As usual the weather in Calgary sure can rock and roll in the spring. Most of the month we saw above average temperatures and were able to really get a head start on all those trail projects that got left unfinished from the fall. However when we get blessed with good weather in Alberta usually things need to balance out. The last week of the month we paid! Heavy snow, freezing rain and winds reaching 100km/hr. Our trails got buried under a few feet of snow. The old saying “April showers bring May flowers” sure does not apply in this part of the world. We got word that the weather was good in the Invermere valley and our brothers out west were throwing their first trail day on the 1st of May. The Columbia Valley Cycling Society has organized to take responsibility for many trails in the Valley. They have been working hard behind the scenes trying to bring a legitemacy to the pirate trails we’ve all come to love. We loaded up the red tide and left Calgary at “balls o’clock” in order to make it to the base of Swansea Rd at 9:30am. The drive out was effortless at this time of day. We cruised along the HWY 93 and made good time. When we got to the base of the hill we were greeted by a group who has provided us with a home away from home. With all the years we’ve spent in the Columbia Valley we’ve come to make some great friends. People who you are stoked to see, people who are stoked to see you, stoked to hear how life has been treating them and stoked to share your blood sweat and tear with.

Meetin up with old friends

After quite a bit of catching up and some new introductions everyone got to work on the projects they had in mind. I decided that there was a step-up that I would re-slat. Just off the road. This feature is a staple at Swansea and sees a ton of traffic. I’ve ridden it for years and loved it. I thought it could use a little sprucing up as it was getting on in years now and starting to show signs of wear. The initial idea was to remove the 2×4 decking and replace it with some free cut slabs. As we tore the slats off it became quite apparent that we were going to be biting off more then we bargained for. Like all renovation projects, sometimes they quickly become a complete rebuild. The framework underneath showed signs of age and stress. With some discussion we decided that we couldn’t just toss new slats on an old frame we’d need to do a complete tear down and rebuild. Now I sure wasn’t planning on spending that kind of time working out of town on a weekend off, I really wanted to ride…BAD! But what do you do when you have just ripped down a staple feature on a hill? You can’t leave it lying on the ground. You got to stick to your guns, tie up your boots and get to work.

"By the sweat of your brow"

As with anything things start off slow in the beginning. It was a big project and we had a timeline of the weekend as we were going back to Calgary Sunday night. It was time to use my experience and really get moving. We measured everything and decided on a complete copy. The jump was really perfect as it was, it set you onto the landing effortlessly. We measured heights, widths, angle degrees of the takeoff and began to carbon copy the jump with a proper frame. While I went to town cutting up material Simon led a charge to rock amour the berms following the step-up. Once the materials were cut and dragged down, we cut them to length. We dug the supporting posts in with a death spike on the end, then pounded them in deeper with a sledge hammer. We hauled over longer pieces for the stringers and placed them on the frame. The day was long and by the end of it we had completed the framework as well as the rock armored section. There was still a ton of work to do but I was fried and needed to shred. Off to Steamboat we went for a few laps before dark.

Thanks A&W for the Sirloins

Had a few hours of sleep and needed to get back out to the hill to get this puppy done before the weekend came to an end. “All that was left” was left was to mill up some slabs and install them. I went to work milling while the rest of the dudes helping buffed and armored. It was pretty interesting working on a trail with so many riders coming down. Everyone would stop and see if things were ready to tee up yet but cutting your own decking is a tedious chore that takes time. Once we had enough milled slabs some old friends stopped in to help bang them into place and my work was complete. I tidied my gear and grabbed my bike. I let the others give it a go, I was beat. 8 hours on Saturday and 3 the next morning left me needing a bit of a beer break. I sucked a few cold ones back then grabbed my bike and went to check out how this thing ran. Just like Danny said “the thing jumps for you”.

"New Hotness..."

Drop'In Danny Casing =)

We all had an awesome weekend visiting the valley. I love every trip there. Great people, great trails and great weather. What more can anyone ask for? Maybe to stay and not come back to more snow this week! Huge thanks to the Columbia Valley Cycling Association for putting this on, Thanks to A&W for sponsoring this event with tasty burgs and teaching us that the Uncle Sirloin burger is best cooked at the trail head. Huge thanks to all those who have created these trails for us to enjoy whether it be riding or helping.

Bruce Blasting it

Life’s a Trail, Dig It!”

An opportunity to travel to Grande Prairie, Alberta’s Nitehawk Bike Park and ride bikes doesn’t happen very often with our schedule. One afternoon we received a call from Kevin over at Ride Guide. Kevin offered a trip we could not refuse; a chance to go back and ride some of their own trails.  TCD has history in the Peace Region already, spending three months living at the peak of Alberta’s third lift accessed gravity Bike Park, constructing the original trails and introducing the flow in the summer of 2007.

After arriving at the park, consuming a couple hydration capsules, it was time to ride!  The trails were in great late season condition, buff, flowy and fast, or as one might call it…”tacky as shit!”  The Wapiti river valley is full of great natural terrain and surfacing material, and the local trail crew knows how to pace out and put the finish on a trail.

Aaron tee'in up a rock drop

It was unreal to go back 3 seasons after finishing our contract in GP and see how the trails evolved. We couldn’t have been more impressed. The trails broke in just how we had designed them. The trail we were unable to complete was complete and rode exactly how we intended it too. The current crew had added more trails that enhanced the trail system even further. The weather was hot as hell, really things don’t get much better when it comes to road trips and bike trails anywhere you go.

