The rise of Oregon’s newest singletrack frontier
THE SYMPHONY OF METAL PICKAXE HEADS STRIKING ROCKS echoes through the woods as we approach the trail crew at Mount Emily Recreation Area near La Grande, Oregon—a farming community of 11,000 known best for its small university and the railroad that bisects town.
Meeting the folks who build trails is pretty standard when reporting on a mountain bike destination—after all, they know the history of the land, what it took to get the trails built and can usually describe in detail every feature of every stretch of singletrack they’ve ever carefully carved into the land.
This is not that. Though these builders are as dedicated and determined as others who devote endless hours to honing their craft, unlike those others, these guys may never actually realize the satisfaction of pedaling on their own works of art.
“I made the joke earlier, ‘Oh, do we actually get to test the trail? Do we get to ride it to make sure it’s safe?’” says Ryan Nickel, a first-time trailbuilder, and one-time BMX racer who placed 5th in state as a teenager. “It’s hard work, but it’s better than being in the facility doing nothing. Really, it’s just time in there. I’d rather be doing something productive that people can use.”
Nickel and the others on this 10-man crew are inmates at nearby Powder River Correctional Facility, a minimum-security prison that houses mostly drug and alcohol offenders. The builders, dressed in prison-issued blue T-shirts and jeans labeled with a bright orange Oregon Department of Corrections logo, are hand cutting a narrow dirt track into a steep, sun-baked, 35-degree slope that overlooks the valley.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September/October 2017-Ausgabe von Bike.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September/October 2017-Ausgabe von Bike.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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Starling Murmur 29 Stainless
Frame and Öhlins TTX Coil Shock | | £2,442 ($3,191)
WATERING HOLE
MAY 30, 2020 4:53 P.M. LAKE POWELL, UTAH
PROGRESSION PROVEN
SEPTEMBER 7,2019 5:48 P.M PRINEVILLE, OREGON
RE-FORMATION
KATIE HOLDEN’S CAREER REBIRTH COMES FULL CIRCLE
TURNS YOU EARN
APRIL 29, 2018 10:55 A.M. BORDERLINE TRAIL, POST CANYON HOOD RIVER, OREGON
CRAFTING A RESCUE
A LIFE-CHANGING DAY DEEP IN THE WOODS
PERMANENT INSTALLATION
SANTA CRUZ’S ICONIC CANVAS MOONLIGHTS AS A METAPHOR FOR A TRANSFORMING TOWN
EMPTY HANDED
A RETURN TO GLOVES THREE DECADES LATER
COTIC ROCKETMAX
FRAME AND CANE CREEK DB AIR SHOCK | £2,049 ($2,678)
BUTCHER PAPER
To all the newbs I’ve loved before Don’t ever change