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Looking for input and help building some DH in KY.

Shoope1

Chimp
Dec 19, 2012
12
0
Black Mountain Offroad Adventure Park in Harlan, Ky is opening up our trials to mountain bikes.
I currently sit on the board that over sees the park. I have been working on the past few years on getting Mtb accessible. If any of you that has a atv or rock crawling back ground on the east coast then I am sure that you have heard of our park.
Now what I am currently wanting to do is get a group of knowledgeable dh trail builders and help me build some killer trails. We are looking to get a shuttle service going when we start getting mtb traffic as well. We have a shuttle service already for our zipline so this would not be a very big deal to shuttle us.
Just to let you know, we currently have 7000+ acres to work with and we are working on expanding as well.
if your interested in helping and want more information, please feel free to call me
606.273.8894
Ronnie Shoope

I'm not trying to spam, and I hope this post finds the right section. I really want to contribute to this sport.
 
May 30, 2011
82
0
Louisville, KY
This is awesome news! I have spread the word on some other local forums in the KY area. Looking forward to having some good DH in Kentucky! Thanks for all the hard work so far just getting us access to this awesome property!
 

Thacker

Chimp
Nov 27, 2004
92
0
Ronnie, I live in South East KY and would be willing to help out in any way! PM me and I'll get you my contact info.
 
If you are serious about building trail that people will pay over and over 2 ride then i suggest that you contact Elevated trail Design to consult and/or build you a finished product ASAP.
Not that many guys in the south can build you legit DH trails with the quickness.
Volunteered type construction model is like hearding cats......
 

Shoope1

Chimp
Dec 19, 2012
12
0
Thanks for the link. We have a military truck that we shuttle our zipline people in now. We may need to purchase or convert our flat bed for shuttle work.

Also thanks for the link on facebook. good looking photos.
 

Shoope1

Chimp
Dec 19, 2012
12
0
I have one person says we need a min. of 5 trails to succeed. What are your opinions? I hope to have more than 5.
 

profro

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2002
5,617
314
Walden Ridge
I helped build and maintain the DH trails at Windrock from 2003 to 2011. It was, and still is, 100% volunteer and as such Coal Creeks profit from DH is minimal at best. Its still a great resource to the region and without it a lot of people would be really bummed. I have always thought it could be more and greater support from the land company is the first step.

I have been to Harlan in a truck and loved it. Can't wait to go back. It was cheap, had a lot to offer, and was maintained very well. In fact, I couldn't believe how cheap it was. For a family of 4 it was very affordable.

I want DH to succeed at Harlan. The terrain is almost identical to Windrock and they have plenty of elevation. I completely agree with Loo, having a company come in a build the trails the quickest and best way to build a program. The guys from Elevated are great. They are local, very knowledgeable, and good to work with. I would think 5 DH trails would be great, but to begin, I think 2 quality trails form the top to the bottom would be enough to start the flow of DHers to the area. Add a couple good races and it could blow up.

Right now, there is no reason to think that Harlan can't be bigger than Windrock, Beech, or Snowshoe. If the land company is serious, the potential is huge.

Good luck.
 

Shoope1

Chimp
Dec 19, 2012
12
0
guys we have a 20 year lease on the property so we are good. Thanks for the positive remarks ProFro. We are not trying to retire off anybody. We are just trying to stay in the black and promote tourism. See this is a county leased property ran by a county appointed board. Which I have a seat on. So we are wanting more people to come to the park, in return they spend money in the local economy.
P.s. our park pass is like 35 bucks for a year. that pass is not per person it is per vehicle.. (1 bicycle) .

Thanks for all the info.. and please keep them coming..
 
Windrock pulls in alot of riders from the north. If you can build legit trails with legit shuttle people will stop by and ride both. Thast kind of how the TTC is outside Chattanooga. Guys like hitting multiple stops on a trip. I really hope you can move this project forward.
I currently live way south of Harlan but would come if its done right. Dh'rs dont need much. Just burly steep trails and we are a happy bunch.
 

Shoope1

Chimp
Dec 19, 2012
12
0
Well if i have anything to do with it(which I do) then its gonna be done right inside the realm of a budget.
And steep burly DH well we have plenty steep. How steep can you handle is the question?

We will for sure have to work on the infrastructure of this. Like shuttling and cost per shuttle. We need to put the DH Trails in a place that we can recover injured. Also we need the trails to where we can maintenance them. So building the trails is the easy part. And if somebody can show me what to look for I am no stranger to finding killer trails. Cause I have found or been involved with most of our rock crawling trails.
 
It takes someone who is an experienced downhiller to spot the trail. Please don't take my steep comment as the only requirement. It takes alot of little things to make the trail not wash out over a wet winter. The windrock guys did many hours of walking the trails in the winter to identify where to build check -dams from rock etc .
It sounds like you are pretty committed so i implore you to side step alot of mistakes that will slow you down and bring in Elevated trail Design who can evaluate your situation and get trails worthy of cash paying customers ASAP.
As someone who had maintained trails at Windrock including rock crawling trails it really is different to layout a quality DH trail and then build it right. A fast downhiller with lots of trail building experience can do that the first time.
Certain things are worth paying for and this is one of them.
I love the TTC right now but frankly it took them 4 years of building and riding to get the trails right (read flowy and sustainable) based on the "cat herding" model. That kind of overhead is more expensive than bringing in some experienced builders from the start.
 

profro

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2002
5,617
314
Walden Ridge
It takes someone who is an experienced downhiller to spot the trail. Please don't take my steep comment as the only requirement. It takes alot of little things to make the trail not wash out over a wet winter. The windrock guys did many hours of walking the trails in the winter to identify where to build check -dams from rock etc .
That is the exact thing I was impressed with about Harlan. It seemed like they did good maintenance and really catered well to their customers. When I started in on a red trail, it stayed a red trail to the end. Sometimes at Windrock a kiddy trail can turn into a double black diamond and turn a fun day in the woods with your family into a nervous nightmare.

If you can judge Harlan's future DH trails by there current jeep trails, no one will be disappointed. I can't wait til this year's April Fool's Ride at Harlan. I had so much fun last year. Lion's Den is ridiculous. Want to see something incredible, Youtube that.
 

Shoope1

Chimp
Dec 19, 2012
12
0
Profro, me and Ken found Lions den and made that happen. Like I have said. I have wore out many a pair of boots scouting trails. Just a list of some trails I have scouted and found. i found lower damnation, cream puff, rail bed, pin ball, pony hill, lions den, upper rock garden, mason jar, middle rock garden, big perm.
Thanks for the props again on Harlan. Just so you know I started the april fools ride, I am a toyota guy.

On a serious not. I was teasing on how steep, I want to have different trails for all riders. And I understand what your saying about bringing in an expert, but we will consider all options.
p.s. we have a great maintenance crew that we keep staffed.