Trail Day April 5th!

Come out for the NSMBA's first Trail Day of 2009!

Sunday April 5th on Empress Bypass -
Mt Seymour

Meet at 9am in the Old Buck parking lot at the base of Mt Seymour. All you need to bring is water, snacks [HTML_REMOVED] rain gear (just in case!). Tools [HTML_REMOVED] gloves will be provided (if you have gloves bring them in case we run out!).

John Henry Bikes [HTML_REMOVED] ESC Adventures will keep you fed with a great Lunch!!

Whether you're new to the trail scene or a seasoned builder we'd love to see you there!

this Sunday, so who else is coming out??

I am planning to be there, followed by a rip or two on Seymour.

Would love to come but unfortunately, I have to work…maybe try to change the day at the store.

I'll probably be there! Nursing a torn meniscus though, so I can only work with my hands (no lifting or moving too much). Is that cool?

Also, why does the bypass need work? It was great on Sunday, no drainage problems or anything. Do we get to spice it up a bit, add a few kickers?

I'll be there

I'll probably be there! Nursing a torn meniscus though, so I can only work with my hands (no lifting or moving too much). Is that cool?

Also, why does the bypass need work? It was great on Sunday, no drainage problems or anything. Do we get to spice it up a bit, add a few kickers?

The injured are always welcome at trail days! We've had people on crutches, in casts and even pregnant, we'll find something for you to do :)

The trail looks very different as you're flying down it, there's a number of areas where the rock work needs to be extended, the drains need to be cleared and basically maintained to BC Parks standards - this is a very unique trail as it was built jointly between BC Parks and the NSMBA and we have a responsibility to maintain it to different standards than any other trails on the shore.

Myself, JLS, and the Lyramonster will be there. Dragging out a few extras as well :).

The trail looks very different as you're flying down it, there's a number of areas where the rock work needs to be extended, the drains need to be cleared and basically maintained to BC Parks standards - this is a very unique trail as it was built jointly between BC Parks and the NSMBA and we have a responsibility to maintain it to different standards than any other trails on the shore.

a guy I was riding with last weekend, who is from the land of golden buff berms commented on the large hard lumpy things we have in our berms. He wanted to know what they are and why we put them in our berms. So can we get them removed…please and thank you.

Some History of The Empress Bypass Trail:

2004 - Empress Reroute

Empress Resurrection!

Aug 2003

Thanks to a co-operative effort between BC Parks, the District of North Vancouver and the North Shore Mountain Bike Association the upper section of Empress will be re-opened!

The Trail will enter onto a Multi-use Trail through the District of North Vancouver and BC Parks and exit onto the Old Buck Trail near the parking lot, at the corner of Anne McDonald Way and Mt. Seymour Road.

This is the first time that BC Parks has allowed a Multi-use trail to be constructed for the benefit of Mountain Bikers. The Empress Trail previously ran through BC Parks. In 1997 BC Parks mandated that all Mountain Bike trails be closed and only Multi-use sustainable trails be maintained. This trail was then re-routed through the District of North Vancouver, as part of the Northlands Golf Course perimeter trail. In 2003, the District initiated the construction of a small subdivision resulting in the need to re-route a section of the perimeter trail. To accommodate these users and the youth that access the lower trails a new trail through DNV and BC Parks land was proposed.

Negotiations began between the North Shore Mountain Bike Association, BC Parks and the District of North Vancouver to re-route the trail through DNV and BC Parks land. Since the trail crossed Taylor Creek, a fish bearing stream, a bridge had to be built. As well, BC Parks had to stick to their trail building policy of building trails for all users. With this in mind the dedicated volunteers from the North Shore Mountain Bike Association, under the guidance of BC Parks, provided labour and expertise in building the bridge and a trail for all users and preserved the heart of the Empress Trail.

Okay, so I've been looking for riding buddies as of late and thought that attending a trail day would be a great way to meet others in the community who care about the sport beyond just riding their bike. I mentioned it to two of my friends who're avid riders and both of them told me not to go! Not to go I say! And apparently they've both attended a trail day in the past and were left with a foul taste for it because they were both rock-bltches and were basically told what to do without much introduction or comraderie. Is there some sort of echelon system with this volunteering? Is it standard to be the rock-bltch for multiple sessions before you're accepted by the group(s)? I'm an experienced trail builder, but I'm not overly interested in being patronized because I'm new.

I[HTML_REMOVED]#8217;m fairly new to the sport and went to my first trail day (by myself) last year. Everyone I met was super friendly and it looked like everyone was having fun. Nobody seemed patronizing at all. I can[HTML_REMOVED]#8217;t make it out Sunday, but will attend a couple more this year.

Just my 2 cents

Okay, so I've been looking for riding buddies as of late and thought that attending a trail day would be a great way to meet others in the community who care about the sport beyond just riding their bike. I mentioned it to two of my friends who're avid riders and both of them told me not to go! Not to go I say! And apparently they've both attended a trail day in the past and were left with a foul taste for it because they were both rock-bltches and were basically told what to do without much introduction or comraderie. Is there some sort of echelon system with this volunteering? Is it standard to be the rock-bltch for multiple sessions before you're accepted by the group(s)? I'm an experienced trail builder, but I'm not overly interested in being patronized because I'm new.

It's not at all like that! Maybe your friends made no effort to be social and came off as stuck up or something?

When I did my first trail day up here last year (I had done some at home in Cali, but none on the shore), I met tons of cool people and even got to suggest improvements to the trail and make them come to fruition (namely to totally re-vamp a section of pingu with a sweet berm, better drainage, and better line set-up).

I don't know how much "freedom" we'll have on the Empress by-pass in terms of creating berms/jumps/fun stuff, but definitely don't be discouraged by your friends' experiences.

Okay, so I've been looking for riding buddies as of late and thought that attending a trail day would be a great way to meet others in the community who care about the sport beyond just riding their bike. I mentioned it to two of my friends who're avid riders and both of them told me not to go! Not to go I say! And apparently they've both attended a trail day in the past and were left with a foul taste for it because they were both rock-bltches and were basically told what to do without much introduction or comraderie. Is there some sort of echelon system with this volunteering? Is it standard to be the rock-bltch for multiple sessions before you're accepted by the group(s)? I'm an experienced trail builder, but I'm not overly interested in being patronized because I'm new.

I'm sorry your friends felt this way, but I can assure you that everyone is welcome and we will teach anyone anything they are interested in learning about building! Yes at some point you will end up bitching rocks, it's part of trail building, but this year we will be focussing more on clinic style trail days where we'll teach more, and hopefully you'll bitch rocks less :) I've met most of my best friends on trail days, come out and get a feel for it, introduce yourself, tell us what you want to do and we'll do our best to make you feel welcome and have fun! :beer: