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The Kelowna Kollective – Gillard trail day goes off the hook !
Nov 24, 2007Published by GnarlyXDISASTER STRIKES ! See what happens when a call for trail building help goes out in the Kelowna area. Mother nature unleashed vitriolic abuse onto Okanagan Mountain, home of the Gillard trail network. I guess she works in weird ways as a few years ago the Okanagan Mountain fire devastated the area. But thanks to hard work and dedication from local builders, the area recovered well, becoming a legendary freeride area. Roll the clock forward four years; it was now the opportunity for brutal windstorms to wreak total havoc, leaving Gillard with just one barely rideable trail. Kerplop looked like the big man in the sky had razed it with a giant weed whacker....a sea of fallen trees. Examples of the devastation:    Thanks to a recent revival of the local trail building community, the Kelowna Kollective stepped up to the plate to organize a trail day. Originally a bunch of loose and baggy guys who hooked up via Pinkbike.com to give trail love to an older and neglected part of the Powers Creek freeride area, there had been some talk of creating a group of experienced and committed builders to hook up with other interested builders and riders. The idea formed that if we were a mobile and organized crew, given how much knowledge we had and the equipment available to us, we would be able to give big trail love (or sheer brute force if needed) to whichever trail area needed it, or wherever the help was called for from a local builder. No need to tread on anyone’s toes, no need for any hassle, just a bunch of chilled hard working guys able to help out when it was needed. In just a few short months, that’s already evolved to the point where there’s now a shared vision amongst the Kollective; make the wider Kelowna area absolutely the best riding location in the world with the best trail building and maintenance, super buff trails, and a tight, well connected community of builders and riders of all levels and interests within the downhill and freeride scene. Well, when a natural disaster occurs, what better opportunity to step up to the plate? So on the 24th of November, on a cold cloudy morning, a procession of trucks rumbled into the Gillard shuttle parking lot. One after another, guys showed with tools and help. Old school North Shore legends, local trail building legends, a racer, a guy back on his rig after 15 years downtime, a recent arrival from Calgary, and a displaced Brit (to list just a few) got their act together. And the youth represented too - it was so cool to see the future of mountain biking interested in getting out in the bush to show their enthusiasm and appreciation for what we ride. Early arrivals get the plan together:  At the parking lot staging area, it seemed like one of those tentative “OK so who wants to dance” situations, but we worked through that initial stumble and got a solid plan together. There were three crews operating across the mountainside. This is a big area and a lot of windfall meant that on some trails it was a case of working through up to eight separate fallen trees in one short section of trail. Very heavy going, for sure. Prime buffed'n'fluffed:   Quick, but solid, on-the-spot repairs:  The storm was so bad that 12-foot wide stumps were left sticking out across a trail or pitched right across a tranny. Smoke’s specialty of the day seemed to be bashing the crap out of huge stumps. Harley was trying to tell him it was a futile effort. Smoke's stumped:  We gave Gillard some tough chainsaw love today. Standing round a roaring fire pit at the end of a hard days’ work with a tight trail crew, good times, the beer flowing, a hot dog roast and sweet chill out tunes wafting out from Smoke’s Great White Mobile Music Machine as the sun sets over the Okanagan Valley. This has to be the best vibe in the world, and the best way to end a riding season. The end of a great day:  Look out for a huge Spring 2008 push to finish the trail maintenance project and rebuild the storm lashed stunts, and a few nice surprises for volunteers. We’ll be better organized, better equipped, and looking for support and sponsorship from the local community. And we need more hands-on help too, so if you have buddies who can help or if you can spread the word about the Kelowna Kollective it’ll all help the cause of freeride mountain biking. It’s tight but loose, loose but tight. You can be a seasoned builder or a raw newcomer with willing hands who just wants to help. An expert rider or keen to progress and learn, old skool or new skool. Whether you can spare a couple hours on an odd day or a whole day of work most weekends, there’s a place for you here in the Kollective. All help is appreciated. Greasy, baggy, a little bit sketch, a shade sloppy, and a little bit loose, but heck we don’t half give’er when it’s needed. Real people, real riders, having real good times. It’s been said by a few people that there’s a huge buzz around K-Town at the end of this season. A feeling of optimism that next season is going off big style. Huge riding, huge trail building and maintenance, new cut trails, new lines, new stunt work, and huge love and respect for our local trails. So keep a close eye on Pinkbike.com and your local bike shop for news of the Spring 2008 sequel: ‘A Bigger Ball in the Bush”. Props to local bike shops Cyclepath and Kelowna Cycle for promoting the Gillard Trail Day and a massive thanks and respect to all the volunteer trail crew. At the very end of a long season, on a cold day, it takes a few very special people to make such a commitment. You guys have been truly awesome....here’s to 2008 going off like a big crazy funky thing. A little taste of the Okanagan, Gillard style (AKA why we live here):     |
29 Comments
- + 13 props
jayburn
(Nov 25, 2007 at 6:11)
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put a tear in my eye.
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We should get a picture of what Kerplop looked like. We actually asked ourselves, should we continue? Is it worth it?
2008 is going to go off huge... people are so pumped right now they don't want the season to end. K-town is going to be the place to be next year!
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Trail builders rock. Being from Deadmonton, there's no opportunity for me to get involved in trail building, but always a desire to support local trail builders. The K-town Kollective should consider planting "collection boxes" at theire LBS's so out'a towners like me can support the cause financially whenever we come out to rip up your trails.
I'm the new to Kelowna - ex Calgarian... I gotta tell you, this place is amazing, but it was pretty devastated. Thanks to all the guys that came out and helped. I don't think any of us had any idea as to the amount of downed trees and work required to get these trails cleared, and the work is still not totally complete. After some necessary rebuilding in the spring, it's going to be a crazy summer out here.
Good Job Kelowna Kollective for organizing this!!
Good Job Kelowna Kollective for organizing this!!
Hey there....and a belated arm welcome to Kelowna !!!! Thanks for giving your time and effort. Looking forward to a repeat in Spring, this time the work will be a little bit easier and more constructive, but I bet good money, we'll have a lot more helping hands.
Rich.
Rich.
I'm there... You just give me the word and we'll be out for the spring build day. It was good meeting all you guys. I look forward to a season of shuttling this amazing trail network.
Paul
Paul
Cool. I think next year you'll see more organised shuttle rides/ride days and a chance to meet a whole bunch of riders of every experience and skill level. K-Town will rock !!!!
Sweet Job to all involved.....there are not enough people around these days who step up to the plate to make new trails or maintain existing trails...K-Town has always been incredible riding and it is nice to see some dedication from locals to make it bigger and better than it ever was.....lookin forward to hittin it in the spring!!!!!!
Cheers Rusty
Cheers Rusty
Golldarn it Im movin to Kelowna Hobos burned my stunts. Nice work people this story makes me feel like making a trip to K town this spring and helping build.
Fun times this Saturday, lots gets done when people get together with a common goal. Got the stoke on for more building. 08 is goin to go off.
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went up mtn ash the other day and the fc had loged the hole of the botom section of the track and left all the trees across the track :@
soo no uplift days
or races for a while
soo no uplift days
or races for a while
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thats a horrible disaster nut atleast it was repairable like making bordwalks across the trees and it did supply the wood but anyway good job fixin her up
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well u know with all these fallen trees..build more jumps and drops? might make it better u never know.
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