Expresso Lives! (or does it?)

For the uninitiated, Expresso is a classic 20 year old Shore trail that has been gradually beaten down. nsmb.com, with support from Rock Shox, has elected to tackle this rough diamond for our contribution to the nsmbA’s Trail Adoption Program, a sponsorship program that involves a cash contribution, 5 or six trail days, and lots of sweat. Sounds easy no? Read on.

---

Expresso! O how I love thee, oh how I hate thee!

Expresso used to be on my Fromme short list. First when it was mostly stunt-free and then as structures emerged, when woodwork was solid and I sought out ladders, planks and logs. Steep drop in to tech corners, meander along the flat, sketchy rock moves, chutes to tighten sphincter and some loose speed to close things out; it’s a trail that is satisfying on many levels. For this we can thank Joe Bouchar, Chris Christie and Gord Moreside, along with supporting cast Greg Heyes, Ian Smith, John Barber and a few others.

  Gord Moreside (right) and Greg Heyes in their Westview Cycles speedsuits at the North Shore Ripper in 2007. Photo ~ Cam McRae

Gord, Chris and Joe, all members of the Westview Cycles Road Team, started surveying the line in 88 or 89 and a couple of years later it was rideable. Gord, who now owns Dizzy Cycles in Kitsilano (TAP adopters of Lower Oilcan), related how the trail, its character and its name emerged. “Initially it was all on the ground. There were no structures or anything. We were all spending a lot of time at this place next to the shop called La Pasta and we were joking that Cappuccinos and Espressos were fueling our riding. So we thought we’d make a series or chutes to make the ‘express’ way down the mountain. Some of the chutes are still there and the route was supposed to meander and wind between the chutes to get a little more trail. We tried to use the fall line as best we could. We wanted a bit of pedaling.”

Westview Cycles went bust and Gord and his crew abandoned Expresso in 1993. Since then builders have come and gone. Many exploited features off to the side of the trail and began layering stunts throughout. The nsmbA did some good work on trail days, almost one every year, putting out fires, building and re-building some stunts and slowing the decay. 

  This move, once know as the Bungee Log, lived three lives. First it was very skinny with no planks and a drop to flat off the end. Then it lost a support at the end and it would gradually bend under your weight so you could ride off the end. Then rungs were added and one day it broke. Photo ~ Alan Bardsley.

The wedge of granite now known as Expresso Smooth was discovered and incorporated as an optional route, fallen logs were given ladder entrances and exits and a new character emerged. Without an overall strategy, wood began to take over the trail, while some high traffic areas were rocked in. There was some great building done, much of it by Dieter Bahr, and some shoddy work, but the trail never had a consistent champion with a grand vision for the trail and the time to execute.

  Do you like it like this? Clayton Racicot riding Expresso smooth in 2009 on a classic Fromme day with frosting on top. Mouseover for the next shot. Photo ~ Dave Bryson

Since that time the trail has gone into a slow decline. Broken ladders stayed that way while supports rotted and lines widened and grew confused. Chutes became creek beds and more and more stunts were effectively decommissioned.

  An early version of Expresso smooth. It was even trickier like this because you had to go up before you went down. Photo ~ David Ferguson

And yet a minority of you still feel the love. A vocal minority I might add. Virtually everyone concedes that the trail needs work but that’s where the consensus ends.

Most of us began to navigate other routes down Fromme from the 5th flank. I shunned Expresso, choosing Crippler, Ladies Only, Krinkem Krankem, Executioner, Pink Starfish Pipeline; pretty much anything but Expresso. And yet it’s a great line with amazing variety and a convenient finish. If you are exiting via Dempsey or Braemar it spits you out just right. Unfortunately other trails have had to bear the brunt of Expresso’s declining popularity.

  This very skinny, skinny, shown in 2007, is still in place near the entrance of Expresso. Should it stay? Photo ~ Phil Jette. Rider ~ Jesse.

I went on a mission to change that about 18 months ago. Ten grand builds a lot of trail when Digger’s at the helm, and he’d done great work on King of The Shore, Ladies, Big Stupid and, most recently, Lower Ladies, with the MEC Trail Fund that nsmb.com administers. We knew he’d be wrapping up Ladies Only last year so we tried, but failed, to get him a permit for Expresso in 2011. This year we were successful.

  One on trail day the District of North Van left a load of gravel for us to use. A zipline was set up to ferry the crushed rock down to where it was needed. Photo ~ David Ferguson

When the nsmbA’s TAP initiative came to Fromme I thought that Expresso was ripe for a focussed effort so we tossed the nsmb.com hat in and MEC elected to put their TAP effort on Expresso as well. Jerry Willows will head up nsmb.com’s contingent while Digger is MEC’s top man. So we have lots of experience and firepower, and everything was looking good. Or it was until I walked the trail.

Our TAP efforts on Dale’s were a big success but it didn’t have much wood and it saw comparatively few riders. There was a lot of work to do but there weren’t many tough decisions to be made. Taking on a mature and well used trail that was once very popular is a more daunting task. Everyone has a different vision for how Expresso should emerge and the District, who we rely on for permits, has an opinion as well. Jerry and Digger walked the trail earlier in the year with Graham Knell. They laid out a strategy that called for much of the woodwork to be decommissioned. The Assessment of Expresso they prepared is a public document. If you are interested download it here. While I have huge respect for Digger and Jerry, my walk had me questioning some of those decisions. Of course it’s tempting to re-fashion a trail to match your desires, but that’s not our job. Some might say Expresso should return to it’s origins as a mountain bike trail, but that would discount the evolution that began here. So what is the way forward?

  Volunteers trying to make sense of a rough section of Expresso on an nsmbA (NOT nsmb.com) trail day in 2009. Photo ~ Jenny Lee Silver

Trying for middle ground to please the majority will likely end up pissing everyone off. Removing almost all wood structures, a strategy favoured by Moreside, Willows and others, would keep some riders happy but enrage others. Re-building old, broken stunts will annoy the powers that be and exhaust our labour. I’d like to say we’ll be able to find a balance, retain structurally sound stunts and decommission judiciously, my preferred strategy, but I’m not sure this is possible. Trail building has become a political minefield.

  Random wanker on a soggy nsmbA Expresso trail day in 2007. Photo ~ David Ferguson
 
In light of all this we have been doing our best to be transparent about our task and to listen to riders’ concerns in this thread. Based on some of this feedback all of us involved are doing a final walk through before our first trail day, which happens on Sunday May 27th. The goal is to dial in and unify our strategy. As easy as passing gay marriage in North Carolina.

I can promise a few things. Our efforts will be aimed at rider enjoyment, sustainability and preserving the rowdy spirit the Shore is known for. I can’t guarantee Expresso will perfectly reflect your riding preferences but I will wager a C note that the finished product will put a smile on your face.

---

If you have an opinion, please share it below and come and join us on May 27th. Details to follow.