Forums >General Running>Adding more asphalt miles
Thanks, all! I didn't used to be terribly cautious but I know an awful lot of injured runners who ask for advice and then don't take it. It's also good to be reminded of what those trails are gonna look like during the dry months if I keep running them now. I'd love to add some gravel, but I'd miss the effect of padding silently through the forest and scaring the crap out of the deer. For now, being out on the wide shoulder to greet the dawn and the incredulous commuters sounds pretty good to me... and to run east first.
I definitely understand the gravel-avoidance. I hate it when they repair trails that way here. There are some other techniques (like geoblok), but more expensive. I went to the mountains today where the groomed trails still have decent snow cover - but not for much longer.
some call me Tim
@wolf - When I started running trails I think some of the best advice I got was about keeping your stride short. If you aren't overextended, it's a lot harder to hurt yourself even if you do roll your ankle or step in a hole. I had some near misses this way - and every time it could have been bad, but I was never putting that much force into any single stride so it was never a big deal.
@AK - That geoblok stuff is crazy - and awesome! Not much chance of that, either, but every summer I get to extending and improving trails (space is somewhat limited, so it's manageable) and I'll probably get to working on some simple water management stuff this year. I can at least try to minimize the dry out period, because it stays wet like 6 or 8 weeks like you said. If you happen to know of a trail management resource you could point me in the direction of, I'd really appreciate it. I haven't had a lot of luck in finding something comprehensive.
ME WEBLARG
...@AK - That geoblok stuff is crazy - and awesome! Not much chance of that, either, but every summer I get to extending and improving trails (space is somewhat limited, so it's manageable) and I'll probably get to working on some simple water management stuff this year. I can at least try to minimize the dry out period, because it stays wet like 6 or 8 weeks like you said. If you happen to know of a trail management resource you could point me in the direction of, I'd really appreciate it. I haven't had a lot of luck in finding something comprehensive.
There's actually different thicknesses, including a georunner (?) that's more flexible. We bury the stuff and cover lightly with soil so it's not too obvious (neither people nor horses like the grid) and you've got a protective layer to keep from going a foot deep in mud - maybe over a french drain. Don't use it on hills. For OHV wetland uses, they use the full thickness and have it visible.
If you have long stretches of wet trails, you may need better drainage design - see the obvious stuff in the USFS manual. If it's just a few low-lying areas, you might try a french drain.
Sources of info: for local info, check with your local, state, and federal agencies, nonprofits, local bike stores, REI?, etc who deal with trails.They *might* have training classes coming up or know of something and can point you in the right direction. In particular, National Trails Day is Sat June 1 where many agencies or nonprofits have trail work days. You *might* learn something there. Check that link for anything near you. Sometimes they're just work days with no training, but it might provide some local contacts for you.
The best single source of basics that I'm aware of is
0723-2806-MTDC: Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook
(and it's free online)
Some others include
Designing and Building Sustainable Trails | International Mountain Bicycling Association
Lightly on the Land: The Sca Trail Building And Maintenance Manual 2nd Edition: Robert C. Birkby, Peter Lucchetti, Jenny Tempest: 9780898868487: Amazon.com: Books
Natural Surface Trails by Design
MNdesignSchoenbauer07.pdf - a slide show from a manual
Hope that helps. Have fun. And thanks for trying to improve your trails.
Marvelous, and thank you! This ought to keep me busy for a little while I do like how fast I can run on pavement, but it's nothing compared to the bliss of running a forest trail. I wonder if that'll *ever* get old.