Spring is murder for mountain bike trails Give them time to dry out
BY TONY HOGEVEEN After a long, cold, and wet winter,
cyclists are itching to get their bikes out and ride. Whether you ride a road bike, BMX, or mountain bike, riders are in their garages or base- ments, cleaning chains and sprock- ets, checking brakes, and pumping up tires. But this spring Mother Nature isn’t doing us any favours. In late April we were still being bombarded by snow, hail, freezing temperatures and rain. And for mountain biking trails, things are worse. The wet weather was making forest trails more vulnerable than they are in the best of times. Most trails around Ottawa, includ-
ing the South March Highlands, cut through forest situated on top of Canadian Shield bedrock with a lot of flat terrain in between. Flat terrain offers little opportunity to build trails on high ground or bench cut into the side of a hill to follow its con- tours. This means much of the trail system is in low-lying ground that’s wet in early spring and after heavy rains for the rest of the season. The top layer of forest soil is the
product of centuries of plant-life cycles, growth and decay, have built up an organic layer 10 to 20 centimetres deep over bedrock or deeper mineral soil. This layer holds and retains water – great for plant life, not so great for a mountain bike trail. Wherever possible, trails are built up with mineral soil or
14 ottawaoutdoors
with rock armouring to make them stronger, able to dry out faster, and more sustainable. But the reality is that it just isn’t possible to lay rock over every square inch of trails in the South March Highlands or Camp Fortune.
This means mountain bikers need
to be conscious of trail conditions, not only in the wet spring months, but throughout the year as well. Rid- ing through wet organic soil, churned into mud, creates ruts, allowing water to penetrate deeper into the soil, which predictably takes even longer to dry out. Some riders will try to skirt wet areas and this widens the trail and the damaged area.
This is clear in these photographs
taken this spring in the South March highlands, where volunteers from the Ottawa Mountain Bike Asso- ciation (OMBA) maintain the trails. Damaged trails mean this volunteer effort will have to be expanded be- fore other work can be done. The Association has posted signs
in the Highlands and on its website asking riders to keep mountain bikes at home until the trails are dry enough to ride. OMBA holds volunteer trail days throughout the season so members can meet fellow riders and give something back to the trails we all love so they’ll be around for years to come. Join the club! Your OMBA member-
ship fee of $25 annually helps pay for insurance (to cover volunteers) and tools for trail work in the Highlands and Camp Fortune. Being a member also gives you a voice to keep moun- tain biking as a part of sustainable recreation in the Ottawa area. OMBA hosts weekly and monthly rides on all the local trails. Behind the scenes, its board of directors works with City officials, the NCC and other landowners to promote and protect mountain biking in Ottawa. Find out more at
www.ottawamba.org. /OO
www.ottawaoutdoors.ca
PHOTO CREDIT: CACTUSMELBA
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77