Trip Report: Paradise Royale

Recently, I had the privilege of riding Paradise Royale, a mountain bike-specific trail west of Garberville, CA (Humboldt County).

This trail was designed and built by IMBA Trail Solutions in cooperation with the BLM and volunteers. The trail showcases state-of-the-art building techniques pioneered by Joey Klein and other IMBA builders. These folks set the standard for trail design in California and elsewhere. I've seen their handiwork in several locations and in my opinion, no one approaches their skill and design abilities.

The trail traverses thick forests of Douglas Fir in the beautiful King Range, which towers over the Lost Coast. The trail is not particularly rocky; you could enjoy it on a hardtail or short travel bike. The features I appreciated most include:

SWITCHBACKS - Despite steep terrain, the uphill switchbacks are built with a more even grade than on many other trails. This requires significant hillside excavation and/or cribbing, but the result is switchbacks which are more sustainable and fun to ride.

GRADE - The builders were not afraid to create short steep sections, some of which are at 15%. This made for fun, challenging sections (both up and down) for mountain bikers. I wish local US Forest staff would accept such grades for short portions, as they make trails much more interesting. I've often found 5% grade trails to be monotonous.

MTB SPECIFIC FEATURES - The trail offers unpredictable twists and turns for riders. If you like to catch air, there are many lips and tabletops from which you can launch (these also serve as effective water diversions). There are alternate lines with rock drops, log skinnies and fun obstacles. And of course big burmed turns on the downhills.

TOLKEN TERRAIN PARK - This adjacent area includes a pump track, rollers, big gap jumps and more. This recent addition to the trail system is very cool in that it weaves through forest trees, as opposed to creating ugly dirt areas I see at other bike parks.

I would not say that Paradise Royale is quite worth the 5 hour drive from Nevada County, unless you include some of the excellent nearby attractions (Shelter Cove, redwoods, hiking, surfing, etc.) as part of your plans. The trail is currently only 12 miles long. However, soon IMBA will complete a nine mile extension, so your trip could include a 30 mile epic and a second day of shorter options. Someday, perhaps IMBA Trail Solutions can build a local trail or two in our backyard.

Bullards Volunteer Event Postponed

This weekend's Bullards Bar volunteer event has been postponed due to weather. We will announce a new date ASAP.

Video: Gold Country Trails Council

An interesting video about our friends with the Gold Country Trails Council. Includes a nice mention of other local trail groups and how we do so well cooperating on multi-use trails:

http://blip.tv/nevada-county-snapshots/sierra-snapshots-gold-country-trails-council-5718335

We have a remarkable relationship between equestrians and cyclists in Nevada County.

Bullards Bar Volunteer Day - 11/19

NOTE- This event is postponed due to weather. We will announce a new date ASAP.

Recently, Moss and the Forest Service surveyed Bullards Bar trails in preparation for our 11/19 volunteer event. There is one section of the Bullard's Bar trail which will require a re-route; it is between Dark Day and 7-Ball Trail. It is currently dangerous to ride or walk. There are also some downed trees.

Join us as we re-build this blown out section of our singlespeed-singletrack paradise. Meet at 10AM on Saturday, 11/19 at the 7-Ball trailhead off Marysville Road (see map).

Note that the trail section is ~1.25 miles from where we will meet. If you bring your bike, we can access the site quicker.

Afterwards, we will ride and hang out. Free beer provided courtesy of BONC.  Please bring long sleeves, long pants, appropriate shoes, a snack and some water. Ride afterward, helmets and waiver signature required.

RECAP: Round Mountain Gala Ride

In spite of 37 degrees and overcast skies, we had a big turnout for yesterday's Gala Ride at Round Mountain. Many of the participants had never ridden RM trails, so it was fun sharing this local trail network with everyone. Jon Pritchett led the advanced group while I corralled the rest. Many cold beers and tall stories were shared after the ride. It was nice to have SERT and FATRAC members join us.

Join us for more upcoming BONC events:

Bullards Bar Volunteer Day -11/19
Gala Ride at Bullards Bar - 12/3
Round Mountain Volunteer Day - 12/17

See you on the trail!

Today at Bullards

Today, I did an inventory of several Bullard's trails in preparation for BONC's trailwork day on November 19th. Recent storms took down a fair number of trees (~10) on the Bullard's Bar Trail itself, but Schoolhouse and Eight Ball looked fine. If the USFS does not get to these before our volunteer day, we hope take them out. Later this week, Moss and Joe Chavez will do a further inventory of additional needed improvements.

