is gold on woodlot open now?

[tomfahland]

i know it was closed in the past?
thanks

[freakonaleash]

Its called bronze now

[Robot]

closed and being re-claimed by the forest. every feature on the trail is broken, even the rock faces.

[Dean W]

The timing of this post is crazy.

This past weekend I went down Gold to document what needs fixing on the trail.

EVERY SINGLE WOODEN FEATURE IS BROKEN AND NEEDS REPLACING!!!

Everything!.......well, with the exception of the last skinny section.

I don't see this trail getting fixed EVER! That is unless people start to volunteer to start maintaining trails and consistently put in an effort to keep the other existing trails running well.

There are too few people and too many trails to maintain to reasonable standards. Gold is off the radar.....completely..until more people help on the trails.

PICTURES OF GOLD (http://picasaweb.google.com/urthling/GoldAugust3rd2008).

Anyone wanting to help MUST contact a Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association (FVMBA) representative first. We MUST know who is doing what on all the trails so if you mysteriously show up and start building something, it will get found and torn out.

I am the FVMBA area rep for Maple Ridge. Dean Wilkes is my name and I would gladly take anyone up to the trails to show them what needs to be done to maintain one of the many trails at The Woodlot. Tools can and will be provided.

We need bodies up there to help.

Please feel free to contact me.

PM on NSMB: thedude
PM on PinkBike: bobrocket
PM on MTBR: bobrocket
Email: deanw at telus dot net

I am more than willing to show people the ropes and I have ZERO attitude. If you show up willing to work on a trail, I will make sure your efforts are put to good use.

[Lady Gravity]

wow :|

[Sharon]

somebody should do something about that.

[stillgoing]

"somebody"?

Meaning perhaps the mythical trail fairies? Or in some cases the rare Trail Smurfs and their army of child-slaves?


http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/stillgoing_VPS/junk/smurfcopy2smaller.jpg

[Lady Gravity]

^^nice looking bridge :lol:

[tomfahland]

wow, that trail is indeed a mess, that's too bad.

[playahata]

Entropy comes for us all, my friend...

[rewoga]

wow, that trail is indeed a mess, that's too bad.

soooo - what you gonna do about it?

(ps - read my sig - it may give you a hint)

[Dean W]

"somebody"?

Meaning perhaps the mythical trail fairies? Or in some cases the rare Trail Smurfs and their army of child-slaves?


http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/stillgoing_VPS/junk/smurfcopy2smaller.jpg


Ah yes, the mythical Trail Fairies.....just like the House Hippos of Northern Canada (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TijcoS8qHIE).

In all seriousness, we need people to volunteer to help maintain trails. I or one of the other builders at The Woodlot will show you what needs to be done on a given trail. When we have most or all of the trails in good running order, Gold may come back onto the radar.

So as Rewoga said.....what are YOU going to do about it. People need to quit talking and start DOING some work on the trails. Anyone wanting to help MUST contact a Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association (FVMBA) representative first. We MUST know who is doing what on all the trails so if you mysteriously show up and start building something, it will get found and torn out.

I am the FVMBA area rep for Maple Ridge. Dean Wilkes is my name and I would gladly take anyone up to the trails to show them what needs to be done to maintain one of the many trails at The Woodlot.

We need bodies up there to help.

Please feel free to contact me.

PM on NSMB: thedude
PM on PinkBike: bobrocket
PM on MTBR: bobrocket
Email: deanw at telus dot net

I am more than willing to show people the ropes and I have ZERO attitude. If you show up willing to work on a trail, I will make sure your efforts are put to good use.

[Tom P]

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to thedude again"

[shirk]

Not trying to stir the pot here, but what happened to the original builders? Did they abandon it for something else?

If my knowledge of the Woodlot is accurate, it's got ongoing active logging. Is that area scheduled to be logged anytime in the near future?

[Dean W]

Not trying to stir the pot here, but what happened to the original builders? Did they abandon it for something else?

If my knowledge of the Woodlot is accurate, it's got ongoing active logging. Is that area scheduled to be logged anytime in the near future?
Some moved on, some are taking a break and one is pursuing racing right now.

There are simply too few people building/maintaining right now. That is why I am OPENLY asking for help/assistance.

There is no active logging at this time in the area of the trails. It's a Woodlot, so one day it may get logged, but anything can be rebuilt.

[stillgoing]

Dean is the man. Listen to what he says.

In order for the Woodlot to remain prime, some new blood needs to come into the trail-building cadre. That doesn't mean go build willy-nilly. It means contact Dean - he'll hook you up.

