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Making Boise Foothills Trails Idiot Proof

2K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  Wheelbender 
#1 ·
:madmax: sarcastically reported a small natural disaster on trail #16 several weeks ago and requested a repair job by any one of the authorized maintenance crews. I had done the best I could to replace the rock slabs which had slid from their original positions back on the trail. Prior to the minor rock slide there was a nice little technical drop at the end of a progressively rocky and challenging section. As I rode through this section last week my current opinion of the Boise Foothill trail management system was cast in concrete. The repair crew was offered a great opportunity to enhance what was previously a respectable beginner to intermediate rock drop. But like all other opportunities for maintaining or improving the user experience, the trail managers chose to make this section nearly idiot proof. When will they learn, not all trails must be dumbed down to the lowest denominator. At the hands of the current managers, Boise's trails are on the path of becoming nothing more than exercise. They are below average and falling fast. I say replace the the current trail managers with those that maintain a desire to provide a unique experience for all skill levels. I voted to give the City of
Boise my money and purchase foothills land for the use of all Boise's residents. Get with it and build something other than trails which can be maintained with a broom and dust pan.
 
#3 ·
Yeah, but...

Wheelbender said:
:madmax: sarcastically reported a small natural disaster on trail #16 several weeks ago ...
Wheelbender,

First, I miss that little drop, so I basically agree with you, Boise needs some more technical trails. I've been riding that trail for about 15 years, however. It used to be a gradual slope, then it slowly became a fun little step. As you mentioned, there was a small natural disaster and the step fell apart. So now it's like it was again. Is that the trail crew's fault? I personally don't think so, but you probably disagree.

I've lived in places where the trail managers were basically the enemy and fought hard to keep mountain bikes off "their" trails. So, yeah, I agree with you that I'd like to see more challenging trails around here. But I don't share your view about the various trail managers around here. I think that they are doing a very good job of keeping the trails in good shape and open to cyclists.

Just my 2 cents.

HH
 
#4 ·
I had hoped the trail crew would see the logic in the way I had moved the larger rock back as close as practical to its original location. I had reinforced it with several other rocks to create a path that was equally as technical as it previously was. I don't blame the trail crew for the natural disaster, but their lack of creative thinking is at the root of the problem. I have spent a good amount of time on the IMBA web site studying trail construction. Boise crews build'em right, they just need to get past Chapter 1. An if it requires new managers, then I'm all for it. I would like to pitch in for some volunteer trail building, but why waste the energy when the end result will be the same as everything else in the foothills.
 
#6 ·
Maybe I missed the memo while I was behind the barn sucking down bong hits, but I was under the impression that natural disasters were things like tsunamis, tornados, hurricanes and earthquakes. A rock sliding off a man-made stunt on a technical cross country trail (a short one at that) does not constitute a natural disaster. It barely registers as anything important really.
 
#8 ·
Fyi

It was the Foothills manager that approved the construction of Rock Island. And not many people know it, but it is also the same Foothills manager that helped me with certain legal matters that allowed for the continued construction of this....
 

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#9 ·
Wheelbender, I contacted R2R, specifically David Gordon, about this issue you have brought up. They haven't moved any rocks on Rock Island. I do know there are some trail users out there that like to "alter" the lower Footies trail as they see fit. This appears to be one situation were that has happened.

I also brought up adding more technical features on upcoming construction. He was all for it anywhere we it doesn't contribute to erosion of the trail.

Hope you are having a good Memorial Day.
 
