braking bumps and ruts would always be a problem.  Riding up, any rhythm riders would establish after the hard climb is shut down at this point

To rectify the corner, attention to the uphill trail entry was essential.  Riders have to be able to enter a corner with confidence to avoid braking ruts developing.  In this spot we wanted a gentle outslope to avoid water collection.  

A combination of  subtle re-alignment of the entry line, taking advantage of the position of a sapling and a small, rolling grade dip should allow all level of riders to enjoy this corner, rather than fight it when entering from above.  A poor quality pic of this section after completion can be seen later in the report

Here are some half-time pics

In the last pic, the large rock near the shovel is on the old trail line.  We put a lot of effort into deeply harvesting grasses from the new line, preparing a bed on the old trail line, re-planting them and top-dressing.  We did it on both ends and added corral points with stone and wood.  If those things fit into the landscape and are not glareing, then we are happy.  This transplanting has worked for us previously and we have a good feeling in this place due to the quality of the soil

These last pics are not the best, but show how things were finished - starting at the top.  The subtle line changes leading to the drainage before the corner are visible in the next pic

Now the corner has a defined line that allows flow in both directions

We removed unsightly, dead sticks and added organic debris to the ballast behind the new berm (made of stone and added soil) to help it get reclaimed by the bush up to the trail line.  Trees close to the top of the berm encourage riders to avoid riding too wide

Another rolling grade dip was added on the lower exit in a site that should help riders' wheels hook up, not that this is a fast corner.  We also added stones above the dip to slow water flow, plus other debris to discourage short-cutters.  Shortcut discouragement had not been completed in the next pics

Hope you like the changes.  We will check it tomorrow, because we are riding for a change - yippee.  Happy trails