[Robot]

Not trying to stir the pot here, but what happened to the original builders? Did they abandon it for something else?

gold was built over ten years ago, when most of us were in our early 20s.

families + houses + careers = responsibility which means putting huge hours into mountain bike trails is pretty low on the priority scale. like at the very bottom of the line.

i can't speak for the others, but i'm pretty comfortable knowing that i've put in my time and the stuff i've worked on has contributed to what's becoming a pretty strong mtb scene in maple ridge.

[bansheeair]

Denise and I are willing to take people up too Dean. Your schedule probably can't handle all the people who want to help so we can take some of the overflow when we can.

Greg

[Lady Gravity]

i need to fix some stuff on burke first (and kinda get my feet wet) but once i'm done i'll be in touch - would be super cool to help out at the woodlot.

[TheRob]

FOAL, here is your big chance. You and your peeps should adopt a trail.

[seand]

Is it open now? Two days have passed; surely the trail is good to go now, right?

[bansheeair]

i heard that there was a large crew up there all night the last 2 days. Trail is primo shape, new gap jumps, huge berms, gonna go film it before it gets ridden to much.

[seand]

i heard that there was a large crew up there all night the last 2 days. Trail is primo shape, new gap jumps, huge berms, gonna go film it before it gets ridden to much.

you weren't kidding!

http://www.gutsploder.net/rides/may3_03/Gold/Gold_d.jpg

FRESH!

[Dean W]

http://lh5.ggpht.com/urthling/SJlK6X3-IRI/AAAAAAAABdI/sGJIxNSy6Bg/s800/IMG_8935.JPG

Pfft!! Hasn't changed much in 4 years.

[connor]

shit, Robot just pm'd me that he's going to fix up the whole trail this weekend, should be good to go on Sun...

[Chris G]

FRESH!

Fresh...

http://www.pathloss.com/images/scan0005.jpg

http://www.pathloss.com/images/scan0006.jpg

[DaveM]

talking a walk down memory lane eh Grumpy?

[Dean W]

WOW, now that is nostalgia!!!

Got any more?

PS.... Chris, thanks for being one of the originals to build the trails of the Woodlot.

[Chris G]

Got any more?

Yes...

http://www.pathloss.com/images/scan0001.jpg

http://www.pathloss.com/images/scan0003.jpg

http://www.pathloss.com/images/scan0004.jpg

http://www.pathloss.com/images/scan0007.jpg

[Lady Gravity]

wow..
so how old are all the stunts? like how long ago was all of that built

[Dean W]

Thanks for posting these Chris.

Knowing how long it takes to build a simple bridge, I appreciate the effort it took for you guys to build Gold.

Have a good one.

Dean

[TheRob]

All that split cedar is making me horny.

[Lady Gravity]

i split some cedar today..holy hard work batman. i sure smell nice though.

[philly56]

A couple of us 'rode' gold a few months ago just to see what it was like, and as has been said, sometimes it's best to just let the trail be re-claimed. Wish I could've ridden it in it's prime as it looks like it was fun. It's kind of cool to see how quick an un-ridden and/or unmaintained trail can be taken back. We were up Burke a while ago and found some cool old trails and it's neat to visualize what they used to be like.
Dean, while I've found lots of trail work to do on eagle, my offer to help you anytime at the woolot is always there. Still one of my favourite places to ride just eagle is so much closer to home.

Daryl

[Robot]

Yep. Guys like Chris, Jamie, Bill, Bob and a few others put in tonnes of time building trails at the Woodlot when nobody else was doing it. The photos Chris posted up really show what it was like 'back in the day' when nailing drops to falt and riding skinnies onto teeters made you hardcore.

Since then there's been a little bit of new blood that's brought about trails like Platinum and rebuilds on Hekyll & Jekyll but, for whatever reasons :lol:, there hasn't been much change in the builder roster, which is the main reason for the recent call for assistance from the FVMBA.

Despite what Stillgoing and TheDude seem to think, trails don't fix / maintain themselves and it's time for more people to step up and take a proactive approach to trail maintenance instead of bitching and complaining about what other people aren't doing.

Contact the FVMBA and see what you can do to help instead of debating about it on the internet. If you don't do anything, and changes that you or your group don't like get implemented, tough beans.

[TheRob]

PFfttttt.........

You're such a jerk Cory.

[Robot]

You're such a jerk Cory.

Whatever. At least I do trail work instead of running off to live like a hobo in the desert.

[Lady Gravity]

Whatever. At least I do trail work instead of running off to live like a hobo in the desert.

*ZING*

[Porkchop]

I think it would be a great idea if the builders and the FVMBA arranged 4 major trail days throughout this year and next year on gold.