There are two blown out sections: one east of Dark Day and the monster one west of the boat launch. Once the USFS repairs the giant canyon (perhaps in 2012), BONC will cut a new section of short trail to replace the portion taken out last year.

NOTE: If you or anyone else takes out the aforementioned downed trees, please let me know so that we don't waste volunteer time hiking out to these areas, thanks.

How Do We Build A Trail?

This following article appears in the latest Bear Yuba Land Trust newsletter. It describes how the Land Trust successfully creates so many local trails:

"Bear Yuba Land Trust has been successful in building a number of trails in recent years in an area where prior to that the only trails were those on public lands managed by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the State Parks. How did we do it? We did it with partners in each and every case. Trail building is a complex and often difficult task requiring securing trail easements, permits, completing environmental studies, and lining up funds and resources for trail construction. This is where the partners come into the picture with various degrees of involvement.

The Hirschman Trail is a joint venture with the City of Nevada City, the property owner. A Memorandum of Understanding set out the responsibilities of each party. The Land Trust prepared the grant application, designed the trail, prepared specifications and provided oversight during construction while the City was the grant applicant, completed environmental studies, secured permits, assumed accountability for all expenses, contracting, signing, and completion of the grant stipulations. Working together as partners, the trail was completed.

Another recent trail project is the Rattlesnake Ridge Trails which were constructed by volunteers from the Rattlesnake Neighborhood Association and the Land Trust on trail easements donated by the developer of Rattlesnake Ridge and on County Road Right-of-Way. The Neighbors came to the Land Trust for assistance in designing and construction of the trails, providing additional volunteer assistance and securing a County encroachment permit to build the trail. Without this cooperative effort, it’s not likely that the trail system would have been completed.

The Deer Creek Tribute Trail on the north side of Deer Creek was built with the involvement of a very large number of groups including Friends of Deer Creek (Sierra Streams Institute), American Rivers, Champion Road Homeowners Association, City of Nevada City, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Irrigation District, Sierra Fund, and the Land Trust. Each had a role in the building of the trail which provides a route through Nevada City and downstream paralleling Deer Creek on a combination of sidewalks, roads, trails, and canal banks to a bridge crossing Deer Creek at the lower end of the project. This 8 mile long trail system will soon be complimented by a trail on the south side of Deer Creek from Jordan Street to Providence Mine Road following the abandoned Rough and Ready Ditch. Partners for this project are the City of Nevada City and Sierra Streams Institute.

Other trails and partners include the Loma Rica Trail (Loma Rica Ranch, County of Nevada, Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District), the Cascade Canal and Orene Wetherall Trails (Save Our Historic Canals, Banner Mountain Homeowners, Rotary, Bureau of Land Management and Nevada Irrigation District). The Alan Thiesen Trail was built by Alta Sierra Property Owners Association (ASPOA) and the Land Trust. ASPOA provided funding for the brush clearing and volunteers to assist Land Trust volunteers with the construction and on- going maintenance. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the “Adopt-A-Trail” program where routine trail maintenance is accomplished by volunteers who have agreed to take care of the trail.

Our volunteer with the longest stint, Deane Dvorcek, has been caring for a portion of the Litton Trail since 2004. We currently need Adopt-A-Trail volunteers for Litton, Cascade Canal Access, Orene Wetherall and Hirschman Trails. If you are interested in adopting a trail segment, contact Bill Haire.

Bill Haire Trails Coordinator"

Round Mountain Gala Ride 11/5

Join FATRAC and BONC at our upcoming Gala as we ride BONC-maintained singletrack at Round Mountain. Meet at at Merrimas and Rock Creek Road @ 10AM on Saturday, 11/5/11. This is a No Rider Left Behind event. Cold beer will be provided after the ride by BONC. Helmets and waiver
signature required. See map:

http://g.co/maps/yvpbd

See you on the trail!

Local Youth Race on Saturday

The NU Miners race team and others will compete at a local race venue on Saturday, so please join in and cheer them on!

