Forest Park Trail (Build) Party - Sat May 3rd!
PUMP Forest Park Build Day
May Focus: Lower Newton Road!
PUMP and OBRA Members working on FL5 - November 2007
Yippie! It's time for another Forest Park Trail Maintenance Party. Our trail parties are building community, gaining in popularity, and definitely getting our Mountain Biking Community noticed in a big way! We are currently the only Forest Park user group showing up in consistent large numbers. We ask all workers to sign in with PUMP upon arrival. Why? The monetary calculation for volunteer trail hours is $18/hr. In the two work parties we've done in Forest Park since November, we've donated $6,430 to our community -- Let's keep that wheel spinning, folks!
New Focus For May 3rd Trial Party:
Our efforts on FL5 have turned it into the best conditioned section in the park. This provides us the opportunity to give some mountain biker love to another fantastic section of often over looked singletrack: (Lower) Newton Road!
Yes! We will be venturing further into the park to do some maintenance, enhancements, and re-routes! Many of you who either worked on FL5 or have ridden it since November when PUMP began our regular maintenance efforts have noticed the changes we've made to that section: addition of serpentines, culverts, drainage improvements, etc. which result in an enhanced experience for riders of that trail. We will be doing similar projects on the Newton Road section.
For those of you who've not ventured this far into the park, you will be introduced to what is often described as the "most fun" section of downhill singletrack in the park. Our wonderful Trail and Restoration Manager from the Forest Park Conservancy, Jeff Hough, will be sharing tips on how to incorporate this fabulous section into your Forest Park Rides during his orientation briefing after sign-in.
We also have five amazing volunteer Team Captains who are devoting extra time to come out on Friday to walk the trail with Jeff & I to get section specific training for each part of trail work that needs to be accomplished. This will enable our trail party volunteers to feel really confident in their trail efforts and have questions answered quickly. Thank you so much JD, John Joy, Frank, Butch, and Shane for taking the extra time required for this. If anyone else is interested in doing this at future parties, please contact me directly.
Warning: Advocacy can be addictive!
So come on out and get addicted with us! Taming neglected trail is very work intensive, but also provides an amazing sense of accomplishment when you see what you and 40 other mountain bikers have completed in 4 short hours. It's also a rare treat to ride a trail right after you've put some sweat equity into it, so feel free to bring your 2-wheeled steed for a post-work ride to "keep this party train movin'!"
This is a family friendly event, so please bring your young bikers, enlist your friends, and come join the party!
Please RSVP so we can plan the additional work and have enough equipment (and pastries) on hand for everyone!
Event: Newton Road Trail (Build) Party
Date: Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
Time: 9:00 am - 1:00 PM
Meet Location:
Road Parking near Rail Road Tracks on NW Marina Way off Hwy 30
Please click Map: http://tinyurl.com/479e95
Directions: From Portland drive out Highway 30 and make a right on NW Marina Way. *Marina Way is on the North side of the St John's Bridge* Cross rail road tracks and park where ever you are able on the shoulder. Jeff Hough's Forest Park Conservancy vehicle will be in the pole position and will be the meet point.
Newton Road is directly across Hwy 30 from the meet point (though not marked on the map), but has no parking area. For that reason, we will be parking on NW Marina and walking over to Newton after sign in and orientation.
Please:
* RSVP so we can plan work to be done and have enough tools on hand for everyone (and pastries!)
* Thank the folks from Fat Tire Farm, Mtbr, Revolver Bikes, OR Bike, OBRA, and Bike Portland.org for not only getting the word out, but also putting gloves to shovel and participating in the trial parties.
* A massive “Thanks” to Forest Park Conservancy (FKA: Friends of Forest Park) who continue to provide us with the equipment and the expertise and time of their Trail and Restoration Manager, Jeff Hough. Please check their website at Forest Park Conservancy and join them on other trail maintenance days. They provide fantastic opportunities to work shoulder to shoulder and build rapport with non-mountain bike user groups. Remember to wear your PUMP t-shirt and let everyone know you're a involved and concerned mountain biker!
Ride-On, Bikers!
