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Trail Damage and Unauthorized Building at the Nade

mwestra2

mwestra2

Monkey
Dec 4, 2007
130
0
Hey folks,

Can you help me spread the word that unauthorized digging at Colonnade just ain't good :nope:. If you see someone digging, ask 'em what the hell they are doing. Tell them that if they want the park closed, just keep on digging. Or if they like Colonnade and want to see it get better, then join a work party or contact me: mwestra@evergreenmtb.org or 425-241-7806.

The recent crap we found took Kevin and I probably 4-6 hours to fix. Details below.

New signage at the Nade is close! We're still working with the city on it.

Thanks,
Mike

We showed up on Friday to help get Colonnade ready for the Sat documentary shoot to find that someone had built a brand new lip on the last booter of the upper jump lines. To get the dirt, they dug a hole right where we're solving a particularly nasty drainage issue.



Kevin and I put it back the way it was before and then went to town cleaning up after the monster rains we've been having. We spent several hours on the middle line and K-line. We re-graded the area before the 2nd jump on the middle jump line so it would drain.

Well, we show up today to find that someone filled the drainage area with dirt so they could shortcut over from the middle jump onto K-line. The result:





That meant more work to drain the giant puddle that had formed and re-shape the drain. All the water ended up on K-line and the resulting erosion as the water ran meant more repair work. Well, now it's back the way it was and it's going to take a few days for the area to dry.
 
andres611

andres611

Chimp
Jun 28, 2007
99
0
Didn't we have a huge thread going on about this not to long ago? DOn't people use common sense?
 
Skookum

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
That area is legal freeride, if you have people re-digging, the repurcussions will be the experiment will not work, and the Nade can "possibly" get shut down or dumbed down.

Takes time for workers to fix, may cause an accident where someone get's hurt bad, which goes in the decision making on any new park which will likely be better than Colonnade.

The South end is fragile, being dry moon dust, then you get rushing torrents of water it makes hours and sometimes days of work.

It's simple, anyone can do whatever they want to do. Grabbing a shovel to help dig a trail for other people, and not just for yourself, may seem ungratifying at first. But the payoff is better opportunity down the road. But really the whole trend started during an event of altering jumps, can and will, pose serious problems. Sure it satisfies your immediate need, but you are really screwing it up for us all, there's just no way around that fact on this.

It's too bad, i hope more people recognize.
 
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DamienD

DamienD

Monkey
Nov 6, 2007
200
0
Bothell
what a dumb place to try and make a jump bigger. maintaining (what casy groves did) a line is one thing but this is just ruining it. thats the kind of thing that would kill a super hero un aware of a change. this is also bad for the environment. mybe using like wood take offs is a better idea like post canyon but not as big, no ones gonna try and add dirt to a wood take off.
 
Skookum

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
MMike said:
Why not spray the whole park with epoxy so that it's all rock hard ad no-one would be able to modify it?
Click to expand...
Wow yet another unlikely person coming up with the best option. i just responded to an email thread by another guy who came up with ideas of burying re-bar underneath the dirt to prevent people from digging. That idea wouldn't work, but the thought behind the idea will work.

copy/paste of my email.

That's actually a tremendously helpful tip Brian.

i've been advocating the use of soil hardeners there for ever, but nobody has stepped up to follow through or help Westra with the sample we have.

We still don't know if the stuff works, but it's a product that is made specifically for the purpose of hardening soil. Using concrete just doesn't work, if you dilute the mix with dirt it breaks down, fast, it's just basic. Kim was suggested to try that in K line, and i told him that i would eat a dog turd from dog park if it actually held up. i have not eaten a turd thanks. i will not eat a dog turd to say that the application of soil hardener will be the perfect solution, but i think it's our best bet.

1. It will keep and hold shape of lips, berms, landing. When that bike company came in and re-did the jumps for their event and photo shoot, they complained that the jumps were too beat up.
2. It will help control the dust issue, by strategically placing a hard cap on trouble spots, particularly the access roads.
3. The hard cap can help prevent people from harvesting soil for pirate builds.
 
Y

YoPawn

Chimp
Aug 13, 2009
91
0
It's a group of teenagers who I believe is doing this stuff. :(

I've had to curse them out a few times for doing stupid crap. Get off my lawn! :rofl:



Did the K-Line ever get fixed from being screwed with? Seems like TONS of riders are going down hard off of the rainbow bridge. Usually getting bucked to the sides and landing with the front wheel totally sideways. As much as I like the jump it is one heck of a huge liability for the park right now. Might have something to do also with the moon dust that covers the hardpack and makes it slippery on landing.
 
largextracheese

largextracheese

Monkey
Jan 24, 2004
475
0
Duthie
I'm of the opinion that it's not necessarily the actual jump on K-line causing the problem. I attribute all the people eating it due to how fast you have to get acclimated speedwise once you drop in. It really comes at you fast and hard. The trails are super short and are packed with features close together. It's definitely tough to get your "flow" in such a short distance. Feeling balanced and fluid is what I'm getting at. Even being a seasoned jumper I can honestly say I never totally feel great on any of the jumps at the Nade. Having these idiots change the lines is a major problem coupled with the compact design of the flow lines. Good luck catching these fools.
 
P

pepsiqueen

Chimp
Oct 2, 2008
6
0
seattle
Has anyone looked into using CDF at the locations people are taking dirt from? Mixing dirt with concrete screws with the chemical reaction that takes place to make concrete. CDF (controlled density fill) is a cheaper concrete-like material that you can't dig through.
 