The races kicks off 11AM off Conservation Camp Road as you head up Highway 20. Look for the event signs. Bring your cow bells, camping chairs, cameras, and appetite to enjoy a day on the Tahoe National Forest. Horn of the Bull Caterer will be catering this event with it’s famous green sauce topping on tamales, tacos, quesadillas, etc. Cheese quesadillas for vegetarians. Bring your own water; there is none available on site.

The race is open to middle school age teens as well and they are not required to be in school bike clubs. Same day registration requires parental signature on release waiver, and a $5 one day USACycling License, plus the race fee.

Trails at Rice's Crossing

The Bear Yuba Land Trust is applying for a grant to take title to Rice's Crossing, which comprises thousands of acres southwest of Bullards Bar. Should they be successful, the Land Trust will plan and build many miles of trail on this property with connectivity to the Bullards trail system. Very exciting stuff. See map at left.

BONC recently submitted a letter of support for this initiative. Also, BONC director Terry Hundemer recently visited the property with Land Trust staff.

This is one of many such trail-related projects the Land Trust is pursuing at this time. In the near future, the Land Trust may acquire tens of thousands of acreage, from south county to Grouse Ridge. We are fortunate that our Land Trust supports the vision of balanced recreation and preservation and BONC wants to help them build more trails for our community.

BONC continues to strengthen our involvement and support with the BYLT as we recognize that no local entity creates as many nearby trails as our Land Trust. The more we support these efforts, the more we can have input on trail access, design and location. We hope that other local mountain bikers will also step up, either at Land Trust trailwork days or via financial support.

RECAP: United Trail Day 2011

This year's United Trail Day event was bigger than ever, with my guestimate coming in at 100 participants. The Nevada County Woods Riders, Gold Country Trails Council, BONC, Nevada Union Miners and Union Hill School Bearcats all convened to deliver some impressive trailwork on Burlington Ridge area trails.

The crew I led brushed the Towle and Hallelujah trails, which very much needed our attention. I started to take pictures, but really, what is the point when Robert Lowe is out there working his photographic magic. See his event pictures.

I was very pleased to see the high turnout of young volunteers. We set a great example for these kids when we demonstrate through example the meaning and value of trail stewardship. Big thanks to Chuck Ross, Sam Raymond, Eric Newman and others for bringing the kids. And to the Gold Country Trails Council that fed them a great meal afterwards.

FYI: If you are looking for a riding destination this week, look no further than Burlington Ridge. Jon Pritchett, Jamiel Fox and I rode it extensively yesterday and it is tacky and sweet. Best conditions all year.

October BONC Newsletter

The BONC October newsletter is now available online. Be sure to check it out.

This issue includes an article about the NU Miners high school mountain bike team, plus details about upcoming local mountain bike events.

FHDL Trail Story

Today, the Sacramento Bee published a very positive story about FATRAC and the Forest Hill Divide Loop Trail. This is indeed a great trail and one of my favorites to ride in the winter months once the temperatures cool down.

Thank you FATRAC!

United Trail Day - Saturday October 8th

Please join us United Trails Day on Saturday 10/8/11, 9AM at Skillman Campground. It is probably the most important trail volunteer day of the year and by far the most rewarding.

We will again be cutting new singletrack as we extend the Hallelujah Trail east past Skillman. Cyclists will volunteer alongside moto riders and equestrians as we build more trail for everyone to enjoy.

This event is important as it shows other local trail users that mountain bikers are committed to working cooperatively on our trails. All participants will enjoy BBQ; the spread last year was amazing!

Read that last sentence again.... FREE HIGH QUALITY FOOD! See you there!

Joe Chavez Speaks to BONC

A great big thank you to Joe Chavez of the Tahoe National Forest, who spoke at our BONC gathering last night. As recreational officer, Joe talked about trail projects in four areas of the Tahoe NF: Highway 20, Downieville, Forest City and Grouse Ridge. Each region has a specific trail initiatives. We talked about many items, but like BONC, itself, this recap is focused on Highway 20 and Grouse Ridge. Joe made the following points pertinent to BONC:

In Highway 20 trail projects/re-routes include Scott's Flat and the Pipeline Trail (reroute of the steep trail down to Rock Creek Nature Study Area), whereas Grouse Ridge projects involve extension of the Bowman Mountain Trail, the Lindsey Lakes and Crooked Lakes re-routes and a new trail between Fuller, Rucker and Blue Lakes. You'll see some BONC volunteer efforts at Grouse Ridge soon.

