‘Stellar’ season for users of The Railyard despite wacky weather
TRURO - With wacky winter weather since the new year, The Railyard users and groomers in Truro have constantly been on their toes adjusting to changing trail conditions.
But volunteer groomers Aaron Tooker, Keith Gillis and Mike Knowlton “can’t complain,” with “stellar riding day and night.” Park users have also been loving a new trail with seven bridges built last summer by the town crew.
“I don't think I've ever seen people in the park that didn’t have a smile on their face,” said Tooker. “I can't remember seeing somebody that was grumpy.”
‘IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME’
The parking lots are becoming fuller and fuller each year as popularity surges, proving that efforts to grow the park as a year-round destination for bikers, hikers and skiers have been a success. As well, the groomers only see the fat biking sport getting bigger.
The best day of the season was a rare 'free ride day' where the snow conditions were so that bikes could essentially float anywhere on top of the snow, even offtrail in the woods. Knowlton had a group from Halifax and recalled “a lot of smiles that day.”
And as COVID restrictions subside, community opportunities open up again. Coming back soon are Hub Cycle’s popular Monday Night Hikes for the first time since November 2020. Beginner fat bike clinics, led by Knowlton, recently restarted.
On Feb. 26, lots of people came out to enjoy the sunny day after a fresh snowfall, with some participating in 'Johnny’s Big Park Adventure' looking for different spots as part of a chance to win prizes in Truro’s Winter Long John Festival. Stephanie Miles and Darlene Marshall had their crampons (traction picks) on and were enjoying the day with Mile's Golden Irish retriever.
“It's just so free, it's so beautiful, there’s snow on the trees ... there’s something for everybody,” said Stephanie Miles.
Knowlton said they were out grooming the entire morning and constantly taking pictures of the blue skies and crisp snow, remarking that it was cold, but “you don’t even notice it.” A friend commented that people down in the sunny south “don’t know what they’re missing.”
“COVID’S been tough on a lot of people, it's challenged people in different ways, and the outdoors has always been something we've been able to do throughout COVID,” said Knowlton. “So if we can open this up so that in winter that people can actually get out, have a little bit of a mental break and enjoy the outdoors, and if that's their freedom for an hour, or two hours, or three hours or 10 hours, that's success."
COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY
Grooming is a bit of a game.
They were, fortunately, able to get a base established early on in the season, meaning after a storm, it mainly only requires snow removal.
And it is a lot of work – some days, the volunteers put in anywhere from three to 12 hours as they clear snow and drag tires leaving corduroy tracks. Last season's conditions were more consistent, requiring fewer outings on the groomer, but they are up to the challenge.
“We're all volunteers, but realistically, we're just three selfish fat bikers that want to be able to set our trails up so that we can go ride them ... kind of makes it all fun because we don't have anybody to blame if the trails aren't good,” said Knowlton.
The three collaboratively owned Snowdog groomers are doing well, with town support providing regular maintenance. Some fundraising money from Bike Truro jerseys has helped as well.
And the community support is tremendous. Within minutes of throwing up a post for modifications to Babushka, one of the groomers, and warm clothing for Gillis, who was getting cold, donations poured in from community members. And it’s not uncommon for people to bring up lunch and hot drinks after a cold and long morning.
Community snowshoers also give support by coming out in droves in response to callouts for assistance packing down the trails. Some important advocacy pieces to ensure trail safety and quality include sharing the trail respectfully, keeping the bike track free of foot holes or 'boot bombs' and not riding if the tires will sink.
FAMOUS TRIO
“The groomers are absolutely the best,” said Marshall, who co-ordinates Women on Wheels. “They volunteer their time completely. They're up here early morning all day, late at nigh t and they make sure the trails are awesome for all of us to use, whether we're fat biking, snow, snowshoeing, hiking, everything. They make sure it's there for us.”
The volunteers are quite well known in the Bike Truro Facebook group and Instagram page, where realtime updates are shared on the trail conditions. And feedback has helped them learn how to optimize grooming.
“Their Facebook Live videos are amazing,” said Miles. “They're good entertainment – better than cable TV. And it's so awesome to see the woods from their perspective,"
The trio recently appeared on The Mountain Bike Connection Podcast, which covers the fast-growing recreational activity in Atlantic Canada. The experience has them pondering creating their own podcast as another vehicle of communication regarding fat biking. Although they compete with other mountain biking destinations across the Maritimes, other parks do not compare for fat biking.
“I think today a lot of people want to know what people are doing, like do-ityourself videos, people want to learn stuff,” said Gillis. “And if they can find a little bit of insight into what we're doing, instead of just looking at the final product, then that helps the community, helps them spread the word and realize OK, these guys are doing this for a reason. Or maybe ‘I can help out.’”