Shanti Ware
Forest Park Liaison
PUMP
503-228-0589
mtb_grrl@msn.com
Other RSVPs
Others who've responded via e-mail, etc:
John Joy (volunteer Team Captain)
JD (volunteer Team Captain)
Shane (volunteer team Captain)
Fred (volunteer Team Captain)
Butch (volunteer Team Captain)
Susan
Ron Strasser
EJ B.
Spencer B.
Geoff T. +2
James G.
Jay R.
Andrew N. (NEW!) +1
Sharon S. (NEW!) + husband (possibly)
Nick K. (NEW!)
Our list is growing!
~ Shanti
Ride Hard - Go Big - Live Your Dream!
Count me in too!
I just RSVP'd through the website Ride Calendar function. This is an awesome tool that helps for planning these events.
Anyone up for riding the north side of the park after the work party?
Before Pictures!
We walked Newton this afternoon with the Team Captains and charted out some really exciting stuff to be done at tomorrow's Trail Party! I am so excited!
Before you get out there, be warned that there is Poison Oak around. It is not "everywhere" yet, but you should know what it looks like at this early stage:
At this time of year, Poison Oak's shiny red/orange and green leaves are often atop a stem resembling a grayish stick. It's leaves are very shiny as opposed to those of the Oregon Blackberry. When it's young (like now) Poison Oak is very oily and doesn't look fully green as it does when it matures, so it's easy to mistake it for something innocuous.
Ahhhhh ... the Oregon Blackberry. Three leaves like Poison Oak, but with much larger wide, flat and fuzzy bight green leaves that are heavily veined. It looks like this:
Though not poisonous, it is an invasive prolific plant that needs to be cut out when you see it (and you'll see lots of it on our trail parties).
On to the fun stuff! Here are some of the areas we'll be working on. We are doing major trail building and awesome re-routes, so those who show up will be a part of some amazing changes in four short hours!
Jeff Hough marking out a new serpentine!
Trail Team Captains getting their instructions
A new turnpike (or toll bridge if you prefer) will be here tomorrow afternoon!
And you'll have to be a part of THIS to believe it! Wow!
Come be a part of this amazing day! You'll be amazed at what a team of bikers can accomplish in four short hours!
Shanti Ware
Forest Park Liaison
PUMP
Ride Hard - Go Big - Live Your Dream!
thanks!
Shanti,
Thanks for organizing this! I know how hard it is to put events like this together. You're doing a great job!
gabrielle "I'm just here for the donuts"
"Why, yes, honey, I do love this bike more than you."
Trail Party Follow Up - What Happened?
Mountain Bikers Show Dedication To Forest Park Singletrack!
PUMP members greet volunteers with smiles and doughnuts!
May 3, 2008
Last Saturday morning began with smiles, doughnuts, and mountain bike community spirit for the 25 bikers who assembled at the bottom of Newton Road in Forest Park for our third Portland United Mountain Pedalers (PUMP) coordinated and sponsored Forest Park Trail Maintenance Party.
After two PUMP sponsored Forest Park trail parties on Firelane 5 since November, our volunteers were eager to sink their shovels, loppers, and Mcleouds into a new piece of neglected trail: The lower section of Newton Road
(alternate map version). This section is often referred to as the "most fun" section of singletrack in The Park. Many people don't know about it because it is farther to the North (past the town of Linnton) or don't go because of the misleading "Road" in its name. This is because it's a Fire Road instead of a Firelane such as FLs 3, 5, 7, etc. In reality, it is only a "road" for a very short distance; the rest is sweet singletrack. It sounded like a perfect project for PUMP and our merry volunteers!
We had 4 volunteer Trail Team Captains who walked the trail the day prior with Jeff Hough, Trail & Restoration Manager with the Forest Park Conservancy, and myself to flag-out projects and establish the technical details of the work. Although Spring is just now "springing," the trail was already having overgrowth issues in many spots. Water was a definite problem resulting in mud, trail erosion, and straight-out washouts. Our Team Captains JD, Shane, Fred, and Butch definitely had their work cut out for them. Good thing they had a crew of enthusiastic volunteers chomping at their cranksets to get out there!
