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

A tree down across the backyard trail led to an opportunity for a new feature. Was going to make it a jump, but the angles of the trail were all wrong, so I went for a teeter instead.

We'll see how it works out, it's at the very start of the trail in a spot where you need to build speed for the rest of the run so it may turn out that teeter may kills too much speed. I'm going to test it out after I finish my Mil--ler high life.

Thing one checking it out after helping me rake in the in run. He also helped me rake all the berms and trannies yesterday. I knew I had kids for a reason...

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/27/bupubenu.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/27/abytyvum.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PlayItLeo

He also helped me rake all the berms and trannies yesterday. I knew I had kids for a reason...

---

so rad, start them young, DIG TO RIDE!

ive never actually ridden a properly functioning teeter, no articulating structures according to imba these days...
only been on old and busted sketchball stuff, think i am missing out, looks fun!

do work!
gorgeous memorial day spent out at the park
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/m-...y=w935-h701-no

dirt tan, you know it was a good day...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/aC...Z=w616-h600-no

and now its beer o'clock :cool:

the backyard
http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...psfc507015.jpg

There is a series of gardens and playgrounds throughout the yard with this being the biggest. She usually makes it :wink:

No pics to share but planning on getting out again to help on trail work this year.

Sent from my Huawei-U8665 using TGR Forums

checking back in here, what has everyone been up to so far this summer???


after getting 30inches of rain so far this year in the twin cities, which is the norm for the ENTIRE year, including some 4+ inch days, things are off to a bit of a late start to say the least...

but we have been getting some shit done

xc trails underwater
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...23448060_o.jpg

lots of locals bitch about the trail boss nazis closing at the mention of a drizzle, this trail system sees 800+ riders on a nice weekend day so there are plenty of complainers, this should shut them up, the effort these kids put in to get shit open is above and beyond

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...a3&oe=57767456
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...a9&oe=57737C01

redneck style
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...23&oe=577D3CD1

results, trail = open!
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...b1&oe=577F6AF1


i cant claim any of their work that day, as i was busy with another project, which leads me to...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wl...X=w843-h474-no

grand opening for the bike park ive been working on was last week!
2 pump tracks and 4x opened up to public with great reception

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFT5PTPo1Uc

last night we had our first imba bell grant visit with the one and only randy spangler to work up a design for the dj area
oh me oh my oh nooooo, its gonna get rowdy up in MN is all i can say!
cant wait for the crew to come out later summer and start building rad jumps with us

this sums up my season, the remnants of solstice marathon 15 hour dig day
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dg...e=w450-h600-no

get dirty :yourock:

800/day is HUGE...

wow.

Haven't ended up digging here yet :(

Did some re-routing on one of our local trails.

http://www.flatheadfattires.com/wp-c...86598156_n.jpg

Toast, your dog looks near identical to mine...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by grskier

800/day is HUGE...

wow.

Haven't ended up digging here yet :(

---

50 spots full open till close weekends + after work crowd, its nuts, getting to be damn near the same in winter with fatties

Quote:

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Originally Posted by toast2266

Did some re-routing on one of our local trails.

---

pooch approves
"Is it test chase you on the bike time yet?"




so rad to work on a design with a rider of such caliber, cant wait for the build team to come back and get a chance to share a shovel with some pros, hoping to learn a thing or three
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...06025863_n.jpg

Found a local new park and met the WV Forestry guy who is part of the planning. He was stoked to see a user and I was stoked to offer input and work to get it up to snuff. Have to go back and ride it again since they were heading out to mow/brush hog when I was leaving.

Having lost access to a civil war battle field that had allowed local bike club to build trails and then few years later kicked us out this will make a nice replacement I think. Mucho potential for easy to moderate trails.

scotty, so rad, love it when a small run in opens doors, all it takes is a smile and giving a shit, then before you know it something is actually getting done!

working our way down the 4x dialing in more and more as we go, this needed an overhaul as it lost far too much speed coming out of it, no longer an issue, it hauls ass now
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...13&oe=577A3C37

got a little more promo coverage from local news, very local... bike stuff starts at 2:30
http://vimeo.com/100160819

next week i get to play slavedriver for a few hours with some kiddos from a mtb camp, doing a trailwork intro and getting their hands dirty, should be fun fun fun, hope they are prepared to work and not just follow my lead and lean on a shovel... :biggrin:

Been meaning to throw some of this for a while in this thread. My secondary job for the summer has been helping build trail around Big Sky, MT two days a week. Been alot of fun working with some very talented operators and being a part of a project so well received by the community here.
It is great to see all the work everyone in this thread has been doing.

