|
|
|
|
The Tale of a Trail |
|
|
|
Written by Lawrence Kovacs
|
|
Tuesday, 30 September 2008 |
The Tale of a Trail
 A short ride from my front door in Bath, Maine is a conservation area called Thorne Head. It’s a peninsula pushing about one and a half miles northward toward Merrymeeting Bay, all granite, roots and pine trees. At its widest point it is just 6 tenths of a mile, east to west. For such a small parcel of land, Thorne Head packs a disproportionate amount of beauty –granite promontories overlooking the water, mature woods of pine, cedar and maple, lichen covered stone rows left over from the days of cattle corrals. The close proximity of this stunning natural area to the commercial district of my small city greatly influenced my decision to relocate here. The geographic layout of Bath essentially negates the possibility for urban sprawl – the only place to expand is into the water. The northeast is a densely populated region, especially along the coast, so the existence of a protected green-space so close to my home was very appealing.
At first I explored the area on foot and found two or three well worn double track trails. It appeared that these were once used as roads and I would later find out that they were. But as I continued to wander around I found, bit by bit, a network of narrow trails winding over granite slabs and around enormous trees.
 One day at the bike shop (Bath Cycle/Bikeman.com) I mentioned that I had discovered some trails in Bath. The staff exchanged knowing glances and recounted to me how many of them had helped cut and develop those trails in the 1980s and 1990s before this was conservation land. This began a three-year period during which I figured out a five-mile loop and practiced technical sections until I could clean them. The trail is quite technical and in places, impassably muddy. Even though I rarely saw any other bikes out there (on average, one per year!), I knew the trail needed some attention beyond the occasional clearing of fallen brush on my daily rides. Then I met Bill Milam.
Bill runs the climbing wall at the YMCA and we chatted one day while I was picking my daughter up after school. He belayed me while I climbed in my teacher garb: black Doc Martens and a snowman tie. Both of us are gregarious types and it wasn’t long before we realized that we had a lot in common. We both loved the mountains, climbing, skiing, backpacking, and mountain biking. When I told Bill my ideas for mountain biking as part of the middle school curriculum and improvement of the trail system in Bath, he wanted to be involved. In no time at all we were sitting at the table with Bath city officials, Land Trust administrators, teachers, and citizens discussing trails in Bath. We were given the green light to make some improvements to the existing trail network at Thorne Head and so we began.
 Bill is a modern day woodsman--he knows quite a bit about chainsaws and human powered devices for working with tree trunks. On day one he introduced me to the “Froe,” a long flat blade attached to a shaft. We used it to transform rounds of cedar into shakes for planking bridge decks. Our first big project was a span of around twenty feet, elevating the trail above a chronically soupy drainage right at the shoreline of Whiskeag Creek. Using deadfall poplar that Bill had scoped out we fashioned two trusses that we supported with cribbed 10x10s scavenged from the high tide line. Then we nailed our cedar shakes onto the surface and ended up with an airy little traverse of the problem area. Bill finally gave in and allowed me to lash an “emergency handrail” to the downhill side of the overpass for those of us lacking in skill or bravado. The final product rides in both directions and is pretty straightforward once you are on it. Just don’t look down…
Another style of bridge we built can best be described as the “split-log-dogleg.” In two separate sections of the trail there were mud pits separated by a hummock. Bill split poplar trunks with a chainsaw and simply laid the sections from the edge of the pit to the hummock on one side, and then from the hummock to the opposite bank of the second pit.
These bridges are FUN! You have to hold a pretty precise line to navigate the transition from one section to the next. These act as nice speed chokes and break up the ride a bit. Thankfully, you will only fall a foot or so and get your shoe muddy if you miscalculate.
 The most recent spans were built by Trey (Bill’s son) along with Bill and another MTB enthusiast/woodworker, Chris Burtis. This section of trail was a pretty awful mess. The trail dropped right into a chronically muddy creek bottom, and then climbed out the opposite bank. The muddy silt stank and was home to who-knows-how-many microbes and amoebas… In fact, each time I forded the filthy quagmire I would cradle the mouthpiece of my camelbak in my closed mouth to protect it from the splattering mud. Trey and Bill decided to re-route the trail uphill about thirty feet. This brings the trail to the creek at a place where it consists of two braids, each narrower than the drainage we used to cross. Bill used a ripping chain on his saw and split two poplar trunks. This provided the crew with two nice, straight and wide surfaces. The bridges are just narrow enough to give you pause, but are plenty wide for most tastes. And we no longer have to worry about the toxic sludge!
I am so grateful to have Thorne Head to ride in. When it comes to issues of access I tread lightly. I have seen great climbing areas closed for good and have been forced to find new places to surf due to changing attitudes by owners, or irresponsible behavior by users. For this reason, I rode at Thorne Head, but I didn’t tell many people about it. I was afraid that if I approached the Lower Kennebec Regional Land Trust about doing trail work they might tell me I couldn’t ride there. That is the exact opposite of what happened. The Lower Kennebec Regional Land Trust has been clear in their stance on cycling as a legitimate use on their property. They really appreciate the work we have done and are excited about future projects working with cyclists. Our aim at Thorne Head was to make improvements to the trails that would abate erosion and improve the overall experience for all users. I have had runners and hikers come and thank me for the work we have done on the trails, not just mountain bikers.
Subsequently, we have received permission from the City of Bath to create a small loop in the woods behind the YMCA. We will see where this all leads, but for now we have some pretty interesting, sustainable, fun, and rugged mountain bike riding right in our own backyard! Thanks to everyone at Bath Cycle for your expertise and support, to the LKRLT for your permission, and to the City of Bath and the YMCA for recognizing the benefits of this project.
Lawrence
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Team Bikeman: From collecting medals at the Masters World's, to the top podium step of NCS mountain bike races, Team Bikeman has a long history of top performances around the country. If you would like info on becoming a part of one of the top amateur teams in the country, please E-Mail our Team Director.
Following Freye: Team BIKEMAN - Salsa Cycles Pro Rider, Andrew Freye, will share his view of life as a budding professional. Ever wanted to know what it was like to race professionally with aspirations of making it to the big show.... Follow Andrew and find out
; "Image")
; "Image")
; "Image")
; "Image")
Show/Hide comment form
