Winter Break

Each year the Trail Care Crews typically take a few months off during the winter to recharge for another year on the road. We decided that 33,000 miles wasn't enough and we should run around for a few thousand more miles. We wanted to travel on bicycles and preferably somewhere warm. So, in mid-December we packed up our gear and transformed our mountain bikes into touring cycles and threw them on a plane for Paris. Our plan was to cycle from Monaco to Morocco along the Mediterranean coast of France and Spain. Along the way we made a few scheduled TCC appearances and at the end of our tour and a special visit to the U.K.

In Paris we did an IMBA presentation for the French Cycling Federation (the governing body behind the Tour de France and the Velo Tout Terrain sites). We experienced first hand just how important bicycling is to the people of France. Everyone rides and or respects those who do; even French drivers make room for cyclists! It was awe inspiring to see packs of old men dominating the highways and corniches on their racing bikes.

Road biking is still the country's number one sport, with mountain biking catching up fast. The VTT sites have hundreds of trails for bicycles, which are all signed and mapped. We offered suggestions on how to nurture mountain biking, improve trails through sustainable design and how to entice more foreign cyclists.

Scotland and Wales hosted us to teach at two trailbuilding seminars, which were both attended by Forest Enterprise landmanagers, tourers, downhillers and crosscountry cyclists from all over the United Kingdom. Our largest class was in Coed y Brenin of Northern Wales. Most of the U.K.gets an outrageous annual rainfall of over 120 inches, so most of the trails are a bit soggy. However Dafydd Davis (Forest Enterprise trails supervisor) has designed a unique trail system. Borrowing ancient rock laying techniques, the trails at Coed y Brenin are always dry. Dafydd introduced trailbuilders to 3 different trail fortifying techniques using rock. We saw examples of stone pitching, subsurfacing and armoring of fall-line sections that are literally bomb proof! Dafydd did show us a steep rock subsurfaced section that had been eroded down 2feet to the bottom layer. One season of extreme weather had done the damage, reminding us that water is still king. Dafydd also took us for a spiritual ride on a 4000- year old single-track!

The seminar was a great exchange of trail knowledge and prompted a visit by the Welsh Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. The area gets thousands of riders a week, so local villages are seeing a boost in the economy just because of these trails! Forest Enterprise parks throughout the U.K.will enhance their trail systems using ideas from our school and Dafydd's techniques.

Our vacation was a blast, especially riding along the Cote D'Azure of France and the Costa Brava of Spain. We visited trails in five nations seeing trails that have been around longer than anything we've seen at home. We have always liked rock but now we really understand how beneficial it can be as a trailbuilding tool. Europe is a mesmerizing place, with unlimited bicycling opportunitys and wonderful people.

Thank you,
Joey and Kathy, TCC2

Judd and the boys at Coed y Brenin, moving the biggest
rock we had ever seen.

Dafydd Davis avid rock climber, surfer, mtn biker and trail
designer extraordinare showing of his handsome chainsaw kit.

Help | Site Map | Copyright



	Winter Break Each year the Trail Care Crews typically take a few months off during the winter to recharge for another year on the road. We decided that 33,000 miles wasn't enough and we should run around for a few thousand more miles. We wanted to travel on bicycles and preferably somewhere warm. So, in mid-December we packed up our gear and transformed our mountain bikes into touring cycles and threw them on a plane for Paris. Our plan was to cycle from Monaco to Morocco along the Mediterranean coast of France and Spain. Along the way we made a few scheduled TCC appearances and at the end of our tour and a special visit to the U.K. In Paris we did an IMBA presentation for the French Cycling Federation (the governing body behind the Tour de France and the Velo Tout Terrain sites). We experienced first hand just how important bicycling is to the people of France. Everyone rides and or respects those who do; even French drivers make room for cyclists! It was awe inspiring to see packs of old men dominating the highways and corniches on their racing bikes. Road biking is still the country's number one sport, with mountain biking catching up fast. The VTT sites have hundreds of trails for bicycles, which are all signed and mapped. We offered suggestions on how to nurture mountain biking, improve trails through sustainable design and how to entice more foreign cyclists. Scotland and Wales hosted us to teach at two trailbuilding seminars, which were both attended by Forest Enterprise landmanagers, tourers, downhillers and crosscountry cyclists from all over the United Kingdom. Our largest class was in Coed y Brenin of Northern Wales. Most of the U.K.gets an outrageous annual rainfall of over 120 inches, so most of the trails are a bit soggy. However Dafydd Davis (Forest Enterprise trails supervisor) has designed a unique trail system. Borrowing ancient rock laying techniques, the trails at Coed y Brenin are always dry. Dafydd introduced trailbuilders to 3 different trail fortifying techniques using rock. We saw examples of stone pitching, subsurfacing and armoring of fall-line sections that are literally bomb proof! Dafydd did show us a steep rock subsurfaced section that had been eroded down 2feet to the bottom layer. One season of extreme weather had done the damage, reminding us that water is still king. Dafydd also took us for a spiritual ride on a 4000- year old single-track! The seminar was a great exchange of trail knowledge and prompted a visit by the Welsh Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. The area gets thousands of riders a week, so local villages are seeing a boost in the economy just because of these trails! Forest Enterprise parks throughout the U.K.will enhance their trail systems using ideas from our school and Dafydd's techniques. Our vacation was a blast, especially riding along the Cote D'Azure of France and the Costa Brava of Spain. We visited trails in five nations seeing trails that have been around longer than anything we've seen at home. We have always liked rock but now we really understand how beneficial it can be as a trailbuilding tool. Europe is a mesmerizing place, with unlimited bicycling opportunitys and wonderful people. Thank you, Joey and Kathy, TCC2 Judd and the boys at Coed y Brenin, moving the biggest rock we had ever seen. Dafydd Davis avid rock climber, surfer, mtn biker and trail designer extraordinare showing of his handsome chainsaw kit.


Help \| Site Map \| Copyright