Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Auburn State Recreational Area - Culvert Phase 2 trail work sign up Feb 8th - 10th

9K views 71 replies 33 participants last post by  peter19ue 
#1 ·
Folks,

We are resuming work on the popular Culvert downhill trail located within the Auburn State Recreational Area.

With Phase 2 approved, we will be realigning some parts of the trail to improve drainage and flow while ensuring this continues to be a thrilling ride.

If you liked and were a part of what we started last year, you'll want to join us to complete the vision we have for creating a world class downhill corridor that offers fun and excitement for all skill levels.

Registration is limited to 12 people per day so sign up now if you're interested.

Details:
When: Feb 8th - 10th
Where: ASRA Culvert (stage at Fuel Break and Culvert)
What: trail work
Time: 8.30 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. (options for 1/2 day)

Sign up here -

Doodle: CULVERT ACTION ALERT

Note: While we will provide refreshments, please come prepared to be self sufficient.

Cheers,

Steve

If you have questions, reach out to me at jminn8086@gmail.com
 
See less See more
#29 ·
I kinda felt the same way today. I asked a half dozen other riders how they felt about the new sections and got the same replies. It's new and different though, so I'm sure it just needs time to set in! Half the berms were almost entirely loam by 4pm, just the nature of auburn dirt I guess. Wish we had it like Bend, with more moisture.

Really like more little poppy up/down stuff, but was bummed the rockgarden switchback was gone. Also wishing for more fun jumps to be built on the side. The new log drop up top was great, be cool to have stuff like that all the way down, Demo-style!

either way, it probably just needs to have more riders on it digthemlows, give it some time.
 
This post has been deleted
#35 ·
Thinking about hitting these trails th is friday. Never been here. Whats the easiest way to get thre, park and trails to start off. Ill be coming from san jose. Wanted to make it worth the trip. Im very capable on the technical downhill, etc but slow on the uphill. Whatt do you guys suggest?
 
#37 ·
It's not "flaming" or "Trolling" to come here and say it's not as fun as it used to be. We asked lots of riders about it last weekend and very few liked the changes. The berms may get better, but they are ill placed and only serve to slow you down. There are "second lines" put in around area's that don't need a second line. It might be fun on a bmx bike or a rigid bike I guess. The problem is, Culvert was always a fun trail built to challenge, if you wanted a more beginner ride there were/are many other trails around, so why "level" culvert into a boring ride and tell anyone that complains we're "haters"?? It really is sad to lose a good trail....................

off to ride the ruts of Eastside, then have a blast on Stonewall..............keep us posted if any new designs/trailwork come up and I'd be glad to help bring the trail back with some digging!
 
#48 · (Edited by Moderator)
Culvert changes



I have to admit, as much as I love ABW, and understand lots of people put out tremendous amounts of work to "fix" this wonderful trail, I am in agreement with the post quoted here and the group that is bummed out that we lost a fun and historical trail.

I've also been riding this trail since around 1987. I grew up in Auburn and love the "problem solving" of real trails. For many years, my comment has been, ride the trails as they are. If there is a problem, solve it, but try to keep the character the same. I drive down from Tahoe to ride the canyon, and the culvert has been a favorite draw.

My question is, what problem did this solve? I understood the section last year, it tried to deal w/ the washed out area, and after a few tries, seemed to work. but the new upper section off the fuel break. there wasn't any issue there. all these across the fall line turns on a "bike path", those don't solve any existing problem. They take a natural trail the has been sustainable for 20 plus years, and totally reroute it to make it smoother, easier and not interesting at all. isn't a buzzword in our love of MTB, SINGLETRACK. they plowed under great singletrack and put in wide, level, wandering bike path. flow??? riders create flow with skill, not trail designers w/ huge equipment. I'm very disappointed. The main positive I see here is that I can take my 10 and 12 year old daughters on this "bike path".
Sorry, and I'm far from a hater, just a mountain biker who doesn't understand why people always want to change things into their version of what is right. This should have been a new trail created on different land. I was published in a mtb rag about 10 years ago, in regards to this same trail. the point, "people should ride the trails as they are." at that time, it was people building funky offshoots and jumps, and smoothing out rocky sections. Now, it's plowing the whole thing down so a cyclocross bike can ride it easily. bummer. to put out another example on this trail of one riders route being ruined for anothers line. I love to climb this trail, and have ridden it as an out and back forever, I don't like road riding, so I try to skip the clem climb and climb "singletrack". there is a large rock on the R side descending that I used to climb over, and pick down the other side. recently, someone built a mini kicker there, broke down the step up gap on to that rock, and tossed all the rocks into the rock line I have ridden for years. Ride the trail as it is I say. If you want big jumps, go to trails that have them. If you want easy wide meandering trails, go to where they are. sad.

