Dig stoke, who else likes to play in the dirt???

[LeeLau]

Trail clearing

[SB]

Repourpose old mtn bike into tool haul push bike for trail work. Still proto phazer stage.

[SB]

Trail mule is coming along.

[jm2e]

That’s sick. I’d probably still try to figure a way to make it somewhat rideable myself. But maybe i’d fail.


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[SB]

I can put it in single speed mode by re installing the cranks and a new chain.

I soaked the front brake components in motor oil over night and after a bit of effort it went back together and works fine.

Added some extra support and stabilizing pieces to the platform for a better fit and slapped a coat of rattle can red on the wood.

The whole rig is re configurable for the task at hand. Zip ties, para cord and hose clamps are employed thru out. The front bucket can be removed to carry along while the mule is parked.

[jackstraw]

That’s sick. I’d probably still try to figure a way to make it somewhat rideable myself. But maybe i’d fail.


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Yeah, I would as well. Aside from power tools we just stash most tools in the build area.

[LeeLau]

Reloamification

[VTskibum]

Trail building season has closed for a while, now onto beating back the encroachment of pricker bushes all summer. Was covered in so much pollen after 45 min I had several bees trying to pollenate me



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[evdog]

Trail mule is coming along.

What is the handlebar pole for?

I'd use the PVC pipe but mount it along the top tube to hold a long handle tool like shovel, hoe etc. Those are usually the hardest tools to carry by bike since they don't fit in a backpack. I've just strapped them to the top tube in the past. Your shins will not be friends with that wooden platform.

For me if something is walking distance I'll just hand carry tools. If the project is more than one day, tools get stashed so I can ride in on later trips. A bike is only used if I can ride it in to save time. Having to push it in and out doesn't help that. I don't recall ever needing so much stuff that I can't easily carry it in a backpack.

[evdog]

Trail building season has closed for a while, now onto beating back the encroachment of pricker bushes all summer. Was covered in so much pollen after 45 min I had several bees trying to pollenate me

That photo gives me ptsd. If that corridor was in socal half that brush would be poison oak. Do you guys not have lots of poison ivy out there?

[SB]

The handle bar extension is to steer the bike, with a load on the frame of bulky items. Its copied off how the VC would transport equipment down the ho chi mieh trail by bike. It can be moved over or taken off all together.

This configuration is a direct result of discussion of how to transport bags of sackcrete into trail shelter build locations. Trail building encompasses many other items and techniques other than just for bikes.

[VTskibum]

That photo gives me ptsd. If that corridor was in socal half that brush would be poison oak. Do you guys not have lots of poison ivy out there?

Yeah, definitely PI floating around, wash hands/arms as soon as I get home. This mostly gets overrun by these damn thorn bushes that are often worse than PI. Razor sharp strands of thorns over hanging the trails so ripping through singletrack and they get your forearms and worse the inner elbow bend getting caught, when you finish a trail ride it looks like your arms got attacked by a herd of angry cats.. They grow something like 8' tall if left unchecked so most of this is trimming those things back which tend to over-grow the trail more than PI.

[raisingarizona13]

That photo gives me ptsd. If that corridor was in socal half that brush would be poison oak. Do you guys not have lots of poison ivy out there?

A couple summers ago I spent a month in California working on some trail just west of Sacramento by Lake Berryessa. The area was burnt over several times the past handful of years so there wasn't much green there but apparently some of the stuff I was machine working through was poison oak. I think the wind must have carried the oils on the dust that was blowing up on me during high winds because that po was all over my body. I don't want to experience that again. It was brutal.

[VTskibum]

I end up with a Predinose cycle or two through out the summer pretty much every year, though usually not after trail maint days b/c I'm more cognizant of it. I've heard horror stories from my dad about people ending up in the hospital from inhaling smoke from brush burns w/ PI or PO in them. That's a level of hell I don't want to contemplate. Was also in a CVS with a mom asking the pharmacist about best PI remedies, apparently her small son was taking a leak in the woods and got exposure in the wrong place, wasn't sure if it was front or back.

[Clownshoe]

I’ve been planning a fix in this little creek crossing for a year at least. I was going to build a little bridge, but I was too lazy to cart all the tools into the woods. It looked like there might be enough rocks around to make it out of rocks and dirt, so I gave it a go


Rock collection underway. At this point I had doubts I’d find enough rocks to raise the trail up a couple of feet, but I was committed because I had torn apart the old half wrecked crossing.

One side done. It looks like the other side underneath the dirt, but I didn’t take any photos because I didn’t think it would work.

It worked! Hopefully it hold through big rains and snowmelt. Time will tell.

Edit: sideways photos! Arghhh

[LeeLau]

I’ve been planning a fix in this little creek crossing for a year at least. I was going to build a little bridge, but I was too lazy to cart all the tools into the woods. It looked like there might be enough rocks around to make it out of rocks and dirt, so I gave it a go

Edit: sideways photos! Arghhh

Glad you're good to hike. Trails around here still barely hold dirt so am finishing trailwork in a rush

[evdog]

The handle bar extension is to steer the bike, with a load on the frame of bulky items. Its copied off how the VC would transport equipment down the ho chi mieh trail by bike. It can be moved over or taken off all together.

