Building the perfect dirt jump is thirsty work. Words & photos :: Colin Field. Article sponsored by Rally beer.

With a guy like Matt Konings on a project, you know it’s gonna happen. He isn’t afraid of working hard. That’s just the kind of guy he is. And even though he builds trails and dirt jumps for a living (he’s the head builder/designer and all-around guru of everything that happens at Horseshoe Valley Bike Park), guess what he does on his day off? He builds trails and dirt jumps.

While my intention for the day was to hide from the heat in the basement, his idea was to go scout a spot we’ve been discussing for years. We wanted a trail with an epic sunset, with Georgian Bay in the background. We wanted a jump situated so I could get a shot of him silhouetted against the sky. We knew the location, and we knew July was the time to get it done. We’d been talking about it for two years. So we agreed to scout the location one more time before committing to shoot.

When we got to the spot we realized it wouldn’t work. The original trail was in the wrong place and trees had grown over the past few years and blocked the scenery. So we needed a new trail and a new jump. And Matt was keen to shoot something immediately. So like any good reality TV show, we had an extremely short deadline: two hours before the sun went down. Before I knew it, Konings started digging. Then I got into it. We called a buddy: “Wanna come dig with us?”

We wanted a jump situated so I could get a shot of him silhouetted against the sky. We knew the location, and we knew July was the time to get it done.

We’ve both been building dirt jumps and trails since we were kids and those decades of experience paid off. We knew what was possible. And Konings’ expertise is top-notch. We didn’t waste time trying to build something that wouldn’t work. We used what we had—shovels, lumps of grass and a couple of old rotten logs. Then our friend Jason Bayens caught up to us. He brought a shovel and a saw. Upgrade! We built the run in, and had a very soft jump stacked within an hour.

Matt put on his gear and poured what remained of his water supply onto the jump to help pack it all in. His first attempt was pretty ugly, but on his second attempt he nailed it.

Unfortunately the sunset we hoped for didn’t come through. Clouds settled on the horizon, blocking any chance of an epic light show. So once the sun was down and the helmets were removed, it was time to celebrate. We didn’t quite get the shot we wanted, but we were close. We put in the effort. Good photographs don’t happen if you don’t try. And you can’t say we didn’t try.

Thankfully we had something better than Gatorade along for the ride: Rally beer. Created as a post-session beer, we had a few cans of the appropriately named Trail Blazer. Brewed with functional ingredients sourced in Canada, black currant and artisanal sea salt help to refresh post-sweat.

Cold and crisp, this was the perfect beer for the day.

Rally offers a bunch of different beer styles including a light IPA and their Dry Run non-alcoholic pale ale that’s really tasty. Rally has become a part of the local lifestyle; light, tasty beer that complements an active lifestyle.

It’s the perfect beer for trail building.

As for that elusive shot? We’ll get it. We’re rescheduling now, the jump is already there and it’ll just take one more session with a cooperative sunset to get it done. And you know Matt Konings is up for it.