Emerson 360 to face

Now I have never been to a tropical jungle before, but for some reason hanging out in the dense forest of northern Alberta sure made me feel like I was deep in a Brazilian bush.  Luckily Nitehawk has a large ski aerial training center to cool off at. The area includes a deep, aerated pool, four story run in ramp and two different lips to send it off.  All it takes is to install a run in ramp of plywood over the plastic, ski friendly surface, and it was ready for bikes.  This turned into a super fun session with everyone trying tricks way out of their comfort zones, all thanks to landing in the carbonated river water.

Aaron hittin the eject button

It was a whirlwind of a weekend with the eight hour drive each way. We came shredded, slept shredded once more and then left. It was a true renegade run. On the drive back to Calgary, staring down the barrel of an eight hour drive back to reality on Sunday night, all Aaron and I could chirp about was ripping fast trails, three second airs into the safest transition ever and the trip back in to the Peace Region next summer.  And the next time, there are going to be more of us!

Check out the episode and see why Grande Prairie has the best bike park in the province…

TCD hosts Ride GuideRide Guide Grande Prairie segment featuring Nitehawk

Over the past 12(+) years Moose Mountain has been the best and largest downhill riding trail system in Alberta.  With a surprising 10 trails catering to all types of downhill riders from beginner to expert, riders are drawn from all over the entire province and farther east.  This wide usage prompted a group of hearty individuals to take up pens and computers and create a trail stewardship committee under the name Moose Mountain Bike Trail Society.  After the ink was dry and MMBTS was an incorporated non-profit organization the executive began applying for Grants. In the fall the National Trail Commission awarded MMBTS a grant to the tune of $70,000.

With 10 trails for MMBTS to bring up to an insurable standard, a large crew needed to be hired to put the money into the mountain.  TCD was brought on board and along with MMBTS put together a burly team of Albertans, British Columbians, and Newfies to spruce and spice up the existing trails that has made Moose Mountain great for so many years.

The game was now on, Moose Mountain was finally getting experienced trail builders hacking and slashing their way to better trails!  Each trail had its own program, but essentially the plan was to make the trails safer, more environmentally friendly and all around flowier trails.  These plans included bridging over runoff areas, creating berms where they didn’t grow themselves, re-routing unsustainable sections, decommissioning of problematic existing lines, creating alternates and re-building older weaker features who’s time had come and gone.  And over the span of 3 months, and through wind, snow, heat and rain, a crew of between 3 and 8 filthy animals got the job done!

If you have never had the chance to experience the Moose Mountain vibrations, there is no better time than 2010.  The trails were put away fresh and this spring the riding will be some of the best around.  Hopefully we will see you out there on the crisp trails!

TCD

TCD helps open Alberta’s 3rd Bike Park
2007 marks another milestone in Trail Crew Design operations. We have signed on to help open Alberta’s 3rd and largest bike park. Northern Alberta’s Nite Hawk Resort will be home to the next gravity fed park. Last month we spent some time assessing the feasibility of creating a park. Our trip in late April found us hiking through thigh deep snow as a result of a 30yr record snowfall this season. All the snow aside we’re packing our bags and boxing our bikes and making the trek north to give Albertan’s another place to shred.
Where to go from here?

Poplar Trees on the one side

Nite Hawk resort is found nestled in the Wapiti river valley just west of the town of Grande Prairie Alberta. TCD spent 4 days getting to know the locals, getting a feel for the communities needs and getting a taste of oil country culture. Our time on the hill was spent wading through the bush on snow shoes triangulating our positions so we could best get to know the terrain. The opportunities here are endless. The first thing we realized is that GP has some decent vertical. With over 500ft of height and a wide span in which to build Nite Hawk will be Alberta’s largest bike park once open. The forests change from one side of the hill to the next, from darker pine to typical Alberta Poplar and a good dusting of Birch.

GP Pine on the other side

TCD will commence construction of the new park this long weekend and are planning for an August opening. The first year’s trail system will consist of a Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced trail as well as a dirt jump park and skills area located near the lodge. The park will only grow from here.
TCD is a firm believer that no bike trip can be complete without a tour of the local bars. The town is not for the prissy boys with gel’d hair and buckles on their shoes. It’s a roughneck town with big dudes with big toys. I think we must have smelled like city folk, or maybe it was the shinny new Carharts and the brand new boots that go us heckled in the liquor store the first night of our trip. Either way we learned if we’re gonna spend some time up here we have to adapt to the local customs. The bars up in GP are not like most others we’ve been to. There’s a whole going on from mechanical bulls to crack head street fights. We saw it all. Towards the end of our night on the walk back to the hotel we heard some bitching guitar wailing out from a dark alley. There was still some time left before last call so we decided one more beer and a little music wouldn’t hurt. Little did we know the treat we were in for. The place was called the Hotel York, found in a back alley off the main drag. We strolled through the door and it was like one of those movies where everything stops, everyone turns and you have no idea if you should stay or turn around and never come back. The band was rippin on the stage and everyone was givin’r harder then I’ve ever seen. Emerson and I decided we’d dive into the deep end and grab a bottle of Pil. We sat down and started chatting with people. We met the owner who told us that the guy at the table across from us used to play back up for BB King and that the guy next to him was “the best drummer in the world”. Needless to say, the York ruled. Locals will tell you to stay away but if you want a killer rock show and a bar that starts selling more booze when offsales hit then the York is the place.

If you are seeing this sign you may meet "Two Button Frank"

We’re looking forward to spending the next while up on the banks of the Wapiti river living in an RV and going hard to give these guys a place to shred. Our mission has been to create more quality places to ride your bike and now folks up north will have somewhere to play. Stay tuned to our site for more updates on the progress this spring.
”Life’s a Trail, Dig It!”