The trench is just after you exit the woods and take a left turn on the berm. It is two feet wide by 18" deep. It makes it impossible to ride the trail in a counter clockwise direction. Do we now have the option of changing anything we want on a trail
I talked to a guy wearing a full face helmet and a go pro who thought the trench was awesome. I told him I thought it was stupid and didn’t belong there. What gives someone the right to do that? A competent trail builder would have a line fir all skills and not just dig a trench and kill the flow for 80% of the rides. I jumped over it but others in my group had to stop and walk over
Yeah that’s straight up someone being a dick. If they really wanted a gap they could have just made half of it a gap if they were considering the range of riders using the trail. Making it a gap all the way across is deliberately sending an unwelcoming message the way I look at it.
And that’s when I had to get involved!!! I am hearing alot of people bitching about it but I doubt one of you has actually put a pick in the ground on that site. The trail was built by a small group of people, on property that is not there’s, for their own pleasure. We all ride it and enjoy it because those people did an incredible job. They built a loop that started out as a 2 way trail but has evolved into an obvious one way trail. They asked people to ride it that way. Put up signs saying you should ride it that way for your own safety. You ridiculed and stomped around like brats saying “I’m gonna ride it the wrong way even more now”!!! One of you is going to get a wheel and bottom bracket in the face at 30 km’s an hour, and have to be medi-vaced out!!! Then the people who own the land, when you try to sue them, put up no trespassing signs. Nobody listened, so the builders have made the choice for you. Should the builders have been more diplomatic in there approach, possibly. Strava stalking isn’t cool. They could have approached it differently. But who the fuck are we to criticize. Grow up and ride it the way it is being built to be ridden. Nuff said??? Good night…
Unfortunately Muddy people disrespected the individuals who have invested years into building this trail. These guys have jobs and enjoy riding their bikes as much as all of you do and dedicated their time free of charge for others, They asked online for it to be treated as a one way, they then signed it and they had to take more action to ensure the safety of others. It’s one thing to ride a one way trail accidentally due to poor signage than to purposely ignore the safety of others.
I have ZERO issue with the posting of signs to direct traffic. I have ridden here a dozen+ times since the signs have been put up and have suggested to the crew everytime that we need to respect the wishes of the trail builder/controller who is likely doing this for safety reasons.
I do however, think that the approach of making the trail more dangerous and less inclusive is wrong. I respect the fact that a lot of time has been spent to make this fun little loop. It is a very well conceived and built trail and all riders are better off and owe a debt of gratitude to those responsible for building any of the trails we ride. If they didn’t exist we would all be roadies.
I do however have to draw the line when it comes to who owns the trail. That trail is built on land that is not owned by the trail builder. The trail builder has no more right to that piece of the land and the trail that is there than I do, or you do, or my kids do or Sidney Crosby does. I would have just as much right to fill in that trench and smooth out the humps and jumps as much as you do to build them. The builder acted in a rogue way to build them and I could act in a similar rogue way and change them to whatever I wanted. The unwritten rule that states the trail builder owns the trail is what we have all been taught to respect but lawfully no one owns that trail but the landowner.
No one has a real issue with someone trying to police the trail and make it safer and more fun for everyone. I would however suggest that people do have an issue with such a middle finger approach. It would not surprise me one bit if someone went there and made some changes to the trail. In fact I received a text from a rider on this site who wanted to know if I was interested in helping him fill in the trench and smooth out the jumps that have been added.
I agree @muddy. Really, all the builder, or anyone, had to do was put up the signs and leave it at that. Eventually people would start riding it the most fun and appropriate direction, and this discussion would have never occurred.
I agree, it’s a bit of a confrontational approach.
That said, there are plenty of trails that are not 100% ridable by all ability levels. I know there are a number of climbs that many riders can’t make in Fight Trail. Should the builders there have added a bridge to easily get up some of those? I don’t have a problem with trails not being completely accessible, that’s what trail ratings are for. Not everyone can immediately ride Acadienne at Sugarloaf.
