Most trail associations would struggle to build a kilometre of machine-built jump trail for $25,000. The Annapolis Valley Mountain Bike Association just did it.
Using three unused pasture fields slated for future development, the volunteer-run organization just completed a one-kilometre flow trail in Kentville, N.S. The project cost less than $25,000, a figure association president Lorenzo Catarini estimates is less than one-third of what the trail would normally cost.
“At market it probably would have cost around $80,000” says Catarini.
The new trail sits in the heart of the Kentville trail network and ties together several existing routes.
Tim Foster – Dose Design House photo.
A trail for everyone
Built by Nova Scotia trail builder Devin White of Dirt Love, the trail was designed to appeal to everyone from kids on strider bikes to experienced riders looking for airtime.
The concept sounds simple enough: build a jump trail. The execution is a little more nuanced. Catarini says White intentionally designed the trail to be progressive.
“He built it in a way that it’s a green trail that goes up to a very blue plus,” says Catarini. “You can ride a strider bike down it as a five-year-old and do the whole thing, but if you’re good, you can catch some 12-foot triples and doubles and gaps and get big air on.”
The key is eliminating consequences. Rather than building mandatory gaps, larger features have been built as tables.
Tim Foster – Dose Design House photo.
Building big on a small budget
The project came together through a mix of donations, volunteer labour and local partnerships. A local contractor loaned the association a 15-ton excavator for four days, complete with fuel. Developers Parsons Limited provided access to the land and annual funding. Other local businesses contributed equipment, money and materials. The association also launched a GoFundMe campaign and relies on memberships that cost just $35 annually.
“We’re doing moderately large trail projects on a shoestring budget,” says Catarini.
Much of that comes down to White.
“He’s willing to work like a dog,” says Catarini. “He loves the sport so much.”
Catarini says White often spends extra days perfecting features even when the budget doesn’t account for it.
“My biggest problem with Devin is getting him to leave the trail and say it’s good enough.”
Building a cycling destination
The jump trail is only one piece of a much larger vision. Since reviving the Annapolis Valley Mountain Bike Association a few years ago, Catarini and fellow volunteers have helped build roughly six kilometres of new trail around Kentville. The long-term goal borrows heavily from places like Bentonville, Arkansas, where trails weave directly through communities instead of existing as isolated destinations.
“After visiting Bentonville, I was like, this is how mountain bike trails should be built,” says Catarini. “They should be built into a community, not away from it.”
With Halifax less than an hour away, Catarini believes Kentville can become a destination for riders. For now, riders in the Annapolis Valley have a new kilometre of trail to enjoy. Not bad for a project that cost less than a decent, used pickup truck.