Monday 23 January 2012

The Cross Track Project

Last summer, I found an extra piece of trail nearby. There are a bunch of little trails all around, but this one's got better flow, it's longer, and it's got some pieces that work pretty well for cx training. Somebody with half a clue put it together. It's suffering from a little disuse, and it could easily be lengthened and improved. With a bit of work, it could be the main feature of a really fun and effective training loop.

The main things wrong right now are a huge tree fallen across one part, some general disarray in a few sections, a lack of length, and a dangerous interaction with MUP traffic (if one chooses to be an idiot, which someone inevitably will). I've started by addressing the first issue. There are actually two trees, one isn't a problem. It could be a feature. The problem tree is huge. Ideally a chainsaw's the right tool, but I havent got one. I started hacking away with a hatchet. A bow saw would be better, but it's a huge trunk. So big that even moving the cut pieces is going to require some serious rope tricks and mechanical advantage. Once that's done, number two is an easy high pay-off deal - just clean up some turns and it's all good. Lengthening it is mostly motivated by wanting to improve the outlet onto the MUP. I'd also like to get a few off cambers and ideally a good runup. That bit's going to be a stretch but we'll see.

The tree's the big thing. Once that's done, it's a usable course. Hopefully I can recruit some help from the people who'll benefit from it. It will be good to have a little tucked away piece of awesome close by. Now that I've given up on ever being a good road racer and am content to swell the ranks of the middle of the lower category cross ranks, a bit more practice and skeeels headed into next season would help a lot.

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