Just a couple from Peterson Ridge in Central OR, built and maintained by Sisters Trails Alliance.

Attachment 157205Attachment 157206

awesome viggen, that looks gorgeous, community support feeds the drive, a solid crew and some kudos is about the best day ever imo

bobski, god damn i miss OR, flatland MN is crushing my soul, need to get over to sisters and ride when back visiting, ive hiked in the area a lot, but never ridden the bike, cool to see so much expansion of the mtb trails around there, been hearing very good things
if you ever get over toward alsea falls area check it out, my buddy has been doing strong work, rave reviews from riders and some solid designers involved


ive been busy as hell, same old schtick...

put in an actual jump on an xc trail in MN, holy shit is this rare!
Attachment 157210


reworking some of the 4x at cgbp, always in a state of tuning
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...95&oe=57875C07

and still battling the dreaded rain...
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...e1&oe=5779F75B

the rewards, this is a standard afternoon at the park, kiddos shredding, so rad :yourock:
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...e2&oe=5790BC57

Quote:

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Originally Posted by forty

reworking some of the 4x at cgbp, always in a state of tuning
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...0c0b999bfaed9c

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Purty.....



I've dug up a lot of dirt around here but I've never found one of these. I accidentally woke up a rubber boa. Hibernating in August? I was just glad I found a whole snake and not two pieces with mcleod marks.

http://www.tetongravity.com/video/bi...e-to-be-snakes

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kidwoo

. I accidentally woke up a rubber boa. Hibernating in August?[/url]

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I've come across two this year, but above ground, really cool and mellow snakes

https://scontent-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/...01&oe=546D3D43

Yeah I've seen them on trails before, but never would have guessed they'd be 3ft under in the summer. I felt bad for waking him up.


Looks like yours is posing for the camera. Good eye contact!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Viggen

Been meaning to throw some of this for a while in this thread. My secondary job for the summer has been helping build trail around Big Sky, MT two days a week. Been alot of fun working with some very talented operators and being a part of a project so well received by the community here.
It is great to see all the work everyone in this thread has been doing.

---

proud of ya bud and can't wait to come ride that with ya but why don't you share the picture you sent me the other day? ;) ?

those rubber boas are pretty damn cool, ive never lived any place with interesting snakes, well besides rattlers...


couple weeks ago i was given a few hours to lead a summer mtb kids camp through a basic "trail maintenance" crash course experience
little did they know what they were getting themselves into, put those kids to work, DIG TO RIDE!
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...f7&oe=577DFFE2

dave giving them the safety talk "circle of death", slightly different than my normal meetings...
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...1b&oe=578EF724

do work!
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...f1&oe=57BEAF49

or play with bugs...
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...47&oe=577F81C4

follow me my minions
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...37&oe=5780C5F8

got some solid work done, completely reworked the "jump" line in the skills area, jump means bump in MN fyi...
i get another crew of kiddos next week and hope to put in a small skills rock drop line next to this one
slowly but surely the xc trail systems here are getting more interesting, encouraging jumps/drops in skills areas seems to really work well to get riders comfortable and desiring them on the trails as well, my plan is slowly working!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gripen

proud of ya bud and can't wait to come ride that with ya but why don't you share the picture you sent me the other day? ;) ?

---

well now they HAVE to be posted :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by forty

bobski, god damn i miss OR, flatland MN is crushing my soul, need to get over to sisters and ride when back visiting, ive hiked in the area a lot, but never ridden the bike, cool to see so much expansion of the mtb trails around there, been hearing very good things
if you ever get over toward alsea falls area check it out, my buddy has been doing strong work, rave reviews from riders and some solid designers involved

---

Holler if you get to Central OR - lotta good stuff going on. Will definitely check out Alsea area when I get there next

Quote:

---

the rewards, this is a standard afternoon at the park, kiddos shredding, so rad :yourock:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...609d00532067f1

