You'll find it in the liquor store. :)
A Need
I moved back to Nova Scotia in the fall of 2007. The four previous years were spent in the Maritime's richest mountain biking region, Fredericton. In Fredericton there was so much riding you could ride a different location every night of the week and not hit them all. The only active race course is Woolastook which is just a few minutes outside of the city, and it has all the infrastructure you need. Plus there are at least two other areas in the city that could (and have) hosted races and or events. Now I'm back in HRM, and we don't have a race course!
Now if you're a veteran, you're probably getting set to name a few race courses in HRM. And you're right, we've had them... but they'd struggle to handle 100 riders for four to eight hours. And if all goes well, they certainly can't handle the larger events if numbers continue to grow regardless of how modest the growth might be at present. So what am I going to do about it you ask? Let me tell you.
I made a phone call. I got transferred. Then I got transferred. Then I got transferred again. Then I got transferred to the first person I talked to. Eventually I ended up speaking with a division of the Department of Natural Resources. All through the series of phone calls I dealt with very kind, considerate and helpful people. My sincere thanks go out to the fine people of DNR, you guys are awesome. My final correspondent was one who could help me identify crown land. They can also process an application to build a mountain bike race course on crown land.
I've got a location in mind. I'm not quite ready to release the spot yet, but the potential is definitely there for great trails, great scenery and appropriate infrastructure to support large scale mountain bike events. I plan on making an application to gain permission to build a set of trails appropriate for large scale mountain bike events. Further I plan on blogging about the entire process! My bid may or may not be successful, I won't make any promises! But I hope that we can all learn something from this process, and at the end of the project I hope that we end up with a great race course and a set of trail that everyone can enjoy. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, how about giving me some notes on what you think the ideal race course is? And if you're not a racer, what are your thoughts on ideal trails in general?
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Wednesday, September 16 2009 at 9:58pm
#3
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 8:46am
#4
Ample parking, running water, and access to 'the grid' are three important considerations when looking for the 'ideal' mountain bike venue.
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 8:57am
#5
Is 'the grid' power?
Parking, running water... AND bathrooms too!
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 9:09am
#6
Yes, power. These are bare minimuns that I see being needed. Flush toilets would be nice but ample parking means that Johns can be trucked in as needed.
The World Cup at Bromont had Johnny's. Pretty ghetto for a World Cup race but for a provincial/national race its passable.
But by all means, go for it. Showers would be nice too.
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 9:59am
#7
Showers? You're pushing your luck! But hey... I'll see what I can do. :)
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 11:00am
#8
if all else fails i know somone who may be willing to let a group use his private land. there's already a double track hill climb, and a single track descent, the space between the two would have to be linked up. space for parking or tenting with a little work. hope all turns out for you on your efforts..
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 11:03am
#9
Judging by the response I got this won't likely fail unless there is an unwilling private land owner with a small plot somewhere in the mix. Judging by the area, it's quite recreation friendly so I doubt that.
We may run into other snags I'm sure, but DNR is used to applications for pipelines, powerlines, logging operations etc., and the idea of some bike paths is relatively insignificant. There are some liability issues of course, but since we're doing this the right way we should be able to manage that.
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 1:00pm
#10
This sounds amazing! Extreme propz.
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 1:02pm
#11
I have to say I'm quite excited myself. Lil' Bo9 likes this stuff now too so I won't be in the dog house if I'm in the woods all the time building so long as he can come along!
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 4:43pm
#12
I found two things useful at Brookvale in PEI... the trail maps located throughout that you could stop and find out "You are Here" and decide your trails. The second was the great trail signage. The signs would tell you if you were outbound or inbound and the distance.....
Also, the bike "showers" were pretty cool. It was a dry night when I was there, but they would come in very handy at some times.....
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 8:55pm
#13
Hardwood Hills, near Barrie, Ontario is almost perfect. You can rent bikes, buy gear and food. It has washroom facilities with change rooms, lots of parking and most importantly good trails for people of a range of abilities. One of my favorite spots to go when I visit my folks in Ontario.
