HMBA is currently managing an RTP grant at Southwestway Park. We are using Sectrum Trail Designs (Alex Stewart) and not IMBA Trail Solutions. We also have Upland Trail designs (Alex Harrington) in Indiana. He is working a project at Wapehani. HMBA has not been directed to only use IMBA trail solutions. And my main concern is having enough pro trail building resources it the Midwest to keep up with the projects in queue.
There is an organization call the Professional Trail Builders Association (PTRA) which Spectrum Trail Designs as well as IMBA trail solutions (Upland is an new company and will likely apply for membership at the next annual meeting) are members. Dealing with Non Profit IMBA Trail Solutions vs. for profit trail builder concerns is an issue for the PTRA to deal with.
IMBA and its chapters are creating a lot of work for professional trail builders. While IMBA trail solutions gets some of this work, there are also a lot of non IMBA trail solutions trail builders getting work thanks to IMBA.
The other topic in the post was the age old IMBA trail sanitation rant. One big challenge for HMBA-IMBA is that we try to advocate for all mountain bikers. Beginners thru advanced riders; 26" to 29ers; single speeders to 3/10; cross country, down hill, free ride, skill park, etc...; racers, long distance riders, technical rider, fitness riders; etc.........
The opinions of what makes a perfect trail are widely ranging. As a trail builder I have gotten complaints about every HMBA trail, including Green Valley at BCSP.
Add in that Land Managers often provide restrictions on what can or can't be done, that geography and demographics of an area often present limitations, there are liability concerns, etc...
And that there have been, and will always be, sustainable trails built that aren't as fun or challenging as the could be, whether that is from a low bid trail building company or inexperience volunteers.
I see small pockets of riders who think more trails should be built to their expectations. I get complaints about difficult trails being too hard just as much as trails being too easy. The internet allows these small groups to complain loudly and since there is no requirement to be factually correct on the internet, there is a lot of BS being thrown at those working very hard to build trails.
It is very difficult to build mountain bike trails on public land without designing them to be sustainable. But sustainable trails can be very difficult. Too often it is protrayed that trails are easy because IMBA's sustainability guidelines force them to be easy. This is not the case. The reality is that there are more beginner and intermediate riders than there are expert riders. So we need to build a lot of beginner and intermediate friendly trails if we want our sport to grow. That of course doesn't mean that we aren't going to build hard trails and continue to push the envelope for building fun trails of all difficulty levels.
Here is a counter Better Ride Blog.
http://mountainbikegeezer.com/2013/11/critiquing-gene-hamiltons-critique-of-imba/
