Why the Most Important Part of Trail Building is Not the Trails
Mountain biking celebrates its top riders, influencers, and brands (and rightly so!). We believe that trail builders, the unsung heroes, are integral to mountain biking. So much of our beloved sport (and mountain biking lifestyle) is Instagram-worthy. Social media and mountain biking are made for each other, whether talking about photos, videos, Tik Tok, YouTube, or more. Even trail building is very photogenic. Throughout our build season here in the Pacific Northwest, I spend a lot of weekends taking photos of volunteer trail builders. Shaping berms, fine-tuning a tabletop or cutting a new line make for great photos. Do you know what doesn’t? Meetings. Planning. Advocacy. You get it.
And yet, this is the massive root system that upholds trail building. Maybe that analogy does work. The pristine well-packed berms or new bridges represent the fruit. It’s what everyone notices on a tree. The shiny and alluring apples. The fruit is held up by the hard work of the branches, which most often are our volunteer organizations. The trunk could be the organizations themselves, whether for-profit or non-profit. Again, the roots are all of the hidden work that no one sees, which keeps the above-ground trees secure and provides the essential nutrients needed. What are these nutrients in trail building? Planning, advocacy, and funding.
Sure, every analogy is clumsy and breaks down at some point, but I think you get what I am trying to say. This past weekend we had our annual Trail Stewardship Planning meeting for the Northwest Trail Alliance. Like what often happens on weekends during trail building season, I was there with my camera taking photos of the event and capturing what was happening. More importantly, it always gives me an excuse and opportunity to randomly pull up a chair and start talking with people. Out on the trail, I’m always eager to chat with those I photograph. I want to hear more about why they’re doing what they’re doing. Why volunteering? Why do so much grunt work and physical labor? And for free!
We were fortunate to have Chris King host us at this planning meeting. We heard updates from the various trail systems we oversee/manage and upcoming plans for new trails and maintenance. More than that, some of the projects finally getting off the ground were 10+ years in the making. That means that for over ten years, the only “trail work” was showing up for meetings, countless emails, lobbying for access, filling out grant requests, phone calls, and more emails. If there is a description of something non-sexy within mountain biking, it is this. And yet, like the roots of a tree, without this, there would be no tree, no branches, and ultimately no fruit. This also means that most people shredding these trails on the weekend don’t know what took place beforehand simply for the trails to exist.
If numbers are reflected in this reality, we have almost 6,000 members. Sixty showed up for the planning meeting. It doesn’t mean we don’t have A LOT of people who volunteer to dig and maintain trails on weekends; it’s just that planning and meetings are, well … not sexy. Not cool. Not really fun. But oh, so important. But you already knew this.
This is a personal reminder as to why I started Trail Builder Magazine. To showcase trail builders and tell their stories. Your stories. We know that trail building touches so many peripheral topics. From tourism to economic development to recreation, new and changing trail building technologies and tools, and much more. We all entered the space known as trail building through one of these touchpoints. For you, it might’ve been to help create more access to trails in your region. For others, it’s about shaping the actual trails themselves. Yet, for others, it’s about giving rural communities hope through new trails and the potential for economic development through adventure tourism.
Regardless of our entry into trail building, we understand that most of it do not get the hype and fanfare it deserves. Plus, meetings, planning, and advocacy work is tedious, monotonous, and not always fun … but needed. Thanks again to all of you for contributing to our trails in big and small ways. Your work does not go unnoticed. You are appreciated. You are the true heroes of mountain biking. Thank you.
Words: Sean Benesh Photos: Sean Benesh
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sean Benesh
Sean is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Trail Builder Mag. He is also the Communications Director for the Northwest Trail Alliance in Portland, Oregon. While in grad school, he worked as a mountain biking guide in Southern Arizona. Sean also spends time in the classroom as a digital media instructor at Warner Pacific University.
