If you rode the Enduro, you no doubt remembered the left hander after the small rock drop on the first stage. It was blown out even before the race and was a big sand box after.

We hiked up today, armored it, added a small roller to divert the water, and ultimately created a berm to help rail the lefty and keep the flow for the road gap about 15 yards later. Lots of rock went into it along with all of the dirt knocked loose by all of the racers. Once the rains come tonight/tomorrow, it should set up and be a solid, armored berm.

Before is on the left, after on the right from the bottom looking up...




From the top looking down..



Enjoy!

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The world does not revolve around you but your actions impact us all!

Good on ya', Matt.

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"New York City is a mismanaged carnival of stupidity that is desperate for revenue and anxious to criminalize behavior once thought benign."
--Alex Baldwin, unknowingly describing his socialist utopia.

That's awesome, nice work!!

That corner totally caught me off guard in the race, it had been nice and solid when I pre-rode but was a mess by the time my race run came around.

The best post I've seen on here for awhile. Good job.

Well, I think I have a problem. Trail building/repair is fun and I like doing it.

The problem? Work, family, and generally life. The last couple of days the work and life have not been a problem and the family gets to go with me or doesn't have an issue with it.

Today I was able to sneak away for about 2 hours and added another 1200 lbs of stone to reinforce the berm we built yesterday. Good thing I went up there today too. It was apparent that it needed a little more height and strength. So this is where it is now.

From the north




From the south




From the east




From the west




More dirt is needed but I only had a garden trowel. I guess I will be back up there in the near future.

***EDIT****

WOO-HOO The rain has just started to come heavy now. It is time for it to set up like concrete if Rod and I did this right.

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The world does not revolve around you but your actions impact us all!

Looks great. I have a question, being serious here not trying to stir up shit AT ALL... is this type of trail work generally pretty kosher to do on ones own without consulting land managers/rangers/whoever? I always see stuff around that needs fixing but worry I'd be stepping on someone's toes or causing issues with the powers that be if I did.

I mean obviously if a trail is under the radar or way off the beaten path I don't worry about it, but nice official legal eagle trails I assume are different?

The ranger is a very straight shooter at Black Mountain Open space. This is a sanctioned trail and the work was a repairing of prior damage. With the increased usage from the Enduro and more riders discovering Black Mountain, there is a need for a continual trail improvement program in place.

We have been adding water control features and armoring turns for the last year trying to keep the front trail (Scar/Black Widow) in great shape. While not perfect and still in need of more work, it is in far better shape that it has been in many years.

The left hand corner in it's former shape became unsustainable and posed a danger to all unsuspecting/unknowing riders. just look at the bushes just to the right of the end of the trail. Rider after rider overshot this and wound up crushing the bushes. It would be only a matter of time before the damage is permanent or worse, somebody gets really hurt. This is not a alteration to the flow of the trail. The park liaison and I rebuilt it to keep everyone safe. And it just happened to add a little more character to the trail in the process.

The next turn I want to fix is the right hander immediately after you hit the road gap drop. It too is blown out and needs some TLC. I am not sure what I can do yet but I am hopeful that it would be a similar process as the lefty.

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The world does not revolve around you but your actions impact us all!

McLovin- I'm on Blk Mt clearing trail and fixing chit as much as I can. I contacted the local ranger for that area, filled out some forms, got approved by the city, and met up with the ranger to discuss what was to be done and where. Now I go up there as much as I can
I don't think there ever would be a issue if you used common sense and not blaze new trails. Repair are welcomed and make a better experience for all trail users. Making jumps might be another issue

Matt- your work looks good and the rain is well timed. When the trails are soaked, it's great to get out and give back to the trails you ride
Looking at the pic I saw you were being staked by a mountain lion (I could tell by the tail)
Gotta watch your back when your up there

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You never know what tomorrow will bring so go ride your EBike today or walk your pooch
Fear the Yeti
"Go ride your bike today, don't let the old man in.."

Mike

Strictly speaking any trail work should be cleared with the local land manager (ranger). I've worked long enough with Ranger Christensen (and am Vice Chair of the Citizen's Advisory Committee) that he knows I'm not going to go out there and do any land raping. I keep him abreast of work that I'm doing, but in all honesty, I do it after the fact 9 times out of 10 .

If you've got a local area where you'd like to help, get hold of the ranger or the SDMBA liaison and make yourself available for strike crew work.

bankerboy and dirtrider are huge assets to have available for work at BM. They know what they are doing and both kick ass. The park is better off due to their diligence.

The Black Widow trail on BM is a social trail we managed to get included into the trails plan. It's going to see more and more traffic so it's been the focus of my efforts this winter. I recently submitted a grant request (Bell Helmets/IMBA) to fund some substantial rework of the scar up top into a sustainable flow trail. IMBA will pick 12 top submittals and open them up for public voting. Top 3 vote getters are the projects to be funded. With so many riders in San Diego I'd be horrified if we got into the top 12 and didn't garner enough votes. Once we get funding then we need to go bust our butts jackhammering, reshpaing, hauling dirt and rock. My biggest fear is getting too many volunteers on the job site. Good problem to have, I suppose.

wow that berm is looking awesome and the rain is really coming down right now, hope it doesn't wash away the dirt near the rocks.

thank you gentlemen for your hard work on a trail that I enjoy so much. you guys are a huge asset to our community!

There's an s-pile more dirt on it tonight. Forgot to take my 5 gal. bucket and had to use my backpack to transport loads. There's half a CLIF bar in that berm somewhere.

Don't be so careless next time -- the differential settlement is going to ruin the all of Matt's hard work.

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A bicycle is a splendid thing.
~Ernest Hemingway

You didn't forget it. It is still sitting in my yard from hauling all of those bottles and cans down the mountain. Sorry.

How did the berm hold up after the rain?

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The world does not revolve around you but your actions impact us all!

Jeez, if you guys didn't drink so much, maybe you could get some useful work done.

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Thus, if we are to understand the world, we should live somewhere between judgement and amazement — Alfredo Lopez Austin

I have more buckets - left overs from home brewing days when you couldn't buy a decent beer in this town. Not a problem these days. I've also cut down on my beer consumption. My funnel has a dent in it.

Story on the bottles and cans: I put Matt's boys to work picking up discarded bottles and cans. I think in days gone by the flat spot up the hill was a party spot for 4x4ers. One of the boys comes down the trail and shows us a bottle - still sealed and full. I popped the top on it and poured the brew on the berm dirt (any moisture is good moisture when trail building). A bit stanky . . . Matt's son says "Dad that smells like you after your poker nights" - BUSTED!

The berm was in no way damaged from the rains. Not as hardened as I would have liked but I think that has as much to do with the dirt up there. Theres a lot of clay soil on it now. No rain scheduled though - could use some for sure