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Love to see the grommets playing in the dirt. Here's some kids at Phil's pumptrack - 4 years old. Helped the kid in green adjust chain tension. Note the full armor and Troy Lee gear. They brought the stoke

Attachment 157319

Mom (who was HAWT!) said they would rather come to the pump track than watch TV or play computer games. :yourock:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by telebobski

Attachment 157319

Mom (who was HAWT!) said they would rather come to the pump track than watch TV or play computer games. :yourock:

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hellz yeah, kiddos arent dumb, they know shredding is better than boobtube, its the stupid adults that crush their natural wanttogetoutsideandkillit attitude

will let ya know if i make it over to the area, still hoping for a oct OR trip but will be grape harvest time so might not get to do much bikey stuff, wine takes priority :biggrin:



got a second day with another group of kids at mtb camp, made a small jump moar bettererrer, as some kiddo said "can we put a lip on it?", yep we sure can!

safety spiel by the dirt boss, "this is the pointy end..."
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...f9&oe=57796C5E

this dirt, it doesnt go here
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...6a&oe=57724A37


DIG TO RIDE!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...24240786_n.jpg

to top it off the camp donated a not insubstantial amount to our club for helping them out, so we got free volunteers and paid for it, bwahahahahahaha :yourock:

next up on the calendar, site prep for the imba bell build dj build at cgbp, next month is gonna be fun fun fun!

wrapping things up for the season out here
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...16&oe=57792E33

a recap of where things are at with CGBP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDm4LN07wQM&feature=youtu.be

if you missed my spew on the build check it: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...48#post4309348


hows everyone else's projects doing?
:smile:

Very cool what you've accomplished there. Questions about this adventure -
- Was IMBA design a requirement of the Bell grant, or was there some other arrangement. Are you guys an IMBA chapter?
- What do you guys do for liability insurance? Seems like there will be more than a few incidents of major blood and compound fractures...

Trail building in central Oregon has pretty much come to a halt for a while. Deschutes NF is coming up with a new forest management plan which will barely be done by the end of their fiscal year (9/30/2015). Until then, no new trail building will be considered. Which means that 15 miles of new singletrack planned for the Sisters area, plus a trail from Detroit reservoir to Sisters by way of Hoodoo, are now on hold.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by telebobski

Very cool what you've accomplished there. Questions about this adventure -
- Was IMBA design a requirement of the Bell grant, or was there some other arrangement. Are you guys an IMBA chapter?
- What do you guys do for liability insurance? Seems like there will be more than a few incidents of major blood and compound fractures...

Trail building in central Oregon has pretty much come to a halt for a while. Deschutes NF is coming up with a new forest management plan which will barely be done by the end of their fiscal year (9/30/2015). Until then, no new trail building will be considered. Which means that 15 miles of new singletrack planned for the Sisters area, plus a trail from Detroit reservoir to Sisters by way of Hoodoo, are now on hold.

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you sound like you have been hearing some rumblings, i dont like airing dirty laundry, feel free to pm...

yes imba design (trail solutions), imba contracted builders (flowride)
yes imba club (MORC), but the actual crew doesnt do much outside this project with them besides a few of us, and we raise much of our own money separately
as far as liability, its on the city and MORC, had a few incidents so far, collarbone, KO's, concussions, chipped teeth, split chins, but nothing super gnarly yet...
we arent allowed to build proper gaps, and they still refuse to let me build any wooden radness, we will be paying for "engineered" structures for the slopestyle course, such a waste of funds ugh

but you have to play by the rules to be a city park, baby steps... trying to push the envelope best we can

ive been following the OR scene, lots of good and bad this year it seems, the big picture looks good though, reevaluating the management plan and taking bikes into consideration is a pretty huge accomplishment :smile:

my friends wont shut up about alsea, getting better weekly it sounds like, and BR and other stuff in the valley is prime judging from my FB feed of sweet loamy singletrack and grins behind mud stained goggles, god damn i miss the pnw...

I'm lucky enough to be a paid builder for this guy.... http://sinuosity.net/ . Digging makes me happy. Makes me stoked to ride too. Here's one we built here in Northfield VT... Great blend of built flow trail features and natural surfaces. http://vimeo.com/52359818
Lately we've been enhancing some local favorites to bring back some of the speed and smoothness they had pre-erosion...and rerouting some unfortunate over-tight turns. I like refurbishing old raked in trail the best. Perry Hill in Waterbury is tuning up noice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by forty

you sound like you have been hearing some rumblings, i dont like airing dirty laundry, feel free to pm...