#10 ·
your "wasted energy" shows the trail managers dedication and participation and gives us momentum for more and more aggressive trails.....this is the same f*cking thread that is posted about 100million times a year....you wheelbender should do a search in the archives and read how many times this has come up prior to nov 2006. And just cuz you read about trail building on a web site doesnt mean jack... my mom watches the food network, it doesnt make her a chef ( believe me )... grab a shovel, join a work day and give your imput. have you thought about the legal side of things, r to r has to follow lines of red tape and rules and laws set by the fs and land owners. If we maintain the existing trails we get new trails, somtimes we have to "alter" trails to make them safe, get a better run off for water....like the pictures show, visi and selected others are working their asses off to get bigger and better trails, its a slow process.....but in the past 4 years there has been LEAPS AND BOUNDS in the trail networks around here. MY .02
 
#11 ·
Speaking of wasted energy and the Grrounds keepa

Groundskeeper Willie was born William Sean MacIavel in a chickenshack outside Glasgow on February 30th, 1955. His parents, to whom he upholds a loving distance, gave him the standard Scottish upbringing, meaning that from the age of three he had to fend for himself. Willie attended St Andrews Groundskeeping College, where he majored in ancient Greek philosophy, with minors in sawdusting and Caber Tossing. After he graduated in 1974, he embarked on a trip to the Middle East to "broaden his horizon". Upon passing through Israel, he met and hooked up with that way too progressive Israeli Chick. Her in-your-face skankiness however confused him thoroughly and when they split, he vowed to lead henceforth a life in celibacy.
Willie emigrated to the U.S. in 1977 and competed for a couple of years in the North American Caber Tossing League (NACTL), but he had to quit during the big kitten huffing scandal in 1981, from which the NACTL never recovered. (The IOC had banned huffing kittens in pro sports in 1973.) Of course, Willie was innocent because he hadn't huffed any kittens - he has been huffing mountain lions since he was eight.

[edit] Willie's Rise and Fall. Or Fall and Rise. You decide.
Because of Willie's extreme intelligence and major in Greek Philosophy, he was able to get a job at Yale University as a World History teacher, earning $2,000 an hour. Also, because of Willie's popularity with the students as well as most of the students in Willie's class getting the best grades possible, Willie received a $3,000 raise and began to be paid $6,000 per hour. (Check the math, dude. It's Scottish math.) This raise helped Willie to become one of the richest teachers that ever worked at Yale. With his great wealth, Willie bought a giant mansion, started his own magazine and website, and got his own pet noodleies. He also had guest spots on many talk shows. Willie's so-far wonderful life, however, would soon take a turn for the worst. Willie's demise began during his part-time janitorial job at Yale, while he was cleaning the various buildings. Just by chance, Willie wandered into the building known as "The Tomb", which was the home of the evil society known as "Skull and Bones". When Willie walked into "The Tomb", the members of Skull and Bones (also known as Bonesmen) were secretly discussing their plans for world domination, as well as their allegiance with the Irken Empire. When the Bonesmen discovered that Willie had not only walked into their secret lair, but listened in on their evil plans, they grabbed Willie, gagged him, hit him in the head several times until he got amnesia, and threw him onto a freight train that was headed for Springfield. There, Willie (who remembered nothing about his encounter with the Bonesmen or his wealth, etc. due to his amnesia, but in a weird twist still knows everything he learned in groundskeeping college) was discovered by the principal of Springfield Elementary School, Seymour Skinner, who offered Willie a job as a janitor or "groundskeeper". Thus Willie settled into his true calling.
 

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#14 ·
Nice photos Visssi.....why should we be forced up onto the top of some damn mountain where the snow shuts us down 5 months outa the year? Don't it make you feel kinda like the "Red Headed Bastard Child" when you finally get permission to go outside and play but you gotta do it where nobody else can see you?

Who is gonna pay for my gas money and extra miles on my car driving up Bogus? I'm paying good $$$ for those average foothills trails. Let's see something for our money!

And as far as that erosion crap goes, jumps, drops and rocks all come from the same place....mutha (bleep) earth, they gonna brake down under any kinda traffic and need repair.
 
#15 ·
Wheelbender said:
Nice photos Visssi.....why should we be forced up onto the top of some damn mountain where the snow shuts us down 5 months outa the year? Don't it make you feel kinda like the "Red Headed Bastard Child" when you finally get permission to go outside and play but you gotta do it where nobody else can see you?

