MST is voted Top 10 Trail in NC!

More and more folks are learning about the great mountain bike trails tucked away in the Sauratown Mountains.  We've worked away for about 3 years now and the word is getting out.  Singletrack, a mountain biking website with 1000's of trails from across the country have published a Top 100 list of trails for each state.  We were thrilled when we looked at the list and realized we were ranked #9  ranked #8 ranked #6 in the mountain bike trail hot-bed of NC!

This is all the more exciting for us given recent uptick in the awareness of NC MTB-ing in general.  Bike Magazine have just released their annual Gear Guide Bible and christened NC's Transylvania County and  Pisgah Forest "America's Best Kept Secret". 

Now we find ourselves just a rung down the ladder from such epic trails as Farlow Gap in Brevard.  Without a doubt, western NC has a TON more great trails than we do, but we're off to a good start.  That good start comes from 25 years of mountain biking on my part, knowing a bit about how to build a trail, a great desire to raise the level of recreational opportunities here in the Sauratown's, a great host and land owner in the form of Camp Sertoma, and the hard work and dedication of a wonderful group of volunteers and supporters.

We are well on our way and we're nowhere near done.  We've just had our first big event 'The Doubleshot'  that went down with rave reviews for the passion and hard work of the combined autodrop and MST crews!  Teamwork, partnerships, passion and progress, is what makes it all happen.  Through our continuing events and outreach we'll strive to bring more good things home.  We've already established a great cast of state and local sponsors who support MST as a great place to ride and race.  Much thanks to the local bike shops, including Mock Orange Bikes, Doc Wheelies, Clemmons Bike Shop and Cycle Therapy.  Thanks to local business support from Krankies Coffee, Foothills Brewing, Great Outdoor Provisions, Danbury General Store and Singletree Inn.  Thanks to our great NC sponsors DeFeet and Cane Creek Components and to all the others along the way, like Chamois Buttr' and Sufferfest who have chipped in to make The Sauratown Mountains and Triad NC a better place to bike.  Last but certainly not least, a big thanks to Novant Health and Forsyth Medical Center for their dedication and commitment to community wellness and fitness.  Their support of outreach programs and clinics programed in conjunction with MST will bring more and more NEW people to the trails and onto bikes.  As time goes by we'll build on our current success to make THIS place America's next best kept secret.

Trail Builds ~ Here's what we do.

photo credit: The Mangler

IMBA Trail Care Crew Visit

Signup now for the Trail Care Crew visit at the end of March. We'll have a presentation March 29th at Foothills Brewing, another on Friday the 30th for land managers in Stokes County and then the Trail Build on Saturday the 31st at MST. Follow the link for more information.

MST Trail Care Crew visit. 

Trail Build-Apalooza coming this Saturday.

We'll have a lot of new trail roughed in on the 'North Side' trails and we need you to come out Saturday to help us do the finish work.  There will be bridge building, bring a chainsaw if you can.

Come on out and give us a hand.  Saturday Feb 18 10a-4p

Did I mention that we were going to build trail again this weekend?

Someone built every trail you have ever ridden on.

 Saturday, 10a-2p.  What better do you have to do?

Build

Trail Build ~ Sunday Jan 8, 2012

Come on out for some trail cobbling, this Sunday 10-2.  We'll meet at the campground and begin the first leg of the 'North Side' Trails.  Hope to see you there.

Trail Build December 31 ~ Last one of 2011

Work off those holiday calories with some trail cobbling, this Saturday 10-2.  We'll ride a bit afterward.  Hope to see you there.

Fausto says trail building is the only thing as cool as he is.

Trail Care Crew East Visits

Here's a glipse of what we can look forward to at the March Trail Care Crew visit to MST.

Trail Build Day at MST ~Sunday December 11

 Trail Build Day at MST ~Sunday December 11 - 10a-2p

We'll use these...

To do this...

 So we can do this...

 

And then this.

 Is that cool or what?

