Love Bookwus and have been riding it a bunch as of late (have taken that 'high line" a few times just no where near as fast as Wade. Goals...). While I love the jank (and the weather related deterioration of the trail), and generally don't like to see a trail "dumbed down"..., I like the new work on Bookwus. The cedar use in some of the more soggy and muddy holes is welcome and some of the erosion repairs bring the trail back to original use. Still janky and still has all its difficulty.
What I saw shortly before this recent work, and saw on a few other double black trails, are some ridders making "ride arounds" (braids) of the hardest sections of the trail. This occurred on Bookwus but was repaired by the builders to eliminate this ride around and restore the original hard line as the only option. Not against those riding trails above their level as that is how we all progress, however every time a rider makes a braid around the hardest sections of trail, the trail loses some of its gnar. A braid gets ridden more, original line becomes less ridden, more riders on the trail, more ride arounds happen on other difficult sections and the trail loses its original flavour and difficulty. If the section of trail is too hard, walk the section and leave for another day.
So question to Cam as this is a contentious issue... How can this sort of change to a trail (braiding around the hardest section of a trail) be managed?
Oct. 15, 2020, 8:43 a.m. - jason
Love Bookwus and have been riding it a bunch as of late (have taken that 'high line" a few times just no where near as fast as Wade. Goals...). While I love the jank (and the weather related deterioration of the trail), and generally don't like to see a trail "dumbed down"..., I like the new work on Bookwus. The cedar use in some of the more soggy and muddy holes is welcome and some of the erosion repairs bring the trail back to original use. Still janky and still has all its difficulty. What I saw shortly before this recent work, and saw on a few other double black trails, are some ridders making "ride arounds" (braids) of the hardest sections of the trail. This occurred on Bookwus but was repaired by the builders to eliminate this ride around and restore the original hard line as the only option. Not against those riding trails above their level as that is how we all progress, however every time a rider makes a braid around the hardest sections of trail, the trail loses some of its gnar. A braid gets ridden more, original line becomes less ridden, more riders on the trail, more ride arounds happen on other difficult sections and the trail loses its original flavour and difficulty. If the section of trail is too hard, walk the section and leave for another day. So question to Cam as this is a contentious issue... How can this sort of change to a trail (braiding around the hardest section of a trail) be managed?