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PM sent

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by forty

ive been following the OR scene, lots of good and bad this year it seems, the big picture looks good though, reevaluating the management plan and taking bikes into consideration is a pretty huge accomplishment :smile:

my friends wont shut up about alsea, getting better weekly it sounds like, and BR and other stuff in the valley is prime judging from my FB feed of sweet loamy singletrack and grins behind mud stained goggles, god damn i miss the pnw...

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I'm hearing great stuff about Alsea as well. Ran into one of the builders two weeks ago - he also runs Mudslinger - and heard some more really good stuff. Gotta get over there next spring/summer.

I'm not a big Black Rock rider - too old to bounce well, and air between the dirt & my tires is usually just a prelude to tragedy.
I've heard that Cheese Grater has been modified so that the the second drop below isn't really possible anymore.

^A better person than I would feel bad for laughing at that.

Got our first rain in forever here in Socal today, so build season is now upon us.

Found an area with some nice rock that should string together into a fun techy trail

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...pskqxarifs.jpg

Nice rainbow = good trail karma

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps260afbaf.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DaveVt

I'm lucky enough to be a paid builder for this guy.... http://sinuosity.net/ . Digging makes me happy. Makes me stoked to ride too. Here's one we built here in Northfield VT... Great blend of built flow trail features and natural surfaces. http://vimeo.com/52359818
Lately we've been enhancing some local favorites to bring back some of the speed and smoothness they had pre-erosion...and rerouting some unfortunate over-tight turns. I like refurbishing old raked in trail the best. Perry Hill in Waterbury is tuning up noice.

---

some legit shit in there!
if you dont mind me asking, i would love to hear any comments on the transition from voly to pro digger, a few friends are contemplating heading down this path with mixed thoughts

absolutely agree about reworking old trails, i wish more of the local trail bosses saw things this way instead of just wanting to add more miles of the same old xc trail...
i have a very tough time convincing volunteers to rework sections, they see it as unnecessary labor, if it isnt building "new" trail they just dont get it, fortunately bike peeps are rad and if i start throwing enough dirt they will follow me blindly for better or worse... usually they are stoked and kind of shocked with what the results are, and as more see the impact of these little tuneup projects the more interest there is in them, which is encouraging :smile:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by telebobski

I'm hearing great stuff about Alsea as well. Ran into one of the builders two weeks ago - he also runs Mudslinger - and heard some more really good stuff. Gotta get over there next spring/summer.

I'm not a big Black Rock rider - too old to bounce well, and air between the dirt & my tires is usually just a prelude to tragedy.
I've heard that Cheese Grater has been modified so that the the second drop below isn't really possible anymore.

---

damn havent thought of mudslinger in years, the one and only race ive ever done on a mtb, in what must have been '95?
fuck me, im getting old too haha!

im blanking on the name of the guy, but that front flip is still talked about, pretty sure it was a friend of a trail boss or maybe friend of a friend visiting, something like that anyway

nice that they got around to cheese grater, thats been on their radar for a loooong time, i remember working on the meat cleaver with dan brainstorming away on it, guessing the wallride is coming to a finish if he found time to work further down the line here, sounds like GK is finally getting some more love, i know BD got a new step down/up combo last week thats looking buttery, and the final section of BD is actually a finished trail now instead of an afterthought

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kidwoo

^A better person than I would feel bad for laughing at that.

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http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3176/2...418c9a12_b.jpg
it looks so little from below, but thats a decent tumble right there haha

Quote:

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Originally Posted by evdog

Got our first rain in forever here in Socal today, so build season is now upon us.