Ready to Ride!  If you turn out to help us Sunday, we stand a great chance to complete yet another addition to the Original Loop.  Following on the footsteps of the "The Kessel Run" opening to rave reviews, we've moved on to another section of trail that will bring sweet new flow to some of the oldest parts of our trail.

Come out Sunday at 10am to help us finish what I am now calling 'The Volcano" (Below in Blue).

 Park at the Red House (The old Inn) or at the gate of Moore's Springs Campground.

November 19 Trail Build ~ The Spring Creek Crossing

A great day for the Trail Build effort yesterday. Wonderful cold morning around the fire, discussing the day led us out to the new section.  Today was to be about completing the rough cut from the trail end, across Spring Creek, all the way to the connection with the original loop below Mjr. Tom.

Here the guys get at it old school style, carving the final run into the crossing.  At this point, we thought we'd not need the big stones, as the crossing was on bedrock and likely to be stable enough to allow a sustainable crossing.

Once the hand build was going strong, I brought the machine up from where we were going to bring up rocks for the crossing culvert.  This is the rough work by the machine, awaiting hand finishing.

Here we are hand finishing the section above.  This leads across an old drainage ditch and down some fast turns to the crossing.  By this point most of the trail carving has been done and we're starting to look long and hard at the Spring Creek crossing.  Even though we'd put in our hours at this point, few of us wanted to leave the crossing to ride.  So the hardy crew pushed on, went back the the rock pile and started to haul the biggest rocks we could find.

We decided that the creek banks would not withstand repeated crossing so we're building a bridge.  Here we're hauling 400lb rocks up to the crossing to build a culvert across the creek.  

End of the day, the hand built technical section is connected to the machine built sweeps with our best bridge yet.  Made of just 3 bid stones, this crossing is easy on Spring Creek, allowing full flow with room to spare and overflow capacity for floods.  This will ensure water quality, spare the creek banks from repeated treads. It will be a great technical test for riders of all skill levels, easy enough for the moderate rider to cross with comfort while being a real challenge at speed.  Best of all, it is a beautiful example of skilled people working together to blend sustainability, recreation, and craft.  Thanks guys!

Update: Here is a .gps track of my day.  About 5 miles of running around.

Trail Build Day at MST

 Ross getting hands-on with bridge building.

Pat keeping her eye on the boys.

Trail Building this Sunday!

I hope you can make it out.  We got all the tools you need, just bring yourself. 10:00 till 2:00 and then we ride.

.GPS track from yesterday's layout

Red is new layout and Yellow is existing.  The new section will begin near the farmhouse entrance and connect  near the 'slalom' section.

Moore's Springs Campground Clean-Up #1

Great turnout for the clean-up yesterday.  Good times with good folks.  Thanks to all that made it out and to those who didn't, we'll see you next time.

Gabe made a wonderful welcoming party as work on the bridge got underway.

Thanks to support by the Dan River Basin Association we were able to purchase rip-rap for the old bridge crossing that was washed out in a flood a few years back.

John, Barry and Billy wait for another bucket load of gravel, while Seven makes like a dog.

Meanwhile, Bev, Jen and I got to work clearing and uncovering the (enormous) concrete slab by Cascade Creek.  We had no idea how big this thing was, as it had been covered by decades of sand and leaves.  We soon realized we were going to need more than rakes.

Tim and Debbie came to our rescue with the tractor after the bridge work was done.

Once the slab was cleared, we began to collect the old picnic tables.

Out by the gate, Michael, Petr and John moved on to weed-eater duty.  This was tough work but made a tremendous difference to the view from the road.

While all of the above was going on, Randy plugged away on the bush hog, mowing the big pasture.  By the time this photo was taken he had succumbed to a tractor induced stupor.

By the end of the day, we had mowed grass, moved gravel, cleaned slabs and hauled away trash!  All in all a near complete victory over the forces of entropy.  I'm looking forward to the next one.

Aug 27th Campground Clean-Up

Campground Clean-Up

Next Phase of Trail Building at MST