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Volunteers puts in long hours building singletrack – like this crew that recently reworked a portion of the Raven Trail in
Wisconsin's Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. Front row, left to right: Judd Tlusty, Jeff Rubsam, Rich Robertson, Pete Johnson, Tommy Berger and Wayne Fish. Back row: Dale
Falesch of the DNR. A new era in mountain bike trail development How'd you like to come up and ride the new Smokin' Spoke race course for the WORS marathon series? And have you heard about the trail development at the Raven in the Northern
Highlands-American Legion State Forest just outside of Minocqua?
But it wasn't until I started to dig up the latest on the Raven Trail in Wisconsin's largest state forest that I got a glimpse at the bigger picture and the future of mountain biking here. First a little history. The Raven is a microcosm of the difficulties caused by the early mountain bike movement. I'm sure it started when the first hiker was startled by one of those "wild and crazy" bikers tearing down the trails at high speeds, irritating everyone along the way. And it didn't help that these off-road bikers followed fall lines straight down the hills, maximized their speed – and the speed of erosion-causing water. Braking and skidding wheels kicked up dirt, stones and gravel, too. So that type of trail design was a sure source of damage and conflict. Attempts were made to ban mountain biking on the Raven. Belated cooperation with other users, hard work by bikers and general enlightenment saved several mountain biking venues. The first and most important breakthrough was modern mountain bike trail design. The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) realized early on that developing ecologically sustainable trails was critical to the future of the sport. Trail developers saw that when a trail followed the fall line, runoff cascaded down its entire length, creating extensive erosion. But when a trail traversed or crossed a hill, runoff flowed over only a couple feet of trail. IMBA realized that trails that twisted and turned up and down hills not only minimized soil loss but were fun to ride. In addition, narrow singletrack trails required very little if any removal of trees. But the bottom line was a trail that had minimum impact on the environment also required less maintenance. And recent studies have shown that mountain biking on well-designed trails is no more destructive than hiking. For a complete list of these studies go to www.imba.com/resources/science /impact_summary.html. In the case of the Raven, new singletrack would redirect mountain bikers off wider sections of double track, especially near the parking lot, where hiker/biker conflicts were most likely to occur. Ultimately, separate trail systems were built, improving safety for all. Continued access to the Raven trails by mountain bikers was also made possible by a partnership between local enthusiasts and DNR employees. One area rider, Peter Zenti, was particularly instrumental in finding a solution. Zenti, president of the Lakeland Area Mountain Bike Organization (LAMBO), worked with the Oneida Biking and Walking Trails Council and local bike shop owner Al Joswiak to petition the DNR to keep the trails open. They found a sympathetic ear in state trails coordinator Brigit Brown. Not only was she receptive to the idea, she became very enthusiastic about creating singletrack trails at the Raven, as well as elsewhere in the state. "That's just part of my job, finding ways to create trails, not excuses to close them," Brown told me. An overriding goal for all types of trails – whether they're meant for hikers or ATV'ers – is to "keep them in better shape and minimize impact," she said. Also on the DNR side of the equation was Steve Peterson, the superintendent for the Northern Highlands-American Legion (NH-AL) State Forest. Peterson was very receptive to new ideas for building environmentally friendly trails that separated hikers and bikers. He even purchased a Ditch Witch that could be used to greatly speed up the development of singletrack (not to mention level campsites). The final piece of the DNR puzzle was Tony Martinez, NH-AL trails supervisor. I've known of Martinez for a while through his ski trail grooming reports. Martinez was similarly interested in informing and involving the public in mountain bike trail development in the forest. Bringing the Raven bike trails up to IMBA standards meant rerouting them. Until recently, slow progress in this area was made by Martinez and a small number of LAMBO volunteers doing trail work on Monday afternoons. The trail redesign was facilitated by Brown, who brought in Mike Riter, an Atlanta-based trail developer. Last fall, Riter flagged a sustainable trail corridor for the Raven. (For a history of trail design and Riter's involvement since its inception, go to www.traildesign.com.) Implementing Riter's trail plan then fell to Zenti's crew of about a dozen volunteers equipped with hand tools. This has been the modus operandi for such projects across the state. But without help, it could have taken LAMBO years to finish the trail. Enter the Ditch Witch – a trail-building machine that acts as a kind of a mini highway grader. Complete with a front-end loader and a blade for leveling, it does the work of many men and greatly speeds up trail development. The DNR's Brigit Brown leased a Ditch Witch and Peterson bought one for the state forest. The state assembled a four-man team to use one, and Martinez and his fellow LAMBO members came to operate the NH-AL's. Everyone involved went through a hands-on trail-building seminar in Greenbush in the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest in southeast Wisconsin this past July 9-14. Riter served as an instructor. The result will be a crew of four state employees and a Ditch Witch able to travel the state to build trail. So singletrack building no longer need be one person with a chain saw and a shovel laying trail willy-nilly. Instead, cooperative efforts between an enlightened DNR and local volunteers making use of mechanized equipment are producing top-notch sustainable trails. There still is a place for the one-person one-chain saw operation, but most areas that don't have lone wolf trail builders like Fish, Dave Mangan (in the Southern Kettles) or Steve Morales (in Hayward). This is where the new centrally located DNR crew will fill the gap. Zenti and his group will still meet on Mondays. Even with a Ditch Witch, a crew is needed to do the finishing work. LAMBO is also looking to build a skills course for those looking to improve their bike handling. Riders will eventually have logs to ride and narrow elevated bridges and teeter-totters to cross. The course is expected to be a quarter mile long. If you would like more information on trail riding in the greater Rhinelander area, check out the website at www.bikes- n-boards.com. This is also an excellent source for up-to-date trail maps for the northwoods. Lee Borowski is a past USSA Nordic Coach of the Year, Badger State Winter Athlete of the Year, and the coach of several Junior, Senior and Collegiate Skiers of the Year. He has also coached many master skiers who have won both national and world championships. In addition, Borowski is the author of several books, many articles and four videos on cross-country skiing. He runs the website http://thesimplesecrets.com/. To order Borowski's NEW Simple Secrets of Skating or The Simple Secrets of Striding (demonstrated through footage of Olympic and world champions and available on VHS and DVD), send $25 plus $1.75 shipping (Wisconsin residents add $1.27 tax) to Lee Borowski, 4500 Cherokee Drive, Brookfield, WI 53045.
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Back to the top Waupaca Publishing: 717 Tenth Street * P.O. Box 152 * Waupaca, WI 54981 © 1999-2007 Site last updated 8/28/07 Designed by PBW |
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