Forsyth County Parks & Rec and Vermeer Southeast: Advanced Trailbuilding Class

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Forsyth County Parks and Recreation’s Trail Management Institute along with corporate sponsor Vermeer SE offered a 2 day Advance Trail Building class on Sept 27th & 28th at Haw Creek Park.

The class was led by IMBA Trail Specialist Stephen Mullins.

Class participant were hands on for over 14hrs with several pieces of mechanized equipment ranging from mini skid steers like the Ditch Witch Sk500 to Vermeer’s S800TX, S650TX. Several attachments were brought in to demo like the 4 and 6 way blades, tillers and tree grapplers.  There was also Yanmar’s mini excavator ViO17.

This two-day training was designed to enhance the knowledge of a trail crew volunteer, trail coordinator or land manager who was interested in mechanized and advance trail building techniques. Topics included: machine overview, preventive maintenance schedule and field repairs demo, basic concepts of mechanized trail work, “Working in Pairs”,  Building Technical Trail Features: bridges, jumps, climbing turn, switch berms and flow trails.

Projects completed by the participants:  400ft of new flow trail, 150 feet of new pump track installed.  

Vermeer SE’s assistance with the equipment and technical support staff on site was invaluable to making the class a success.

Forsyth County and Vermeer are currently in discussions to develop 4 more dates for classes in 2015, so stay tuned.

For more info please contact Matt Pate at Forsyth County Parks and Recreation 770-781-2217 or email mepate@forsythco.com

Big Creek Dirt Jumps Rebuild

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The dirt jumps in the Big Creek Freeride Area have been around nearly ten years, and it was time to rebuild them with two goals in mind:

  1. Provide progressive options for people to safely learn how to jump small jumps, while gaining confidence and skills to jump the bigger ones. 
  2. Expand the types of bikes that can enjoy the jumps including hardtail DJs and bigger slopestyle/DH bikes
Joe Whitfield was our lead builder and Bobcat operator for the new jumps. Not only can he dig, but the dude knows how to ride. Photo by: Ross Monckton

Joe Whitfield was our lead builder and Bobcat operator for the new jumps. Not only can he dig, but the dude knows how to ride. Photo by: Ross Monckton

We want to thank the volunteers who donated more than 150 hours of their time to complete Phase 1 of the project. We also want to thank those who donate to our trails, as the Bobcat rentals cost us $1,500 well-spent dollars.

Our volunteers brought in a large Bobcat over a period of three weekends to demolish the old jumps, prepare the area, and then build the new ones. And the feedback from our members is awesome, as you can see in the photos.

As a Phase 2, we plan to expand the new beginner line this Fall to provide even more fun for our beginners and younger riders. Stay tuned for the upcoming work party to finish the project.

Pre-Order New Rambo Jerseys

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Save $10 by pre-ordering your jersey by October 15.

Two options are available this year:

Three-Pocket Jersey:

Standard three-pocket jersey is a tighter "XC race" fit, so if you like your jersey with a little room (or maybe you spent the Winter at Krispy Kreme), order one to two sizes larger. 

Standard three-pocket jersey is a tighter "XC race" fit, so if you like your jersey with a little room (or maybe you spent the Winter at Krispy Kreme), order one to two sizes larger. 

 

Freeride 3/4 Sleeve Jersey:

Freeride 3/4 Sleeve Jersey is ideal for the warm weather of Atlanta

Freeride 3/4 Sleeve Jersey is ideal for the warm weather of Atlanta


Charleston Park Update - July

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Trail Construction Status

RAMBO has received confirmation that the Contractor will be done at Charleston Park by Labor Day. RAMBO is working with Forsyth County to get trail signage complete and do some finishing touches on the trail. We should be able to open the trail for riding in Mid September. Next we are working to have a huge Grand Opening Party in Mid October. 

Thanks to everyone that helped make this possible. Special Thanks to Matt Pate in the Forsyth County Park and Rec Dept. Matt worked through too many road blocks to remember to bring this park to us. Without him this would have never happened. Thanks Matt!

Eagle Scout Bike Rack and Bench Builds

RAMBO was lucky to have a group of Volunteers help with the work being done at Charleston Park in Forsyth County Georgia. We received an update from them yesterday which we would like to share: 'This weekend an Eagle scout candidate from Troop 245 in Cumming, GA, met at a point on Charleston Park with Chris Frohsin (Forsyth County Parks and Recreation) and a team of volunteers to build the two 6-ft benches, two 6-ft picnic tables, and the 10-ft bike rack (holds 7 bikes).
There were 17 people who volunteered to help build and level areas for the structure. All told there are at least 160 man-hours involved. We are still totaling the hours and final cost, which is about $450. 
We were thankful to partner with such great groups of people and resources! Forsyth County Parks and Recreation donated the cost of lumber and hardware ($300), and working with Matt Pate and Chris Frohsin was an asset as well. Lowe's greatly discounted the lumber and hardware which was a benefit not only to us but also to Forsyth County Parks and Rec. RAMBO specified what they wanted and where and acted as a liason between Matt Pate and the Boy scout.
I think this shows how groups working together not only help each other but also benefit the community. The Boy Scouts of America partnered well with both Forsyth County Parks and Rec and RAMBO to build structures that will improve the park and make it more enjoyable for the community.