Thanks to Kelly and Tommy Hatcher communicating, several of us were able to head out to Shutes Branch and talk to Tommy about the trail and walk a bit of it before he turned us loose to ride and experience what is currently Shutes Branch trail. A bit of it was to try to see what SORBA can bring to the project, such as where we can help out, as well as to learn a bit about the history of the trail project, discuss it’s future, it’s potential, on going maintenance once the trail is completed, and what can be done to help expedite the completion of the project. Being more of a personal interest in bringing people together for the common goal of adding more trail to the world, I was happy to be invited along.

Shutes Branch has a lot of potential. This potential is very easily seen in and around the trail. Many of the natural features of the property have been worked into the trail beautifully. I’d heard many reports of the trail and expected to not enjoy the beginning stretches of the trail at all. I was quickly proved wrong in my initial misgivings. The trail flows nicely in and around the opening camp areas. Speed is possible as is maintaining momentum through turns as you carve around obstacles and features in the trail.

After a bit, you enter more traditional singletrack with some nice rock features that offer some challenge and some loose line interpretations to allow for creative rock play. Momentum is a bit of a challenge in this area, but as the trail beds in I imagine the lines will allow for a little more speed and flow. This section progresses into a tighter, twistier rock section. It is in this section I would like to see some of the tight turns be opened up a bit to allow momentum to be maintained but more so to allow the rider to look ahead further. It gets a bit too tight and forces one to look down a bit too much that it’s difficult to look ahead and anticipate lines and features.

That’s not saying it sucks. I’m just saying a few sections could use a little re-work. Now, having said that know that I’ve not lifted a finger on that trail yet. Seeing the thicket they have had to cut through just to even see the lay of the land, I am impressed with what trail is there. The tweaks I speak of are more finishing chores and are easier to do when there are more than 3-4 people working on the trail. It’s also common to flag a line that looks like it’ll ride well only to realize once you come in to it with speed, doesn’t really flow so well. We ran into a re-route at the Cotton Mill Preserve that was flagged and cut last year that in theory and walk through flowed nicely, only to re-cut and route it this year as it just didn’t work out as well as initially thought. This is the organic nature of a trail as it begins to take a life of it’s own.

I hope the crew at Shutes Branch are open to constructive criticism and can keep an open mind about differing opinions. They are doing a fantastic job and seem to have a gold mine on their hands with a willing and excited land manager base as well as some good terrain to build on. They’ve done a great job of using the features that are there to build the beginnings of a solid intermediate level trail.

What happens next? I don’t know. We mountain bikers need help to finish the trail and that requires a sacrifice of everyone involved to reach that goal. We all have other responsibilities pulling us in every direction, but if we want trail, we have to sacrifice a little to see it through. Donations to tool funds help by getting more tools in more hands and by making limited volunteer hours more efficient. Showing up for work days, even if it’s only for an hour or two, helps just as much, if not more.

Workdays can be made more efficient too by holding a meeting the night before or even just preceding the workday to go over goals for the day. Breaking people into groups led by experience trail workers, demonstrating how tools are used and some safety advice. Keeping expectations realistic and jobs moving so no one is standing around feeling like they are wasting their time. Likewise, having clear concise goals will allow feelings of completion to develop. Project X is done, progress has been made. Now on to Project Y, etc…

Agreeing to disagree will probably help even more. Given a stretch of land 10 of us would flag 10 different routes, none of which would be “wrong”. I’m not so big into designing a trail, however I do have a lot of experience riding different trails and if an area seems like it could be better, I’d like to see a group opinion upon whether or not a re-route is needed. Rather than people bicker about trail design, let majority rule, it’s only dirt. (Note: I’m not talking about a committee led total trail re-design here, but if X number of people think spot A is a trouble area then getting others insight re: what to do to fix/enhance it. That sort of thing.)

So, in conclusion, I left with more excitement about the potential of Shutes Branch than I initially expected. It exists in an under served area and offers myriad opportunities to add different features and skill levels to the trail. I really hope all of us can come together and get this trail built and the facilities opened up. If given a chance, Shute Branch has the potential to become a solid resource for the mountain biking community.