DamienD

DamienD

Monkey
Nov 6, 2007
200
0
Bothell
YoPawn said:
It's a group of teenagers who I believe is doing this stuff. :(

I've had to curse them out a few times for doing stupid crap. Get off my lawn! :rofl:



Did the K-Line ever get fixed from being screwed with? Seems like TONS of riders are going down hard off of the rainbow bridge. Usually getting bucked to the sides and landing with the front wheel totally sideways. As much as I like the jump it is one heck of a huge liability for the park right now. Might have something to do also with the moon dust that covers the hardpack and makes it slippery on landing.
Click to expand...
why dont you name some of the ton of riders that went down on the rainbow bridge? wow getting bucked sideways???? come on bro no ones dumb enough to hit a jump with out checking it first. and it wasnt "screwed" up it was made not scetchey so it was ridable. casey didnt evan make it more of a lip. it was still mellow like normal. those tons of riders that got bucked should practice on the easier lines thats what there for
 
Y

YoPawn

Chimp
Aug 13, 2009
91
0
DamienD said:
why dont you name some of the ton of riders that went down on the rainbow bridge? wow getting bucked sideways???? come on bro no ones dumb enough to hit a jump with out checking it first. and it wasnt "screwed" up it was made not scetchey so it was ridable. casey didnt evan make it more of a lip. it was still mellow like normal. those tons of riders that got bucked should practice on the easier lines thats what there for
Click to expand...
I can't seem to understand what you are trying to say.:confused::confused: I see people go down on that jump while I work near there. I don't know their names or really care for that matter.

I work there a lot and see people crash on that feature more than any other. That's my observation, so what exactly are you trying to argue?
 
Mike.rider

Mike.rider

Monkey
Jun 14, 2003
641
0
renton, WA
YoPawn said:
I can't seem to understand what you are trying to say.:confused::confused: I see people go down on that jump while I work near there. I don't know their names or really care for that matter.

I work there a lot and see people crash on that feature more than any other. That's my observation, so what exactly are you trying to argue?
Click to expand...
Its also the largest feature in the park, which when riders are pushing their limits will inherently make people crash. I'm with Damien on this one its the riders responsibility to ride with in their limits and check lines before they hit them, to see if they can and if the line has changed. Crashing is a given in our sport
 
DamienD

DamienD

Monkey
Nov 6, 2007
200
0
Bothell
my point is that no ones likeley to crash on that jump just because it was changed a little bit. they proly crashed because they dident have the skill to jump it in the first place
 
largextracheese

largextracheese

Monkey
Jan 24, 2004
475
0
Duthie
I know you guys want to argue about the jump being changed at the Transition Demo, and how it was no big deal. If it was any other place it would be less of a concern. It is a public park with rules to follow. I know if I came into a line I jump all the time (in a controlled area like C-nade) with no warning signs, and the jump was changed I'd be pretty concerned. Looking at things first is not always a given. Think about the trails you hit all the time in the woods in this area. Do you prewalk 27, 38, etc. before you ride them? Probably not. It's not always about skill. Jumps can have many shapes and hit totally different even when changed a little. It's the big picture once again.
 
DamienD

DamienD

Monkey
Nov 6, 2007
200
0
Bothell
bingo. so the point is be careful when you hit jumps and ride within your skill level. those difficulty signs are there for a reason. not just go fast and hope that its the same. i know this isnt about the transition demo day, but team transition cut the lip down back to normal before they left, i watched. lets not get hung up on details this is about stupid kids digging where there not supposed too. Ya wlways check stuff before hitting it unless its made of wood
 
SeaPig

SeaPig

Monkey
Sep 20, 2005
624
0
Seattle
I took my new dirt jumper down there today and crashed on the pump track. I think we should rip that out and make it flat!!! :D

It had nothing to do with the fact that I tried to get silly and double up something that is basically not there naturally.
 
F

fuzzycatnuts

Monkey
Dec 14, 2005
944
0
DamienD said:
bingo. so the point is be careful when you hit jumps and ride within your skill level.
Click to expand...

I agree with for the most part, but, But I would like to get back to the point that Mike is makeing. DO NOT dig at the colonnade without permission and try to stop unathorized digging if you see it. People building up lips on the easy line is not ok. People filling in drainage so they can avoid the 4 foot drop but still hit the expert line is not ok.
 
DBR X6 RIDER

DBR X6 RIDER

Turbo Monkey
Jun 22, 2004
3,288
0
WEST SEATTLE - checking my rotor bolts.
The nice part about Colonnade is that it attracts many more riders than any other progressive riding area nearby. It's also the bad part about the place as most have no clue about how hard it was to not only procure the area for a skill park, but to actually put it all together from nothing. A large portion of the users there have no real concepts of trail etiquitte, thus the latest mess. That being said, it's not a bad idea to ask people that are doing work if they are with Evergreen.

Everybody should still feel free to hose down jumps, etc. whenever necessary!!! ;)
 
Str8OutaBallard

Str8OutaBallard

Monkey
Jun 18, 2004
945
0
Please people, don't mess up the Colonnade for us! (by modifying it)

Many of us are invested in it for various reasons including:

It being a stepping stone to legal Freeriding in Western WA...

As a dry place not covered in snow to ride during the winter months...

A place to maintain your skill set that you don't have to drive an hour to get to...

A great place to test ride your bike after you get to work on it after your day job...
 
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