Found an area with some nice rock that should string together into a fun techy trail

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/k...pskqxarifs.jpg

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can i get a shipping quote to 55431?
so jealous... :the_finge


also jealous of winter build season, im just about to head over to the bike park and start laying out tarps for winter closures, last few weeks of riding before snow flies, dirt is already past its workable point, my digging is pretty much done for the year, im actually kind of depressed...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by forty

some legit shit in there!
if you dont mind me asking, i would love to hear any comments on the transition from voly to pro digger, a few friends are contemplating heading down this path with mixed thoughts

absolutely agree about reworking old trails, i wish more of the local trail bosses saw things this way instead of just wanting to add more miles of the same old xc trail...
i have a very tough time convincing volunteers to rework sections, they see it as unnecessary labor, if it isnt building "new" trail they just dont get it, fortunately bike peeps are rad and if i start throwing enough dirt they will follow me blindly for better or worse... usually they are stoked and kind of shocked with what the results are, and as more see the impact of these little tuneup projects the more interest there is in them, which is encouraging :smile:...

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The transition around north central Vermont came from volunteers not being willing to do work. Land access was gained by VMBA and projects were green-lighted but the labor never materialized. Labor was needed, money was raised, trail crews were hired. For me it's the best job ever. Getting paid to do what I did for years on my own, and making a livable wage to boot, more then any kitchen job ever provided in Vt. We try to walk a fine line between sustainability and keeping the New England character alive. A lot of the focus around here has been on easy trail, with the old, over-ridden blown up trail being left as "expert". The Orange trail from the vid, and the reworking of some old trail are some of the only advanced riding that has been funded in my immediate area. There has been considerable push back from some old locals who don't really get it yet, but it is overwhelmingly a positive experience and for the first time in the last 5 years of contracting trail work, it seems that work is already piled up for next year with more miles of trail then we could likely build and the Business seems to be growing for Brooke. As it has been, the volunteer-run organizations have not been ready with contracts, funds, ect, and the two crews operating around here have sat idle until June or later, but at this point looking forward, we will be ready to rock when the snow is gone in the spring and work through the season. Working seasonally can be a bitch, but having paying jobs lined up makes it easier to feather winter and summer work. Best job ever, as far as I'm concerned.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by forty

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3176/2...418c9a12_b.jpg
it looks so little from below, but thats a decent tumble right there haha

---

I've been there. That's why I laughed. I'm still trying to figure out the physics of that front flip video. There had to be a front brake involved in there somewhere. I was working on bunny hopping before that little lip to maximize that landing even more because there was a huge hole where the wood met the dirt on the bottom.

^^^A classic Freeride Fail. Agree that there had to be front brakes involved. He didn't exactly hit the run-in with speed and I would imagine he did some panic braking and the front wheel fell straight into the gap.

Hey Forty, left you my digits in a PM - got asked yesterday to help create a pump track (thru IMBA) in our little piece of paradise. Given the photo of the Troy Lee kids upthread I couldn't say no. So your input will be really helpful.

Been doing some work involving the glamour of filling in mudholes. Funny I can always get the bros out to ride trails after we've fixed them up but if you go - hey broo--- I've got some huge mudholes to fill in - not much interest.

https://vimeo.com/109192738

https://vimeo.com/110633438

Some cedar mmmm

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zgcbznmk79...20(1).jpg?dl=0

dave, that vid of you and brooke is awesome!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thewon

dave, that vid of you and brooke is awesome!

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It's so fun. I laugh out loud every time I ride it. Lucky enough to get paid to build that a block from my house. It feeds directly into this run, the lower mtn. beginner (but still fun) stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmhHKNmKP0Y
Last week my 4 yo hit the jump I one-hand off to the transition. He was stoked. This week hard crash but be shook it off. Flow trails may get boring if they are too "perfect", but that are transformative for riders looking to break though to the next level of riding.

sick!

that's alotta dh! what's the total vert t2b of both sections from both vids combined?

you riding flats?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thewon

sick!

that's alotta dh! what's the total vert t2b of both sections from both vids combined?

you riding flats?

---

902 vert. feet. Norwich Ski Hill is the second biggest "Lost Ski Area" in New England....was the biggest until Ascutney closed. From the Summit of Paine Mtn at 2400...to the lot is 1600 vert and a mix of old school single track, machine built flow trail and a bit of double track blasting. That last bit was shot after a work day, work boots on my time z pedals. The single track on the ridge is tight and technical. it's taken 7 years but my backyard is finally good enough that I only loaded the bike on the car to ride 2-3 times this year...Snippet of the ridge trail...
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...23634574946670

work boots:eek:. sick.

sounds like an amazing network. putting it on the list!