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Field Notes: Clearing a Path

  • April 23, 2018
  • Ben Osborne
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The first time I built a mountain bike trail was up in Minaki, Ontario just north of Kenora. It streaked through dark pine forests, over Canadian Shield rock and through boggy marshlands. There were no rules to building trails then: simply point it and go. If it was rideable it was trail. Heck, it didn’t even need to be rideable.

Words and photo: Colin Field

 

MLBM Spring18 HR copy 1
Ben Reasbeck at Three Stage.

My trail building sensei was a guy named Jordy McBride. An absolute beast of a man who built an insane amount of singletrack in the unforgiving wilds of northern Ontario. Not only did he build an incredible trail system, he also built a bunch of yurts throughout. It’s a rad place.

Since that summer, no matter where I’ve lived, I’ve put in a bit of trail work every year. Sometimes on private property, sometimes on public land, and sometimes in places where I shouldn’t be building trail. I’ve been paid to do it, praised to do it and chastised for it. But I have never once regretted spending time in the woods; even when the trails have been wiped out by spring thaws, housing developments, or town councils.

That summer we took hundreds of kids mountain biking; through the rain, the slop, the heat, the bugs. We toured them through our new trails and I only remember smiles and laughter. It’s a simple fact that if you take kids into the woods they have fun. And if you do so with bikes, the good times are guaranteed.

“I realized Jordy’s actions were teaching me everything I needed to know.”

Throughout the season I continued working with Jordy, cutting and maintaining trails. We’d hike through the bush with flagging tape, looking for interesting features and fun terrain. Then we’d attack the line with a pair of loppers, a bush saw and when necessary a chainsaw (only for deadfall!). I learned that if you’re covering difficult terrain, the trail building will be difficult. And if you’re cutting through flat, well-spaced pine forests, it will be easy.

I wish Jordy gave me some kind of sage trail building advice, but he didn’t. He wasn’t a loquacious guy. He was more of the “don’t think—do” type. And as we rode through the 6.5 kilometre Jackpine trail, his BOB trailer filled with a chainsaw and jerry can bouncing along behind his back wheel, I realized his actions were teaching me everything I needed to know.

Because you know what? Trail building is easy. And you approach it as you should most things in life; all you need to do is pick a route and clear a trail.

 

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Ben Osborne

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For 15 years the Ontario artist drew ML’s gatefold map for both the Blue and Coast Mountains editions. 16 1
Just your average day on the trails…nothing to see here. #mountainlifer #onewheel 24 4
How many turns did you earn last winter? Most skiers and boarders would be proud to say they logged a week with no chairlifts and zero auxiliary help to the top—or toured exclusively for a month. 47 2
onekwe didn’t set out to become an artist. She first became a welder with the intention of establishing herself in the trade. But, as good welding jobs are few and far between where she lives on Manitoulin Island, she began doing commissions for architectural pieces and modern furniture. “From there, I found the opportunities and the abilities in myself to create art,” she says. 75 1
ML and partners offer a gear list curated for spring-summer stoke, including the latest sunnies, trail shoes, sun shirts, e-bikes, headlamps, racerback tanks, Rollerblades and sun hats. In alpha order. #linkinbio to check out all picks! 22 0
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