Avon Trail Work

[flyinbrian]

Todd has came through for all of us again today. He was on vacation from work today and he spent 4.5 of those hours weed wacking all the trails south of the Train Bridge. All the weed wacking of the singletrack trails at Avon this year has been done all by Todd alone!
 So if you see him out there on his white Trek show him your appreciation!
 Unfortunately the park management does not show thier appreciation for the time and hard work that weed wacking takes. I guess they do not care that the trails grow in with weeds??? So that is just one reason why it is important to show your appreciation to those vollunteers that keep the trails open.
Thanks again Todd!!!

[icemanmedic1]

todd, ur work doesn't go unnoticed...many thanks!

[Darin]

I was under the impression that the trimming had to be done while park employees were notified and present.  Has this policy changed?  I will / would have trimmed, since weekday evenings can sometimes open up at the last minute.

[flyinbrian]

I was under the impression that the trimming had to be done while park employees were notified and present.  Has this policy changed?  I will / would have trimmed, since weekday evenings can sometimes open up at the last minute.

If Eric was asked I am sure he would say that the policy has not changed (control). But this is what Todd did…He showed up, parked down at the maint. Barn then went out and did the weed whacking with his own equipment. I know the one Friday morning that he worked, there was ample time (4.5 hrs), for Eric to go out and talk to him if he had a problem with it but he didn’t. In fact Kristen was there when he was getting his weed whacker and gas can out of the truck, and all that was said is Hi. I know Todd does talk to the other park workers (Steve and Kyle) on regular bases when he is at the park riding on the weekends. So if you want to weed whack when you have time? I am not stopping you, but I can’t give you permission either. Obviously the park workers are not going to do it though.

[T WING]

Anybody who rides at avon owes Brian B. a big thanks for his years of trail boss.He has put in more time than you can even imagine.he has dealt with the current park manager(idiot) and believe me that deserves some kind of reward. I had no idea how much work it was til I started working with him 3 or so years ago. I hope somebody else will try to fill Brians shoes but beleive me they will be big shoes to fill! Good luck and a big thanks Brian.

[flyinbrian]

What Todd is referring to some in his previous post is this… I have given this a lot of thought and I have decided to step down from being the HMBA trail lead person at Washington Township Park.

The main reason is because at this phase in my life I feel that I need to spend more of my thinking power and time on my family. Besides my lovely wife, I have an 11 yr old boy and a 13 yr old girl.  I have realized that this is a crucial time in there lives and that I need to be there for them as much as possible, because I don’t have too many years left to guide them and build on our relationships before they are young adults

I talked to Darin Koelm and he said he could be the HMBA contact person for Avon Park (WTP) but he doesn’t have enough time to head-up trail work. So there is an opening and a need for a HMBA trail maintenance lead person for Avon Park.

This does not mean that I will never help with trail work. I do plan to get out some to help with other park trail efforts like SWW, Brown County, and etc. And even Avon some if someone takes over lead. I just do not have time to deal with the park manager and lead the trail work.

I have to admit that it is kind of sad for me because I have been working at Avon for quite a few years now. And I have enjoyed working with you all. But I do believe this is the right thing for me to do at this time in my life.

.

Sincerely,

     Brian Bowerbank

[bboehman]

Brian,
   You did a great job! Thanks to you I got into trail building and learned a lot from you. 

This park is one mile from the house so I would hate to see it go as I don't have the gas money to travel an hour everytime I want to get the bike out. Seeing that there hasn't been a response here I would be willing to take over setting up work days.  However I guess I am concerned with the direction of the park and would want to make it worthwhile as I know Brian dealt with frustrations lately.  I don't want to see his hard work go to waste and it is awesome to have a place I don't have to drive to.  So anyone let me know what I need to do at this point to help to continue the work Brian has started.

Bob

[T WING]

Bob I think you would be perfect for the job.Give Brian a call and i am sure he would give you his call list and park contacts. You know how close I live so it would suck to let it totally fall apart.We will have to wait til the road is done to assess the damage and the future if there still is one.When the road gets closer to done I will talk to Ronnie and find out if we are even part of the parks future.See you at the breakdown!     

[flyinbrian]

Hey Bob! Thanks for the kind words and showing your appreciation!

Paul has e-mailed me that you two have been in contact, so the ball is all ready rolling. I agree with Todd that you will be perfect for the job! As you know, Avon does need Mountain Bikers to work on the trails because the park manager does not have the knowledge in this area!
I will send you the contact list that I have and the trail hour log for this year soon.
See you at the breakdown!

Brian

[bboehman]

Not a problem, you still know much more than me and I am sure you would be getting some phone calls for your thoughts   As I mentioned I would hate for us to lose this place after all your efforts the last several years.  As Todd mentioned we will just have to see what their plans are for the future.  I guess if we aren't part of it we will just have to drive togethor and join the boys at SWW!  As for this weekend I think we will drive seperate this time so you guys aren't waiting an hour for me like you did at the road ride in August.  My brother isn't coming this year so Craig and I will ride with you guys at least until that first big hill where you guys leave me again like the road ride
Bob

[29erpilot]

We would be very happy to have you come out to SWW!It will be great to have complimenting trails in he area.I would be up for helping you guys also when SWW's work slows down.   

[T WING]

I am planning to pitch in one weekend morning after the breakdown. I am looking foreward to checking out all of everybodies hard work and hopefully pitching in a little bit myself.

[AL]

We should have thought of this a while ago!  An Avon/SWWaY Alliance is a must.  I would gladly lend a hand at Avon. If we could get two Avon workers to join us you would double our work force.  Not alot of people showing up at SWWay lately.   

[flyinbrian]

We should have thought of this a while ago!  An Avon/SWWaY Alliance is a must.  I would gladly lend a hand at Avon. If we could get two Avon workers to join us you would double our work force.  Not alot of people showing up at SWWay lately.   

I am planning to pitch in one weekend morning after the breakdown. I am looking foreward to checking out all of everybodies hard work and hopefully pitching in a little bit myself.

I am with “T wing”, after the Break Down I want to get down to SWW and help out some. I look forward to checking it out! I am excited about the potential that the land there has to offer. I was there years ago for a trash pick-up day when they first put the sign up closing the park to MT Bikers. So I was real glad to hear that they are opening it back up to bikes.
I also know how hard it is to stay motivated when only you and one other person show up for a trail work day. So hopefully a couple of us can get down there to help you through this low time.
It sounds like you guys are doing a great job and getting some nice singletrack built! Thanks!!!

[bboehman]

I like the idea as well about working togethor.  I will be on fall break the week of Oct. 21st-25th so if you guys have a workday that weekend maybe us three Avon guys can make it over there.  SWW is real close to work and will be a great place for me to get to quick after school.
Bob