I've seen at least one post on this message board about adopting sections of the Syllamo trail system. After seeing the damage that occurred with the ice
storm this year, I can't help but feel like we should try to organize a large group that focuses on routine maitainance and trail repair on a more regular
basis than once a year before Syllamo's Revenge. Steve Parker and Steve Kirk work thier magic to get the trails into good condition each spring. I'm
sure there are many others who do their part too. However, I feel that if a large group of people could be assembled, and a very organized schedule of work
days set up, then these trails could be in great condition year round and less emergency, hurry up, work would have to be done. I know that in the past this
has occurred but now it seems that no groups are consistently managing the trails. This post is really just a feeler designed to find out how many mountain
bikers would be interested in working on the trails regularly just to maintain the beautiful trail system that's been created by the work of relatively few
but is enjoyed by many.
- Hot Springs Bicycle Association
- Ozark Off-road Cyclists
- Ouachita Cycling Club
- Planning A Trail Ride? Looking For A Trail Ride?
- Mountain Bike Racing
- Downhill Racing
- Paydirt Work Days
- Trail Advocacy
- Planning A Road Ride? Looking For A Road Ride?
- Road Racing
- Cyclocross
- Triathlon Racing and Activities
- Tech Talk
- Arkansas Bicycling Classifieds
- Notes From The Bulletin Board Administrator
Syllamo Trail System
| Author | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 superclyd |
Syllamo Trail System |
Lead | |
|
Posts: 3 (05/02/09 20:39:05) |
Last Edited By: superclyd 05/02/09 20:41:40.
Edited 1 time.
|
||
|
superclyd |
|||
|
Posts: 4 (05/02/09 20:41:22) |
post responses, pm me, or email at a_rowell@hotmail.com |
||
|
nateness |
|||
|
Posts: 3 (10/27/09 16:16:06) |
I know what you mean about all the work all at once on the Syllamo, that's how it seems to go each year. Thankfully most of the trail itself seems to be
pretty well built, and when it really needs attention some great folks always come through and do a good job but there's just so few people around there to
pay attention to the regular maintenance.
Anyway, I realize it's been about 6 months since you posted but if you want I'd love to get a dialogue going, maybe come up with some ideas to get folks motivated to help out on a regular basis. I know I have a few friends who feel the same way and would love to be helping too. Thanks! |
||
|
onespeedforme |
|||
|
Posts: 24 (12/13/09 16:43:07) |
Competitive Cyclist adopted the Red Loop this last year. We recently had a great work day out there. Our loop looks pretty good, but as always, we'll be
keeping tabs on it to keep it buffed out. We signed up for our section adoption with Chris ?last name?, the local forest service supervisor. If anyone is
interested in adopting, maybe there are sections that need groups. SuperClyd, send me an email at ryan@competitivecyclist.com and I'll get you contact
information if you're interested. -Ryan Johnson
|
||
|
CoastRat |
Another Adopted Section | ||
|
Posts: 38 (12/13/09 19:27:10) |
This adopted trail thing is catching on! Bell & Co Mountain Bike Race Team has also adopted a section of trail. We adopted Section 16, which is the
section of the Scrappy Mountain Loop (Blue Trail) on the east side of Hwy 5. We'll be organizing a workday to hit our section of trail sometime after the
new year. I'll post here when we decide on a date. If others want to work that same weekend either with us or on their own newly adopted sections maybe
it could be a weekend of trail work & riding.
Chris Furr is the guy's name to hook you up with the sections needing adoption. |
||
|
ehawkins |
Syllamo Trail System | ||
|
Posts: 77 (12/16/09 05:29:35) |
I had an unexpected opportunity to ride a little at Syllamo last week with time to enjoy the views and think about Syllamo and "our" trails in
general. The massive amount of damage done to the trail by "weather events" in the past few years is obvious to anyone but the equally massive amount
of work required to correct that damage may not be so obvious. Some of the work especially on the very large down trees have the "look" of a Forest
Service contract job and if that is correct WE need to very grateful. When a government agency (National Forest, State parks or municipal parks) sign on to
build a trail they then become tied to the expense of maintaing the trail and those maintenance costs can soon exceed the original expenditure of money and
effort for construction.. As users of that trail we have to do what we can to support maintenance efforts. When a trail is built we can assume that the users
are pushing for it, the Agency is supportive and the local population is at least accepting. When maintenance costs add up the users lose some enthusiasm, the
agency may be less supportive and the local population may question expenditures on a trail that they don't use. So what can we do to insure that
"our" trails stay open and up to standard? A list of things that we can all do to support Syllamo and all of our major Arkansas trails, in order-
easiest to hardest: 1. Anytime you see a Forest Service employee in the area: "I am a cyclist. I ride the Syllamo. Thank you and the Forest Service for
your efforts." 2. Go and ride the Syllamo AND spend some money in the area. Park your vehicle with bikes on top in front of the local restaurants and
leave a big tip. 3. Encourage your friends from out of state to visit the Syllamo AND spend money in the area. Now for the harder part 4. Have your club or
team adopt a section of trail. Start small, be aware of your commitment BUT Start. 5. Adopt a mile or so as an individual. We probably have more miles of trail
per rider in Arkansas than any state and it is ALL great riding. We need to ride as many of these trails as we can, encourage our friends to ride a different
trail occasionally and do what we can to help with maintenance of any trail that needs it. It isn't even Sunday and you just got a sermon from Reverent
Ed!! Amen
|
||
|
Syllamo |
Syllamo Trail System | ||
|
Posts: 11 (12/17/09 08:51:57) |
Great post! A lot of work has been done this year, and we appreciate that it hasn't gone unnoticed. There are a few things left to address, but the bulk
of the rehab work has been done through a combination of contracts, Forest Service crews, and Native American crews.
Regular routine maintenance has been tough, and I think that one of the great things about the trail - it's remoteness, has made it tougher to have a sustained maintenance effort. Most of our users come in from urban areas several hours away, and I understand that if you only have a day to ride, you'd rather ride than hack brush. In addition to damaging the trail itself, the ice storm opened up the canopy and light is hitting the forest floor in places that it hasn't before. This means that by August, the giant ragweed is 10' tall in places so maintenance will be even more important for the next few years. Ideally, we'd work on brush on the entire 50 miles at the beginning and end of the growing season every year, but it's tough to make that happen. Thanks to everyone who does work to the trail ready for the Revenge every year. It's fun for me to work on this trail because of how much the mountain bike community appreciates what they have. Any help is appreciated, Jack's Branch probably needs the most work of any of the loops right now. Email me at cfurr@fs.fed.us if you're interested in volunteering. Thanks, Chris |
||
- Hot Springs Bicycle Association
- Ozark Off-road Cyclists
- Ouachita Cycling Club
- Planning A Trail Ride? Looking For A Trail Ride?
- Mountain Bike Racing
- Downhill Racing
- Paydirt Work Days
- Trail Advocacy
- Planning A Road Ride? Looking For A Road Ride?
- Road Racing
- Cyclocross
- Triathlon Racing and Activities
- Tech Talk
- Arkansas Bicycling Classifieds
- Notes From The Bulletin Board Administrator
