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Appin XC track maintenance
North end of Burke St, Appin. There's a small parking area here at the trail head.
Note that the map shows Market Street connecting Appin Rd to this location but that is actually a firetrail and will not work for drivers who should take King St (next block South) and enter from there.
Bring your own tools if possible. I'll try to ge some from WMBC as well. We've got a few options due to all the good work done in the previous months. I'd like to walk my proposed reroute of the Fall Line point with some people to get their opinions of it. That should only take 30 minutes at the most. We may be able to start cutting it in and with a good sized team possibly get it finished on the day. Another option is to do a bit of rock armouring and drainage work on the 'new' singletrack after Kings Falls Bridge from the firetrail. We should have a small bridge built to go in over the very last little dip that gets very wet. Or we could make a start on some work along The Lost Trail, which I think is probably the worst section of marked track after some rain. Don't forget sunscreen, gloves and plenty of water.
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This is also the day before the club race. What a great way to learn some sneaky lines to beat your mates! I'll go out for a lap after the track work to show anyone my sneaky lines if anyone is interested.
Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon I'll have the Fall Line reroute roughed in and rideable, with just a little fine tuning needed in the form of some vegetation trimming and line tidying. Having a few riders go over it will help pack the tread down before the Rock Wallaby enduro.
If that all goes to plan I think the best option is to work on the 'new' singletrack after Kings Falls Bridge to add a bit or rock armouring in there.
If we get enough people to have two teams it would be nice to have one or two people open up the line I nearly finished (but left closed on purpose) on the descent to RollyB (roll down into bridge). It would probably take one person half an hour or so and that includes blocking off the current line.
The last few times I've been out there the car park has been packed, so it would be nice to see a few more people helping with the maintenance.
Not everyone can make every maintenance day and that's completely understandable. I'd be happy if people were able to give up 1 ride a year to attend a maintenance session. Obviously not everyone on the same day, there are only so many tools to go around!
I just got back from a lap at Appin and think the track is in great condition. The new section rides well, if a little slow at the moment because it is soft. Once ridden in it'll be heaps faster. One or two corners need some vegetation trimmed off the inside to widen them a little but two bends that I was a little concerned about the radius of have worked out well.
The bad news is that someone had decided they didn't like me closing off the B line at the FixACloseBOpnC point (on the climb after RollyB where the track was split 3 ways with the A line going straight up the rock, B going around the rock and C going way around the rock). It had been reopened and the tape had even been retied to a different tree. I spent 5 minutes blocking it off again and tied the tape back to show the line is blocked. This might be a point we block off better this weekend.
For a bit of history about this point, the A line was the original line. I don't remember there being a B line until a tree came down and blocked the A line. At that time the B line and C line seemed to pop up very quickly. B was definitely faster and more challenging to ride than C. When I reopened the original A line, the B line then became a less challenging option while still being as quick as the A line. The C line is significantly easier but longer. First and foremost the Appin track is a club [I]race[/I] track. A lines should be harder and faster than B lines. With this in mind there is no reason that I can think of to keep the B line open, just run with A and C. If you can't ride the A line up the rock, ride the C line around it. If you know of anyone who reopens the B line ask them to PM me or just explain to them why the line is closed and will keep getting closed off if reopened.
Weather permitting, I'll come along to this maintenance day.
Hopefully get a couple of laps in after too.
Good to see a few new faces today, especially with one parent bringing his young kids. It's never too young to indoctrinate them into the ideas of track building and maintenance!
Besides the ground being absolutely water logged, the reroute is done. We were able to move the rock I wanted moved to help shore up what should become a bit of a berm. We didn't move the log I wanted to move but instead used more rock, which is a better long term option. It all looks good, just very wet. It's blocked at the moment so don't ride it until the ground dries up a bit.
We also blocked off the FixAOpenBClosC section again with some much bigger pieces and put up two signs asking for the line to remain closed. Note to self: I need more cable ties!
The mid section of the descent to RollyB is terrible. I've got the reroute mostly done and just needing opening but it's not worth having it get in the same state as the current track with the soft, water logged ground just wearing because it isn't compacted. Because of this point, and because wilddemon and I got the other two spots done quickly, we finished a little earlier than planned.