Phase 1 is currently under contract, this will be the beginners' loop trail which is just under 2 miles.
The design team (Kristian, Chuck and Bob) have been working for 2 weeks on the design and that is now complete. Volunteers began clearing corridor on July 22 and will work again this weekend. Trail Dynamics will begin machine rough in of the trail on Monday July 26. There are several very burly rock gardens to get through on this first loop.
Plans for the whole park include:
- More mountain bike loops including moderate and more difficult loops
- A flow trail with jumps
- An adventure playground at the trailhead
- Skills areas of different difficulty levels (beginners and more advanced)
This is a hybrid contract with TD staff responsible for the trail design and rough and finished grading with machines, while volunteers are responsible for corridor clearing and finish work.
This coming week is a great opportunity to get involved in the project. We have a kick off meeting at the Broyhill at 6PM on Thursday July 29. This will be a 1.5 hr general overview of what the project is all about. We will show some photos of what the landscape on Rocky Knob looks like, but also some images of visions for the complete trail system (all loops) and what we want the trails to look like.
On Sat. July 31 we will be presenting a Sustainable Trails Design workshop at the Best Western and out at the park. Indoor session will be 9-12 and then lunch, followed by a field session for crew leaders and volunteers from 2-6 at the park.
This is a very exciting project and TD is super excited about the potential for this park to have a great trail system. We look forward to working with many of the locals up there in the high country to develop the park and trails to the fullest potential.
Looks like a great project! We have some clients up in the Boone area and they have been talking about building some trails for over a year now. I am going to be up in the Boone area soon and would like to schedule it with one of their afternoon workdays. Are they meeting every Thursday afternoon at 6pm?
Had a chance to ride here last weekend, very nice. If I had to compare it to anything local (Asheville),
It's as though Ridgeline has been recreated using material from Farlow. Flowy/rocky at it's best.
Rocky Knob will become a destination mountain bike park when complete. Ed and 5 other TD crew members are in Boulder CO helping to build Valmont Bike Park: http://www.bma-mtb.org/valmontbikepark/
We will give details at the Kick-Off presentation tonight at the Broyhill. If you want to learn about sustainable trail planning and design, come to the indoor presentation on Sat. AM. If you just want to be grunt labor, blow off the indoor session and show up at the park at 2PM.
Always awesome news to hear of a new bike park opening, thanks for posting this and the links to the park...I know I'll be a customer.
Although I live in Mills River I travel to Boone frequently to visit my nephew and load up on his Boone Barr food bars.
Here's a shameless plug for his product and hope I'm not jackin' the thread to much. If you guys haven't tried these yet, you're missing out.
Look for them at EarthFare. They pack away nicely and are great fuel for the trail. Thanks and back to your regularly scheduled thread.
Great presentation last night on the park process and progress. Woody and his team seem competent and capable. I'm stoked to live in a town with such a keen focus on outdoor recreation.
Thanks to all who are making this happen.
Trail work 2-6 pm Saturday. The more volunteer hours, the faster this will happen.
The construction kicked off this past week and we had a great week. The Kick Off presentation on Thur. was a packed room of folks eager to learn of the vision for the Park. Sat. morning was an indoor trail school with 15 or so folks learning the basics of sustainable trail design, and the afternoon was digging in the dirt with 23 volunteers. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Trail Dynamics gets to work on a lot of cool projects each and every year. Rocky Knob is however a very special project to me as we moved away from the area (lived in Boone and Blowing Rock for 24 years) partly due to the lack of good mountain biking close-by. We found ourselves driving down to Wilson's Creek, Woods Mountain, or Mt. Rogers area to ride, all of those are 1hr + from Boone.
It was great to re-connect with some old mountain bike friends from the High Country Mountain Bile Association (HCMBA) days, and also meet some new friends. I served as President for HCMBA for 4 years, and it just did not continue after we moved away. There is great new leadership and energy in the new Boone Area Cyclist and without this club Rocky Knob would not be happening.
Coming from down off the mountain, Rocky Knob is just before the Nissan dealership and on your left. Hope to have the first loop (2.6 miles moderate) completed in Oct.
. Are they meeting every Thursday afternoon at 6pm?[/QUOTE said:
R,
Yup, I think the plan is for Dirty Thursdays for the next while. They will also be scheduling some weekend days for work. Stay tuned to the blog and here for any updates.
Indeed, Rocky Knob was well named. This will provide for a really cool trail with lots of things to look at while riding, and lots of rock for trail tread. Also provides for very challenging trail building.
I'm pretty sure Chuck is talking about how to fell that tree so it will fall in the opposite direction than it's leaning, and he is wagering money that he can do it with a plunge cut...:thumbsup:
Construction on the first loop of Rocky Knob park has cranked back up this week. TD staff Bob Karriker is back after 2 weeks of trail education work in Dayton OH and is excited to again be working in the high country.
Volunteers had a great work session on Thur. evening and are staying caught up behind Bob and the machine work. We will be there through the end of Sept. this go round machine building and giving lots of work for the volunteers. The goal would be to have the first loop finished are ready to ride late fall with more to come in spring 2011.
Thanks to everyone who has worked to make this new bike park and trail system happen. Spring 2011 will also see the development of a skills area in the main park and one up on the hill incorporated into the trails. Lots of TTFs and optional lines will also be part of the trails at Rocky Knob
Woody
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