I guess I'll go to reno more often now, they are creating quite a network of new SINGLETRACK, where they not only keep in less then 12inch wide and leave in rocks, but they actually try to add turns to go over more rocks. yes, rocks are a good thing. Even the ride I used to call "the wife ride", foresthill devide, is more of a real mtb ride now then culvert.

sorry, mike. I know you worked hard under very tough parameters, but I can't bite my tongue and pretend this is a good thing for an old mountain biker.

Please tell the designers to stop taking out rocks and going around sections that have no sustainability issue to "find flow". let them know that mountain bikers like rocks and we can create flow, thanks.

cheers,
Holiday (wade)
 
#38 ·
Loved the original trail and didn't see the need to fixes the technical stuff while some was above my abilities was looking forward to mastering it, but as many things change is inevitable. While the trail is still fun not sure why it has to be the width of a road what happened to the single track? No disrespect to all the man hours spent out there, thanks for your hard work!
 
#39 · (Edited)
I had a chance to ride some of the new turns. Even with compaction, stuff is still slow compared to what it will firm up to this summer. Each turn is slightly different which is nice as each one requires a distinct tactic. I am sure things will continue to be refined. I was stoked to see all the people who came out to contribute. An awesome community of people in Auburn.

The primary line stuff everyone is working on is just the beginning. Lots of cool ideas for many more B route challenge features that are going to be included. This will be the spices for the potato dish A line. Zing! Mike from ABW and flat shoveled jumper heads will build some killer jumps etc... as optional lines. Cool that you guys have supportive shops in the area.

Guidelines for what is acceptable and a way for people to engage legally will reduce tear outs. A win win as there are way more users than workers and no effort should be wasted.

Tons of Private Land for out of the box eroded crazy kill you trails. Don't be an idiot and build on Public Land, just pisses law enforcement off and reduces opportunity for everyone else. State parks is most restrictive agency regarding bike access and resource protection. Proactive State Park staff are rare. You guys are stoked having this ranger donating his free time to preserve this asset. The design is a compromise for sure but the trail still rips!

The opportunity here is developing a representative group that has the skill sets and professional look to work with local land managers. Some projects will involve compromises to design and some wont. You want more trails, stop waiting and get involved. Culvert is one mile. FTA has built 50 miles of new trail in Nevada County with no funding and we are getting better at it every project. Sweet! Why is it the only people who know what is best are complaining rather than doing?

Only a couple more sessions left to complete the prime line before focusing on the features. Next session will be in March. If you can't come out and help...shower volunteers with praise and beer. :)

Cheers

z
 
#46 ·
First I'd like to say that the culvert project has been open to anyone that wanted to help. There is a plan in action and we are going to follow it, there is still a few more phases to go through before it is complete. Thanks again to all that helped!

Secondly the Culvert trail means a lot to me personally, you can ask anyone on the project that from the FTA crew to the Ranger managing the project. I am personally ensuring that we keep every natural feature the trail offers as well as others that have deep feelings for Culvert trail features, i.e. the rock into the tunnel, the rocks that are below the the armored turn and the rock drop etc.
We are dedicated to this project meeting the high standards of the users, be patient it will get even better!!
 
#51 ·
First off, thanks to everyone for the hard work!

The new changes provide a good basic beginner trail. I did like the old school Culvert since I had been riding it for decades. After last years changes, I warned people to be careful not to over jump the tabletops that were put in (easily done). I was ok with the mix that the trail had... not so much with the most recent changes.

Culvert used to provide improving riders with enough challenge to get all of their attention. The more experienced riders would rip down it, but still have to pay attention to avoid bouncing off the wrong thing. This new Culvert provides very little of either of those (except where the old lines still exist). After recently riding Paradise Royale, I have to ask why did we have to get so drastic on the taming of Culvert? Big sweeping turns where they really were not needed. The base trail may have flow for beginners, but past that it feels very forced. And there seems to be ride around options for every rocky option, effectively turning it into more trail sprawl than was there. So I guess I am a bit confused...

I had the same feeling after the CCC went through and "adjusted" Darrington Trail. Luckily it only took a decade-ish to let nature fix the issues that were created.

I think the idea of leaving Culvert in its original state (with minor corrections for drainage) and creating a completely new trail that connects in to utilize the "culvert" to pass under the road and then splitting off again would have been a better overall solution. More trails!!

That said, what's done is done. I do hope to see more interesting features added, and perhaps a little more consideration given to safe progression options. Hopefully after the upcoming changes, I can start describing it as super fun and not just super buff.

Thinking of a new name for the new Culvert... perhaps Nulvert? ;)
 
#53 ·
I can't wait to ride it...haven't been there yet this winter/spring. But I can understand the need to redo a lot of the trail which was getting pretty worn out in spots. Am I going to miss the rockgarden switchback--absolutely--but overall I think I will like the new trail as I did the old, just in a different way. As others have said, there are other important things going on here such as working with state parks to ensure and enhance trail access. If there is a slight 'give' in terms of 'natural' trail features, it is probably worth it.
 