The capitol improvement budget the USFS had for constructing and maintaining trails has all but vanished. Because of this, the Tahoe National Forest relies heavily on BONC, GCTC, etc. to fill the gap. Joe mentioned that focus on new trail projects may be metered out in coming years, as the TNF has so many other projects to focus on and no additional staff or resources.

According to Joe, there is good progress on the Scott's Flat Trail. The Land Trust required some modifications to the original route and the ologists asked for some changes as well, but these are resolved now. Next steps include finalizing the NEPA (environmental docs) for the USFS portion of the trail, then NID will need file CEQA (state enviro docs) for the trail on their lands. NID management is still sorting through all this, so who knows how long it may be before the trail comes down to the lake. Joe hopes to start construction on the trail this fall, if only on the USFS portion.

We still hope to bring in RTP funding for the South Yuba Ridge Trail project, but it may require some volunteer labor. A necessary easement across private land is still in the works.

A terrific meeting. Look for more great speakers at upcoming BONC gatherings soon! You can always support BONC by becoming a member.

Trail Between Grass Valley and Nevada City

Today's Union has an article about Jerry Henderson's effort to create a trail between Grass Valley and Nevada City. Jerry has quietly plugged away at this initiative for years and now is seeing some traction for his efforts.

Trails close to town like this are crucial and I applaud Jerry's efforts to collaborate on this trail.

Scott's Flat Trail Web Page

BONC has launched a web page devoted to the Scott's Flat Trail project. Learn about this exciting endeavor, read news, view maps, volunteer and donate. We will update the page as the project progresses, so be sure to bookmark.

Building a Destination

Several friends and I spent most of last week riding the incredible trail system of Park City, Utah. What strikes me about PC riding is how varied it is: buff singletrack, stunt riding, DH lift, rocky chutes, epic cross country, bike park jump lines, paved bike paths, you name it. Hundreds of miles of singletrack weave through the aspen forests above PC.

So as a trail advocate, I wonder how all this came to be. Locals tell me it is the result of collaboration between local and federal government, ski resorts, bike shops and different user groups. There is perpetual trail building in PC; I spied trail building equipment and freshly cut bench on almost all of the sections I rode, all of it high quality construction.

Park City is a wealthy resort town and has decided to partly fund trail planning and construction with a restaurant tax. It makes sense. In the non-ski season, there is a massive excess inventory of accommodations, restaurant seats, etc. A world class trail system brings many visitors to the PC and keeps the cash registers humming in the off-season.

It takes a lot of vision, determination, time and perseverance to create what Park City has. Mountain bike destinations do not happen overnight. There is a lot to learn from the success of Park City trail advocates and clearly, no one group can take all the credit.

Equestrians, Hikers and Mountain Bikers Welcome

On Sunday, I saw the cover of the Union Sunday edition and it made me smile ear to ear. The front page headline shouted out: "On the Trail: Equestrians, Hikers and Mountain Bikers Welcome".

I've long preached the virtues of working together with different user groups to produce a larger inventory of local trails. The Gold Country Trails Council shares this vision, which is wonderful. Sometimes, I think that as a trail community, we take this cooperative spirit for granted. In Marin, Folsom, Santa Rosa and other Northern California locals, different user groups can be at each others throats fighting over trail access. Here we do things different.

Including multi-use trails in our planning means that we all have more trails to use. We can and should build mountain-bike specific features or even entire trails for sure. But it is worth recognizing that a shared use approach leverages the collective interests and resources of all of us, instead of just one group.

If you have not see the Union article, check it out.

Help Move a Trail Project Along

The hardest part of creating a new trail is acquiring all the necessary permissions to do so. This sucks but it is undeniable. Designing and building the trail can almost seem incidental when compared to the lengthy, arduous process of planning and advocacy. It can be frustrating to those of us who want to just start cutting singletrack.

The Scott's Flat Trail is no different. The volunteer group leading this effort has a done an exceptional job moving the process along. But of course hurdles remain: a trail easement needs to be established and NID has to author and submit CEQA documentation (state environmental review). Sometimes unforeseen additional hurdles pop up months down the road.

But you don't need to just cross your fingers. You can help this great project in one very key way. The USFS is accepting public comments about the proposed trail. Your letters of support are needed. Please send yours as soon as possible, as the deadline of September 16 is fast approaching. Here is a sample letter.

You can also view a map of the proposed route here.