Three things were listed as Major Projects:
1. An old culvert has washed out near the bottom of the trail and had left an erosion problem. This required armouring with flagstone in such a way as to let water pass through, yet give a good solid trailbed for riders and walkers to pass. The old culvert was not to be re-installed. In addition, a double serpentine was to be built to both slow riders down in their approach to the new water crossing and to make the trail more interesting. Team Captain Fred took on this mission.
2. In the middle section, about 45+ feet of trail was in a low spot that created a chronic muddy bog. We are talking inches of nasty mud near a stream, which was cause for silt and mud run-off into the nearby creek besides being rather unpleasant for walkers and non-mud loving mountain bikers. The goal here was to establish a 48' elevated trailbed with culvert drainage. This project was taken on by Team Captains JD and Shane, who also dubbed this "turnpike" the "Toll Bridge." Let that name live on in infamy - Hail Captain JD!
3. At the uppermost section of work to be done on May 3rd, a stream bed had completely washed out the trail. Boulders, rocks, etc. had taken over. Bikers had taken two routes to breach this wash-out, but neither could really be called a "trail." As well, one side of the trail was eroding and washing into the established creek. Yet again: Erosion is not our friend nor healthy for the park. This project called for a retaining wall to be built, the trail to be re-established, and a re-route from one of the breaches. Team Captain Butch stepped up to the plate for this one.
In addition:
Several trees had blown down over the trail in a group. These needed to be cut and cleared.
The pruning sweep had its job cut out as riders were already being assaulted by limbs and harassed by Blackberries (its just May, right?).
Several muddy spots needed to be nicked and given a place to drain.
All of this in less than 4 hours? Hold on to your riding shorts and get ready for this:
Lower water crossing "before"
During:
Geoff laying the initial paving stones. New serpenine being laid out in background.
Jay and Nick working on the new double-serpentine
Now that is a thing of beauty! Everyone agrees: Geoff's stone work is art.
Blow-Down before:
During
Jeff notching
Nick chopping and shaping ...
Now we have perfect beginner wheelie practice! Thanks, Nick!
Trail Captains with overgrowth before:
JD, Fred, Butch, Shane, and Trail & Restoration Manager Jeff Hough
Members of our famous Pruning Team!
Susan, Amy, and Gabrielle tame the things that grab us!
Ahhhhhhh - Much better!
... and the mud. Always the star of the show ...
Jeff Hough, FPC Trail & Restoration Manager explains work to be completed on the "Toll Bridge"
Jay, Shane, John, Sharon, Jordan, and Don haul up a tree for the new Toll Bridge
Setting of logs and culvert
Hauling ... tamping ... hauling ... tamping ... (repeat!)
and that, folks, is forty-eight feet of hard-earned "Toll Bridge!"
Absolutely amazing job, crew. You rock!
And last, but not least: The Washout
During:
Butch (wrench at Hollywood Bike Gallery) and Mark (owner of Revolver Bikes) work on the retaining wall
Mark and Sharon stand on completed re-route project. Unfortunately due to severity of terrain, you're going to have to ride it for yourself to see the improvement.
Impact:
PUMP asks all volunteers to "sign in" on our roster at the beginning of each work party. This is for PUMPsters and Non-PUMP members alike. PUMP does this because the club tracks volunteer hours to show mountain biker impact on a local level. PUMP also reports these hours to the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) so the organization can tally our hours with those of other clubs on national and international levels. When you see IMBA lobbying and using "dollars contributed" to the National Forests we are trying to keep open to moutain biking, many of those "dollars" come from trail parties just like our Forest Park events.
Volunteer Trail Hours are calculated at a rate of $18.00/hr. During our May 3rd Newton Road Trail Party, our 25 Trail volunteers working an average of 5 hours each contributed a combined total of 138.5 hours. That means volunteers at this single event contributed $2,493 to the City of Portland and all the user groups of The Park. Combine that with our other two trail parties since November and it comes to a whopping total of $8,833. This is being noticed.