Who is gonna pay for my gas money and extra miles on my car driving up Bogus? I'm paying good $$$ for those average foothills trails.
Plenty of techie stuff lower down. You just have to work harder to get there. As Visi said, Rock Islands and the TableRock trails are good examples. As far as playing out where "nobody else can see you", some of us are not out riding "to be seen"...
Anyway, instead of driving up Bogus to hit the trails, try riding up to the Bogus trails via Hard Guy/Ridge Road. You can save your good $$$ that way and you can avoid the average foothill trails.
 
#19 ·
Who's responsibility is it?

Hey Wheelbender,

Who's responsibility is it to make you happy. I always thought it was a personal responsibility to keep one's self happy.

Ask not what others can build for you,
but what trail you could help build for your community!

Your statement in another e-mail of, "I have no trail buiding certifications, but here are my suggestions for a rebuild." Just put that thought out of your mind and come get a hold of nice pulaski. It sound like you need to swing the big one and I have just the ticket with your name all over it. Come up and do some work and I promise it will rock your world! I'll buy the beer.

If you want to just complain about sanitation of trails and who's responsiblity it is, I guess you are in good company.
 

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#21 ·
Wasting Time

Wheelbender said:
Nice photos Visssi.....why should we be forced up onto the top of some damn mountain where the snow shuts us down 5 months outa the year? Don't it make you feel kinda like the "Red Headed Bastard Child" when you finally get permission to go outside and play but you gotta do it where nobody else can see you?

Who is gonna pay for my gas money and extra miles on my car driving up Bogus? I'm paying good $$$ for those average foothills trails. Let's see something for our money!

And as far as that erosion crap goes, jumps, drops and rocks all come from the same place....mutha (bleep) earth, they gonna brake down under any kinda traffic and need repair.
Yeah, you're right Wheelbender. The time spent on trails up around Bogus Basin is definitely a waste of time. I've wasted at least 100 hours up there building trails. I probably have wasted close to 200-300 hours of my time building trails in this area. I hate that I have to ride up in forest among the trees. I hate the everytime I head up to build trails with my bros I end up leaving in great mood and stoked that our progress is paying off. The horde of owls I saw last year swooping from tree to tree absolutely infuriated me while we were scouting out new trails to build. I also hate that its about 10 to 20 degrees cooler up there in the summer. I'd rather spontaneously combust down here in the foothills.

All kidding aside, I never looked at it as being shoved into the corner but as an opportunity to build the kind of trails I really want to ride. I guess its a matter of perspective. Your glass is always half empty. What a shame.

The man owes you something in the way of gas and mileage on your car. Your mere existence on this planet guarantees that someone else is responsible for your happiness and satisfaction. Like the others on this forum have suggested, why don't you pick up some tools and actually put some effort into making our trails better instead of telling everyone else what to do.
 
#22 ·
Sounds like WheelBender needs to just get a dirt bike and come rail Trails 4, 5 and 6 with me and my moto buddies. Plenty of tech sections, rocks, jumps, air, steeps, etc...all in the comfort of the lower foothills. After a long day of that, popping off stuff on my RFX seems a little tame, no matter what trail I'm on (excluding of course the big gnar' stuff some of you crazy bast*rds ride off, which is quite impressive I might add)...C'mon, step it up 'Bender.
 
#23 ·
Welcome back Pothole. Boy that photo looks familiar, but it ain't a dirt bike. Thought you had sworn off this forum cause it was just a small group yaking back and forth.

Others, don't give me no crap about not doing any trailwork. I spent a good part of my weekends out in the Owyhees working on stuff. Until I know for sure our friends on the motorized vehicles will leave it alone, it is gonna remain below the radar. Pothole understands the value in staying below radar......right Pothole?

Don't think I cannot see the quality of the Table Rock trails, great stuff, but it comprises about 5% of the foothills trail system. The remaining 95% is just average. And the stuff going in at Bogus can be deadly. I'm all for the Bogus stuff. I just want some jumps and technical stuff down low in the hills. That is what my rant it all about. Every now and then the pot should be stirred and passions lit up.

Good input from all. Sounds like freeriders are making some headway. As I said, when the R2R and the other trail managers decide it is acceptable to step up and allow more
jumps and technicals stuff down low, I will be right there on top of it.
 
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