For Nova Scotia, I would be happy with porta-johns and flowy trails. Anything else would be a bonus.
Thursday, September 17 2009 at 10:24pm
#14
Ooooooooo, you could make it a multi=seasonal venture Andrew. MTB in the summer and groomed skate-ski trails in the winter. I would buy a membership...
Hardwood Hills, near Barrie, Ontario is almost perfect. You can rent bikes, buy gear and food. It has washroom facilities with change rooms, lots of parking and most importantly good trails for people of a range of abilities. One of my favorite spots to go when I visit my folks in Ontario.
For Nova Scotia, I would be happy with porta-johns and flowy trails. Anything else would be a bonus.
Friday, September 18 2009 at 5:29am
#15
This particular spot is probably groomed for xc ski in a matter of sorts whether we make a go of this venture or not!
Friday, September 18 2009 at 6:29am
#16
just a suggestion but you should consider contacting the folks at imba canada about this. they have a wealth of info and knowledge after all this is part of their mandate. they were just down in the valley and had some discussions with dnr over the cape split trails. talk to the guys in the valley about how benificial their input was. any further proposals would only be strengthed by their involvement. regardless it's a great idea hats of for your efforts.
Friday, September 18 2009 at 6:57am
#17
I'll openly admit that I'm not as familiar with IMBA as I should be. I will talk to the valley guys, that's a very good idea!
Friday, September 18 2009 at 7:53am
#18
Be just a bit careful with IMBA, as I understand that they have very firm views about what a good trail system is like. When we were at Presque Isle we ran into the guy who was responsible for building most of the trails. At Presque Isle the east side trails were laid out pre-IMBA. I would call them easy to intermediate in difficulty - 100% middle ring and nothing gnarly at all. But apparently IMBA thought they were too hard. The west side trails were laid out by IMBA and they are wide, smooth and very fast (lots of mini-excavator work). I like the IMBA trails - they are well laid out, good turns and use reverse grades to stretch out the downhill. They are totally a blast. They're also good because they're not too technical and so can be ridden by beginners and experts. But it is a particular style that I wouldn't want to ride all the time and I wouldn't want to have an entire race course on that style of trail. I don't have a lot of experience on this, but I've heard a story to the same effect from someone else who is helping to design a race course out west. I am definitely NOT saying not to get in touch - but don't take their trail ideas as gospel.
Friday, September 18 2009 at 9:24am
#19
I hear you Norman, and I've also said before that I'd bet that most IMBA gurus would likely stand in disbelief looking at the type of forest / ground we have to work with in Nova Scotia. For trail construction the people I'll be turning to are the people that Cogeyed and Trailblaizer have recently honored... and the other great people here who build. No one needs to show them how to build!
I am very interested in what IMBA can suggest with respect to infrastructure though, and sourcing funding. I'm no rookie with that stuff, but I appreciate that no one needs to reinvent the wheel.
Friday, September 18 2009 at 1:14pm
#20
Something that should be considered is the ability for spectators to get to good viewing spots on the course. My folks love walking the course (did 2nd half of Gore this year), but I understand that can get to be a hassel when there are so many people on bikes riding the trails.
Friday, September 18 2009 at 1:15pm
#21
Something that should be considered is the ability for spectators to get to good viewing spots on the course. My folks love walking the course (did 2nd half of Gore this year), but I understand that can get to be a hassel when there are so many people on bikes riding the trails.
Friday, September 18 2009 at 1:26pm
#22
Good note Foster!
Friday, September 18 2009 at 1:33pm
#23
having it multiseasonal also may allow for some gov't funding. maybe....
anywho, some sweet mtb race specific trails will be awesome!
This particular spot is probably groomed for xc ski in a matter of sorts whether we make a go of this venture or not!
Saturday, September 19 2009 at 12:00pm
#24
Andrew PM me up with some details on this project. I know some things that may be of help for you.
Monday, September 21 2009 at 2:50pm
#25
Will do Ryan!
I'm still gathering the details myself, but you're on the short list of folk I'd like to involve at least in some capacity.
We need a "reps" button.