Aside from the cycling community advocacy impact, our volunteers enjoy getting out in the woods working shoulder-to-shoulder with other involved riders. Some folks are new to the area, such as Nick K. and Sharon A., and want to meet new ride partners and learn about our area. Some have been PUMPsters in the past and are jazzed about what we are doing in regard to local advocacy. Some are cyclocrossers ... some are roadies ... some are Freeriders ... we are all bikers who love our sport and enjoy the comeraderie these trail parties facilitate. So please, come out and join us!
Next Forest Park Trail Party:
The next Forest Park Trail Party is scheduled for Tuesday, August 5th from 4:00 PM - 7:30 PM. Please mark your calendars and check back the week of the event for more specifics. This party is on a Tuesday to help our partners in the Bike Industry and others who work weekends to come out and join us. It also won't take away from precious summer weekend ride time. Our Trail Parties are family friendly events and a great day in the woods with your kids, so please feel free to bring your younger riders (recommended for 6+ y/o).
Because of the work done on Newton Road and more projects on that trail we wish to accomplish, Jeff Hough and I are trying to coordinate another Newton Road/Forest Park Trail Party in the next month and a half. Please continue to check the PUMP Ride Calendar and the PUMP Forest Park Forums Page for more info.
If you are unable to make a PUMP trail party, but would still like to spend some time working on trails in Forest Park, please check out the Forest Park Conservancy's Volunteer Opportunity page. These work parties might not be on trail that is open to bikes, but they are a great opportunity to interact with other user groups of The Park and show them that we are people and nature enthusiasts just like them ... we just like it on two wheels!
Background:
Portland United Mountain Pedalers (PUMP) began offically began organizing and sponoring quarterly work parties in Forest Park last Fall with it's first project on Firelane 5 on November 3rd, 2007. This has been a joint effort with The Forest Park Conservancy (formerly Friends of Forest Park). The FPC provides PUMP with the time and expertise of their Trail & Restoration Manager, Jeff Hough, and all equipment needed for the work PUMP's volunteers perform. Since our first trail party in November 2007, PUMP's efforts (and those of volunteers from across our biking community) have turned FL5 into the best maintained piece of trail in the park. In two FL5 trail parties, volunteers attended to chronic mud problems on the trail, armoured trail with stone and gravel, built serpentines to make the trail more enjoyable, and installed culverts. It looks amazing now.
PUMP coordinates and sponsors Forest Park "trail parties" quarterly. These events are posted on our Ride Calendar and in the Forest Park section of our Forums page.
If you are interested in finding out what PUMP is about, please check our Ride Calendar! We have members of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities. Some folks are just starting. You are sure to meet someone you share comonalities with. Yes, we do have many women riders! A great "get to know you" is our weekly Wednesday Forest Park ride with post-ride noshings and trail talk at Cracker Jack's in NW. Find a ride and come join us!
With greatest thanks to our volunteers,
Ms. Shanti Ware
Forest Park Liaison,
Portland United Mountain Pedalers
e-mail: mtb_grrl@msn.com
Like to see more pictures and video?
Click Here: More "Before" pictures
Click Here: More "After" pictures + video
Thank You By Name - Who Came!
I'd like to thank the following folks who "showed up" for singletrack in FP. Many of these folks are back for their third time!
John D. (JD) - PUMP/Team Captain
Shane G. - PUMP/Team Captain
Fred M. - PUMP/Team Captain
Butch W. - PUMP/Team Captain
Mark P. - PUMP
Don W. - PUMP
Sharon A. - PUMP
Spencer B. - PUMP
John Joy - PUMP
Ron S. - PUMP/OBRA
Dave M. - PUMP
Susan M. - PUMP
Ryan K. - PUMP
Amy S. - PUMP
Gabrielle R. - PUMP
Jordan N. - PUMP
Jim Groat - PUMP
Jay R. - BBC
Geoff T.
Olaf S. (New!)
Kaitlin B. (New!)
Andrew N. (New!)
Nick K. (New!)
And, again, my partner in Forerst Park Trail Enhancement and Maintenance, Jeff Hough, Trail & Restoration Manager for the Forest Park Conservancy. And of course, the Forest Park Conservancy for giving us Jeff (smile).
Speak - Build - Respect - Ride
Shanti Ware
Forest Park Liaison
PUMP
Ride Hard - Go Big - Live Your Dream!