This post has been deleted
#60 ·
I am pretty sure that I started the whole hater bit, but it was not based on people's constructive criticism, I welcome that kind of democracy. It was based on this user, FoothillRider, who hides his identity behind a made up avatar that he created just to attack FTA on this thread. Look at his profile, nothing there, he just joined MTBR in february, and his first post was an attack. In fact, this is the only thread he has posted to. He is not engaged in constructive criticism, but coming from a place of contempt for FTA (Troll).

He says he worked on the trail but hides his identity, Why?

This project was a collaborative effort, and believe me when I say that there were open minds and ears when we did walk throughs and discussed what we were gonna do.

FoothillRider obviously has a beef with FTA. This fake user is being divisive, trying to rally the blame of some peoples dissatisfaction on us. He gives praise to one part of our group, while at the same time he shoots the finger at FTA, yes that most certainly is Hating.

This was a group effort, and we all stand behind what we did. Next time you see Steve M, or Jon B, or Mike T, ask them if FTA completely disregarded their input, I guarentee it won't sound anything like Foothillrider is portraying. This fake person can say anything they want without any accountability. They can say off base hurtful things, and we never know where it is coming from.

Bring on your criticism, I don't have a problem with that, just be honorable enough to stand behind what you say.

Moss Quaglia
White Hat
 
#58 ·
"They are not braking turns, your not supposed to brake in a turn like that"
fuenstock, I appreciate that you like those first 2 turns into straight, you are first I've heard. Even the designers don't like it i believe.
yes, it is historical. i rode this trail on the first rockhopper from mid 80's. it has had staying power, interest and engagement for riders for 30 years, from rigid bikes to 8inch travel downhill bikes.

yes, turns like that are designed to slow you down ie: "Braking turns", even if you had no brakes on your bike, these are braking turns. They are turns to distinctively take away speed. even if you manage to stick to it w/ no brakes, it will slow you down, as designed.

cheers,
Holiday
 
#59 ·
I've ridden Culvert almost weekly for the last 6-7 years, and occasionally another 5 years before that. While I'm slightly bummed the old Culvert's rocky feel has been lost, I think the bulk of the new work is pretty fun – especially the set of corners that replace the old rocky right-hand sweeper into the remaining rock garden. Those are some fun little jumps into some real ripping fun corners!

However, the first two corners off fuel break suck. The first berm disappears into off-camberness right when you want it most, and the second turn sucks much of your remaining speed. The second section of the new-this-year corners right before the culvert are much better designed and constructed, but feel exactly like what holiday mentions above – their sole reason (and feel) is to slow you down. I think holiday's suggestions about opening up some of the corners, and maybe increasing the berm size would add some variety to the trail.

I rode Culvert yesterday afternoon, and the section that's currently being built (last one before the road) looks and feels pretty sweet. Thanks so much to ABW, FTA, and all the volunteers for all the hard work!! Now we just need to build a bike-legal alternative to Tinker's...;)
 
#61 ·
I rode the new trail last weekend, and it is as I thought, at least for me. Different, clearly. Do I miss some of the old 'roughness' of the trail such as the rocky switchback--clearly. Is it still fun in its new form...from my point of view yes. I'm not a downhiller so the new banked turns aren't what I would look for, but as a trail user I do appreciate the work that went into this. The new trail isn't going to impact whether I will ride Auburn. At the margin I probably preferred the old trail slightly, but when I think about how lucky we are to have areas like the ASRA I just can't complain.
 
#62 ·
this has been an interesting read......I found very few riders that really "liked" the changes, and the designers/politicians of the project seem to be the only ones defending the project. It's been said by a few, but what needs to be looked at is why did it fail? It's not a terrible trail by any means, but it sure is worse that it could have been, even with the contraints. So, in the future, I hope people take the opportunitiy to learn from mistakes. Yes, I'll ride culvert, but you can bet I'll take every chance I can to take Stonewall over culvert now, where they were a little more even in the past......Culvert was "dumbed down" ........ oh well..........to a better future of riding I hope we are all headed!! Cheers everyone!
 
#69 ·
Being a resident of Auburn who has donated to FTA, FATRAC, supported the local shops, and have done some trail work in the past on Culvert, I didn't know what to expect with all the changes. I miss parts of the old Culvert, but enjoy the fact, that the new stuff is unlike anything else around here and am sure things will be added and tweaked with time. But as mentioned, there is Murders, flood/upper stage coach to mention a few that you can also ride. The great thing is if you don't like it, you don't have to ride it. There are lots of other trails where you can get you 500k of footies and KOM's on Strava. I appreciate all the hard work by all the parties involve.
 
#71 ·
flood is off of stagecoach, near the top third.

murders is off the center dh trail from where you exit connector/green gate. Sometimes called middle trail / stonewall. Stonewall is to the left after the newly built gate, murders is farther down the fireroad on the left. Both empty at the same place, most take rocky down from ranch trail.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top