Trail building can be a fun, active and rewarding experience, bringing together like-minded riders around a vision to create something positive and long-lasting for the local riding community.
For those who enjoy cresting downhills and crossing mountain trails, creating and maintaining downhill, cross-country paths and even pump tracks is a necessary part when it comes to enjoying the world of mountain biking. While it will take a lot of sweat and effort to physically rip up roots and rocks, and lay down fresh soil, there is also a lot of behind-the-scenes work and planning to consider when it comes to trail building. That’s why we’ve invited Mary Wragg-Moncorge & Matt Wragg to walk us through some of their activities and recent experiences when it comes to connecting people with nature – a theme we’ll continue to explore – by shaping and maintaining the riding trails around their home in the South of France.
As cycling enthusiasts, the couple is also preparing for the birth of their first child in between their regular rides and Matt's work as a cycling photographer and writer. Find out more about their story below.
I know exactly what I need to do here. Weight back a little, line the bike up, then let it run down the face. It’s nothing more than a small chute with rock steps in it, but I can’t ride it now.
Since I passed six months pregnant the weight distribution of my body is all wrong. Your risk/reward calculations whilst pregnant shift dramatically and, even if I could ride this section, the price of it going wrong could be catastrophic. So, I walk.
Trail work has been my solace recently: it’s a different means of connecting to the nature I love most. Riding (and sport in general) has always been my connection to nature, and my outlet when I feel upset, angry, or annoyed with the world. I just take my bike out and I ride until I feel calm again. Easy.
So how do you cope with life when you are about to lose your release?
Let’s face it: there is a level of pressure as a mother-to-be to show the world how joyful you are, but to be honest, that’s not how it has felt for me. The fatigue and nausea all the way through my first trimester was almost unbearable. I'm worried about what my life will soon look like, and the worst part of all? I can’t just head out on my mountain bike to clear my head anymore.
While it’s not quite true that I can’t ride any more, I can do an hour and a half to two hours at a moderate pace, but after that my energy levels crash. Hard.
I simply don’t have the energy to do the long rides I love so much; I can’t do intervals and hill repeats to burn off the frustration I feel, and when I do ride, I can’t ride the steep, technical trails that I love most.
Which is why I’ve turned to trail work. When most people think of trail work, the first images that come to mind are most likely to be burly men heading into the woods with heavy tools. I’m sure it’s appealing to sit at your desk at work and imagine playing lumberjack all-day long, but the truth is that here in the South of France that is rarely the reality.
The impulse to want to create something new is seductive, but one of the first lessons that most people learn when they start doing trail work is that unless you are lucky enough to own a decent tract of land, you are first going to need permission from the landowner to create a new, legal trail. And you will most likely need approval from local councils — not to mention the considerations that come from the ever-complex worlds of conservation, archeology, and the impact that may come from trail building on farming and the local wildlife.
Speaking with the full-time trail crew in the mountain resort of Vars, I discovered they only attempt one new line every few years as the administration is so difficult.
Here in France, our trail rights predate modern civilization. People have been living in the valleys around here for at least 5,000 years; the original, first laid trails were created by passing soldiers, hunters, traders, farmers (and even bandits!). So over time they became legal rights of way. It is not an exaggeration to say that there is a trail on every mountain and pass. With that many legal trails around, and no organized trail crews in our area, there is more trail cleaning to do than could possibly be done!
More importantly for me right now, because I can’t ride the rocky sections, the most useful thing I can do on the trails around where we live is to maintain them – preserving their lines, so they don’t become too overgrown or unmanageable.
On such hardpacked, rocky soil, the shape of the trail barely needs adjusting, it is a simple job of giving it a haircut and pulling the debris out of the way. That means that rather than heading up with groundbreaking tools and heavy cutting gear, we take the hedge trimmer, rakes and branch cutters.
It is hard work, but it is hard work I can manage, because being back out on the mountains with nothing but myself and the trail is exactly what I need.
Are you inspired by Mary & Matt’s endeavors in trail building? Then check out our latest films and stories online and see how other are making their mark (both on- and off-the-trail): https://mtb.shimano.com/stories/.
Bios:
Matt Wragg is a freelance photographer, writer and bicycle-breaker based near Nice in France. He has been a prominent voice in mountain bike journalism and photography for more than a decade, his passion is telling stories about the bicycles we ride and the people that ride them.
Mary Wragg-Moncorge was the first ever North American Enduro Tour champion, she ranked #15 in the world in enduro and was twice runner up in the Italian e-Enduro series. These days she doesn’t race her bike too often, preferring to explore the mountains and valleys around her home in the South of France at her own pace.
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