Hello, I m the main builder of line 24/25 (IPA Loop). I ve been building in HRM for 17 years, many of you have ridden my trails over the years, Training for races, pleasure riding, just to get away, whatever. Your welcome. If your old school Dtown you will remember my first, which now is buried under the blight that is Dartmouth Crossing. Follow that with Whopper Dropper(Rip) and then I fell in love with the land that Skull is on so I coulden t help myself. Then Spider Lake got stupid popular and I got creatively dumbed down. No stunts, don t bridge streams(environmentally unsound) yadda,yadda,yadda. So I packed up my tools and left 10 years of work/pleasure behind to make a flowy jump line across the canal. Then the top was cleared and 24 was born as a bonus. I am again faced with the conundrum of having a pop trail and being told how to build it. I would like to be able to improve my level of riding/building without need to babysit/fear for my health. Thats why I no longer build at Spider(not that I dislike the trail). I did not ask for people to ride my new trail and the people who did lend a hand agreed with the features and direction. All of the people bitching about direction have not given me any help ever.If you don t like my work cross the canal, Spider is a plate of two direction, wheels on the ground spaghetti. Or step out of your comfort zone and catch some air. Or, even better, find a cool patch of land and build your own trail that matches your style. I d love to ride someone else s creative birth. More trails, more progress, more fun. HRM is sadly lacking in skill level and longer treks. Riding up obvious speed controllers and stepdowns is dangerous and ruins my work. Its like the people who let their toddlers play at the bottom of the skatepark. Before the internet/strava I found out about trails by hanging out with racers and builders or exploring. Now trails are outed to anyone with a bike and an opinion. I am not interested in building green trails, lobby the city for that. As far as get my own piece of land, be careful what you wish for cause its in the works and then no more free trails for you. Oh Rolls, thats hilarious.Today is a sad day in Dartmouth trail progress 'cause I m getting sick of this bulls#@t. Too much work too little gained.
Thanks for the trails. Your efforts are appreciated for sure. Some valid points for sure and I’m glad you chimed in. It’s always good to get feedback from all points of view, especially one that is as well informed on this particular trail such as yourself.
We all know that trail building and organizing events is a thankless task. Take heart that most of us have been there and understand all sides of the discussion. Whether it’s digging dirt or sitting on an board to ensure trail access exists, or supporting the scene otherwise there are a lot of folks that do good work.
Hello, everyone just saying that I am not telling people how to ride.I am building a trail to my skill level. Again, if you do not like my work there are other places to ride.The amount of riders on 24/25 is not my fault. I did not tell anyone but a few of my buddies. Its sad that HRM is so starving for a good place to that my little jump line has been over run. Yes it not my land, thats why its good policy to keep your mouth shut. Blasting every scrap of trail on the net gets trails shut down. We all lose.Because of Strava even motorcrossers are now riding MTB trails in metro, including 24/25 and Spider among others. So not only do I have repair issues from normal use but machine abuse and a bunch of people imposing their views on me. As far as the trolling goes lets not be hypocrites. Everytime you ride a trail that you found on the net, that you have nothing to do with, that is not for the public ie Irishtown and then post for the world to see you are inviting disaster. In the 90s it was called poaching only then it was secret. Finding trails is way more satisfying than punching keys and bragging. I am all for all level trails but untill I get some place that is sanctioned and a boatload of help, I build for me. As far as the threat of smoothing out my jumps, why don t you go to Spider and fix up the old girl, she s in need of some love on top of whats been done this year already(cheers). Or go help the gang at Macentosh Run (sorry about the spelling). Or Macdonald Sports park. More trails, ALL levels, more fun. You d be a dick for wasting all that time and effort on both of our sides. We agree on more than you think Paul but ,again, in this case I m just building what I want to ride and I hope you enjoy whats coming. That goes for everyone. Go ride, go build or help maintain. Lobby the city for land use. Thanks. Have nice weekend watching Pinkbike because of the rain.
