[GALAXY offline]

I went out to the trail today to rake a favorite section and had quite a few people stop to thank me and a few others that said thanks as they rode by.I told everyone Happy New Year,gave directions,learned of a new trail closer to my house that has 2 sinkholes,and got to rail the sections I cleared. It was a great day!

There were a good amount of oak leaves and pine needles covering the hard packed trail making for a very slippery and slightly slower ride.Since most of the leaves are done falling here,it is the perfect time to get out here and do it and not have the trail covered again in 2 days.Exposing the nice hard packed trail made for a really fast and controlled run in that section and was well worth the work.I also trimmed back some of the growth on the sides of the trail so you can see a bit more around corners and nothing scrapes you as you ride by,haha.

I did a good bit of shovel work as well,smoothing out a couple sections,adding dirt to a few others and making more of a berm in a very tight,speed robbing corner.

[schwim offline]

Hehe, I guess it's all about the location. If I were removing the pine needles and leaves off of any of the local trails, there'd be a chance I'd get shot by the riders. Exposing the clay makes the trail a complete mess to ride during any periods of wet weather. The leaves and needles make for a grippy and much faster ride.

I spend a bunch of time removing branches and deadfalls, if they are small enough for me to either drag off of the trail or cut.

[GALAXY offline]

I wouldn't dare rake any organic matter off the trail down in Ocala,they have a need for it there with all the sugar sand.The section I raked I also did last year,there's just too many leaves that accumulate there and in one corner it's preventing a natural berm from forming.

I really thought nobody cared either way except for me but apparently a lot of people thought it needed cleared off as well.It sure rolls fast now!

[Jarrett.morgan offline]

I was thinking about raking some sections of a local trail, but hadn't thought aboout the reason why not too. I guess it makes sense that it can be used ffor bettter traction or prevent erosion.

[Bonsai-CP offline]

I was thinking about raking some sections of a local trail, but hadn't thought aboout the reason why not too. I guess it makes sense that it can be used ffor bettter traction or prevent erosion.

Very true, but down here, it is a nuisance and just makes it more slick, with the exception of nasty sugar sand.

[dgaddis offline]

Why bother raking leaves???

Leaves are part of the ride man!

They're natural, part of the change in the seasons, they make old trails feel new, AND they make you a better rider!

Besides, generally speaking, there's probably a much better use of your time if you want to work on a trail. Armoring spots that stay wet, de-berming low spots so they drain, etc.

[Bonsai-CP offline]

Why bother raking leaves???

Leaves are part of the ride man!

They're natural, part of the change in the seasons, they make old trails feel new, AND they make you a better rider!

Besides, generally speaking, there's probably a much better use of your time if you want to work on a trail. Armoring spots that stay wet, de-berming low spots so they drain, etc.

We do not have that down here in FL, everything looks the same all year round...

All they do is make it slick for us, sad to say.

[CFM offline]

Since the leaf issue is being covered now in another thread, I'd like to make a comment about the original title of this post. Maintenance & meeting people reminded me of experiences I have had this fall and winter. Since I am retired I can visit our trails at all hours of the day to work on maintenance projects. I am amazed at the people I meet while working. I see many more runners, hikers, and true beginning mountain bikers than I ever thought were out there. Almost all of them will stop and chat briefly about how they enjoy the trail.

Sometimes we get tunnel vision about who uses a trail based on our association with a certain group of people. This experience has given me a new perspective on the scope of users in our trail system. It will definitely help when we have to make decisions about maintenance and new trail projects.

[Bonsai-CP offline]

Since the leaf issue is being covered now in another thread, I'd like to make a comment about the original title of this post. Maintenance & meeting people reminded me of experiences I have had this fall and winter. Since I am retired I can visit our trails at all hours of the day to work on maintenance projects. I am amazed at the people I meet while working. I see many more runners, hikers, and true beginning mountain bikers than I ever thought were out there. Almost all of them will stop and chat briefly about how they enjoy the trail.

Sometimes we get tunnel vision about who uses a trail based on our association with a certain group of people. This experience has given me a new perspective on the scope of users in our trail system. It will definitely help when we have to make decisions about maintenance and new trail projects.

^^^^ ++++1

I have met some very interesting people on the trails while building, some maybe to interesting...

When I am building/maintaining, I get to reach out to riders, hikers, & the neighbor hood kids about trail safety, maintenance, etiquette, and what they like, would like, or do not like on the trails.