This configuration is a direct result of discussion of how to transport bags of sackcrete into trail shelter build locations. Trail building encompasses many other items and techniques other than just for bikes.

Fair enough. I've transported 60lb bags of quickcrete in a backpack, riding in by bike. Also have used a bob trailer pulled by an ebike with a 60lb bag in the trailer. I think we hauled 25 bags in that way, plus numerous loads of planks for a bridge. Vibes if you're planning to try and haul multiple bags at once.

[evdog]

Yeah, definitely PI floating around, wash hands/arms as soon as I get home. This mostly gets overrun by these damn thorn bushes that are often worse than PI. Razor sharp strands of thorns over hanging the trails so ripping through singletrack and they get your forearms and worse the inner elbow bend getting caught, when you finish a trail ride it looks like your arms got attacked by a herd of angry cats.. They grow something like 8' tall if left unchecked so most of this is trimming those things back which tend to over-grow the trail more than PI.

Sounds brutal. We get lots of thistle some years which is annoying but doesn't leave much damage. Worse is in the mountains we get buckthorn overgrowing backcountry trails. Sometimes it grows in so thick it can literally stop you dead and throw you backwards when you try to ride through it. But mostly it just mauls you as you ride through it.

A couple summers ago I spent a month in California working on some trail just west of Sacramento by Lake Berryessa. The area was burnt over several times the past handful of years so there wasn't much green there but apparently some of the stuff I was machine working through was poison oak. I think the wind must have carried the oils on the dust that was blowing up on me during high winds because that po was all over my body. I don't want to experience that again. It was brutal.

I've heard of that for sure, same with using a string trimmer on the stuff. Similar to inhaling smoke with PO oils in it, dust got into a guys lungs who used the string trimmer and he ended up in hospital I think. I would never use one on it, just the leaf/stem debris getting thrown around would cover me in PO oil. No thanks.

I've also heard of people getting bad rashes swimming or wading in water that has a lot of PO upstream.

[Abies]

Yep it can be brutal. I had a coworker once cut a bunch of vining poison oak off a tree for a bougie parks department in a Portland suburb. He said he didn't react to it, but the vaporizing oil and sawdust got into his lungs and he had to be on steroids/out of work for over a month. Why they wanted to get rid of the poison oak from a natural area in the first place is another question.

[Andeh]

I've heard of that for sure, same with using a string trimmer on the stuff. Similar to inhaling smoke with PO oils in it, dust got into a guys lungs who used the string trimmer and he ended up in hospital I think. I would never use one on it, just the leaf/stem debris getting thrown around would cover me in PO oil. No thanks.

The smoke with PO is a real thing. My brother's a firefighter here in NorCal, and has had that happened to him bad once on a wildland fire. Also the ash with PO oils tends to accumulate on the collars & cuffs of their turnout gear and gets them really bad.

[t.odd]

I’ve been planning a fix in this little creek crossing for a year at least. I was going to build a little bridge, but I was too lazy to cart all the tools into the woods. It looked like there might be enough rocks around to make it out of rocks and dirt, so I gave it a go

It worked! Hopefully it hold through big rains and snowmelt. Time will tell.

nice effort!

[raisingarizona13]

The smoke with PO is a real thing. My brother's a firefighter here in NorCal, and has had that happened to him bad once on a wildland fire. Also the ash with PO oils tends to accumulate on the collars & cuffs of their turnout gear and gets them really bad.

I think I had that going on too. It seemed like it was in my work cloths and it just kept spreading all over me.

[bigwaterbird]

All the rain lately has been causing some serious issues at our local trail network. Decided to take the morning and create some new drainage…saw Clownshoe’s work up above and thought it would work well here. Trail dog approved…

[SB]

Sweet pup and rig.

Outstanding work also.

[evdog]

One of my trails was basically an old game trail that people started riding. I re-routed part of it 5-6 years ago but left the uppermost part. This year that section turned into a mud bog helped by riders who kept going wider and wider thinking they could avoid the mess, but just made it worse. So now I'd re-routing that part too. Found a cool little line that will add some rock, and also provide an alternate line to access the trail as the existing one has become pretty difficult as it wears in.




From the section above you'll turn onto the rock slab here and climb up




Need to get up onto the rock where the trail ends in pic below. Found two rocks that are perfect. The closer one was heavy, didn't think I'd be able to move it uphill. But on two sides it was surprisingly easy to flip. Rotate 180, and it was back to the easy to flip sides. It would form the crib for the ramp. The other one is over 3ft long and would form the riding surface. It's perfectly flat on one side and has a v-shape underneath.




Finished ramp. It's solid.




The rest shouldn't take long to build but I'll need help moving a couple big rocks out of the way. Then just cut the remaining tread to connect and close off the old section.