And some of the old rotten log rides could be removed and replaced with nice single track and the builders could decide which stunts are worth re building and which are not and should be altered and changed. Just my opinion though. I think there would be a large turnout at each one if this were to happen.

[Tom]

I think it would be a great idea if the builders and the FVMBA arranged 4 major trail days throughout this year and next year on gold.

And some of the old rotten log rides could be removed and replaced with nice single track and the builders could decide which stunts are worth re building and which are not and should be altered and changed. Just my opinion though.

I think you missed the point...there's not enough people helping maintain the trails that are currently open to worry about re-opening Gold.

Official trail days are a drop in the bucket compared to the ongoing work it takes to maintain a trail.

[Porkchop]

The builders could make threads on NSMB telling people when they are going to work and im sure people would show up to lend a helping hand. Also 4 trail days would have a big impact on the trail and could make it rideable again.

[Robot]

I think it would be a great idea if the builders and the FVMBA arranged 4 major trail days throughout this year and next year on gold.

And some of the old rotten log rides could be removed and replaced with nice single track and the builders could decide which stunts are worth re building and which are not and should be altered and changed. Just my opinion though. I think there would be a large turnout at each one if this were to happen.

:lol: Yeah, I'll get right on that.

Joking aside, if you want to help organize something, contact theDude or myself via PM and we'll help you out. I know you're young, but your age doesn't mean you can't get the ball rolling and keep it on track, especially for the type of work you propose.

Volunteer work on trails is also a great way to give to the cycling community and there are tonnes of opportunities -- industry contacts, meeting other riders, learning new skills -- that go along with having strong relationships with local bike shops and other companies / people within the industry.

[Porkchop]

I wasn't telling you to make it happen i was just saying what could potentially be good for the trail. And if what i have to say is taken as a joke and I see no interest than I am no longer interested to organize something.

[Robot]

I wasn't telling you to make it happen i was just saying what could potentially be good for the trail. And if what i have to say is taken as a joke and I see no interest than I am no longer interested to organize something.

Saying and doing are totally different things. If you're not interested in making an effort yourself, then why should you expect others to do what you aren't willing to do? Trail days don't organize themselves and trails don't fix themselves. If you're not willing to be proactive and make a difference, you can't complain when people brush off your input.

I'm not giving you attitude or guff, I'm just telling it like I see it. Others might disagree, but I've seen enough to know that talk is just talk, and making a difference requires more involvement than that.

I presented you with a suggestion on how to turn what you think is a good idea into a real, useful contribution to the local biking scene. If you don't want to pursue it that's cool, but don't expect other people to bust their asses to make your vision a reality.

[Porkchop]

I would really like to see Gold Resurected but have no idea how trail days could happen could you fill me in on what it takes to get one happening.

[Robot]

I would really like to see Gold Resurected but have no idea how trail days could happen could you fill me in on what it takes to get one happening.

That's the type of response I like to see. I'll drop you a PM tomorrow some time so you can get started.

[derekt]

I would really like to see Gold Resurected but have no idea how trail days could happen could you fill me in on what it takes to get one happening.

I guess it depends on the area yo live in, it sounds like you need permsion the ditrcit or somthing like on the sore, from hwere im from we just make an event thing on facebook or somthing and tell people that we need to do maintenance on a trail then we meet the people and go build then leave, we dont need to contact anyone.

If there is 4 major trail days on gold I will make a lrage attempt to get out to one of them

[Robot]

If there is 4 major trail days on gold I will make a lrage attempt to get out to one of them

There won't be any trail days on Gold until someone steps up to organize one and commits to maintaining the trail after it's rebuilt.

[derekt]

^thats why i said "if"

[bansheeair]

The builders could make threads on NSMB telling people when they are going to work and im sure people would show up to lend a helping hand.

If only it were that easy. To date, I have offered to 18 different people on the boards when they have asked in threads to build at the Woodlot to contact me and I will let them know my schedule. To date, I have heard from 0. I am just speaking for myself but I am sure there has been similar offers made by the others.

If you are interested, send me a PM as well. Trying to take advantage of the rain this past weekend, Denise and myself were up on the mountain from 3pm to 7 pm on Friday, 8am to 4pm on Saturday, 10am to 5pm on Sunday, and I am heading out the door now. As you can see, I am sure I can work something into YOUR schedule, if you don't mind getting damp and dirty.

Greg

[Porkchop]

well if your ever going up on a weekend to build PM me
also I cant say im a very experianced trail builder but im willing to help out the builders and trails at woodlot.

[bansheeair]

well if your ever going up on a weekend to build PM me
also I cant say im a very experianced trail builder but im willing to help out the builders and trails at woodlot.

PM sent.

[waterfall99]

R.I.P Gold