duncan ferris
A former DMR team rider turned master builder, Bristol’s Duncan Ferris has had a hand in the creation of many a famous trail over the years, and is now head digger at the 1,200-acre BikePark Wales. “I started by helping with the construction of the World Cup 4X track in 2004, and that slowly turned into a full-time profession,” he explains. “By 2010, I was part of [trail design/building company] Architrail, and later, [pump track specialists] Velosolutions. Projects ranged from the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Legacy courses to multiple trail centres and pump tracks. I’ve also done a number of Mexico street-race course builds, and a Pump For Peace project in the kingdom of Lesotho, Africa. I’m now part of the team at BPW, where I’ve had the opportunity to do projects such as our Vanta trail, which we worked on with Red Bull and Laurie Greenland.”
With an amazing 49.5km of trails already in place at the park and plans to add another 50km, how does the planning process work? “First, we look at the gaps we have in our current network and work out what would benefit the park. This steers us in a certain direction and we can then take customer feedback and trail crew input, and narrow down the desired options,” Duncan explains. In-depth personal riding experience and monitoring also play a huge part in how the trails evolve. “The trail crew and
I are best-placed to see how the trails are used. We see which are the most popular, and which sections the riders are enjoying. This gives us an invaluable insight into what would benefit the park and our customers.”
An important part of the job is ensuring that every trail reflects its [ability] grading, to keep riders safe. “We have a pretty strict grading system, and we’ll decide what grade a trail will be given before construction even starts. This way, we have well-defined parameters to work from and a clear objective. It’s taken many years to refine our grading system. Mountain biking is inherently risky, and the ability to categorise a trail into a bracket of difficulty can’t be defined by only using someone’s level of skill.” Needless to say, there’s also a good amount of personality built into each track. “Trails will always evolve throughout the design and build process,” Duncan says. “The initial idea will develop and grow, and things like ground conditions and the trail builder’s style will inevitability influence what’s built on the ground. It’s a very fluid process.”
Unlike most trail centres – which are government-owned and managed by Natural Resources Wales or similar – the Welsh bike parks are privately run. They have to adhere to strict guidelines when it comes to designing and building new trails. “Part of that is to consult with ecologists and archaeologists, to mitigate any adverse effects the trail might present,” Duncan explains. “It’s then a balancing act with the trail’s sustainability and its effect on the surrounding landscape. We use our experience and judgment when making these decisions, because each build is unique and will have different parameters to work within.”