Monday, June 29, 2009

trails etiquette 101........no dig=no ride

It's mid winter, dig'in is on, if ya into trails that is...or bitching that d parks & streets r 2 wet to ride? Build some trails then man! Cheers heaps to all the dirty loyal trail loving diggers...you know who u are, is the NZ trail scene on the rise? The trails have always been here, just low key! Who the fuck cares & who's help'in? Who knows?.....So a few questions got put together by a digger 4 a digger so a few diggers around NZ & d world got to have their say on just how healthy/ill there scenes are ie trails of course & park/street.... unwritten laws & rules ie common sense ie NO DIG =NO RIDE. So i'm gonna start this off & start it local......with d owner/roaster/godfathermotodread of Stony Hills, so read & weap you slackers....even better wipe those tears & get involved, help build ya summer trail roast'in filled days to come! I wonder how much shit i'll get for this ......who cares, dig trails & start roast'in it up!

Henry D check'in d green, roll it roll in @ stony hills

1. NAME AND AGE? Henry Devereux, nearly 30!!!
2. BIKE ? yup
3. LOCAL SPOT -trails? Stony hills
- park?
4 .DESCRIBE THE WAY YOU RIDE IN ONE WORD? lazy

5. IS YA YOUR LOCAL SCENE IN GOOD SHAPE-PARK? WHAT ABOUT TRAILS? i don't really think we have a local trails scene,you need enthusiasm and crew to create a scene, that dosent exist in Dunedin, there's a few that go ride the park and seem to get satisfaction from that but trails wise....very minimal crew, they are there but you need a tug boat to get them to the trals!!

6. IF YOU COULD GO TO ANY SPOT IN THE WORLD TO RIDE WEAR WOULD IT BE-PARK? TRAILS? WHY? At the moment im feeling eatskull, eastside, the Austin thing looks good,from the photos and interviews anyway,good attitude.......contribute or fuck off!.Also Mark Potoczny's trails look good and then there's about 10'000 other spots in the US that don't come to mind at the moment ,of course the UK also have sum epic spots and then France/Spain and no doubt the rest of Europe have it tucked away as well im sure,so round the world ticket (trails edition) would suit me nice. Park wise,i don't really know,i guess Burnside always looked cool,all the different angles and stuff,would be cool to ride there.

mid way thru stony.

7. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY FEATURE YOU WANTED AT YOUR LOCAL PARK/TRAILS ,WHAT WOULD IT BE?feature? don't you mean features.........i dunno....a 20 pack would be fun! laughter

8. HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET YOUR SHOES MUDDY DIGGING? i probably dig 2 or 3 days a week in the winter and then as spring hits i try and step it up to 3/4 or 5 days,depends who around and who's kumming to visit, if the boys turn up we will get a couple of full-time weeks pushed in there,summer we try and ride as much as possible but when you live wear we live summer dosent necessarily mean its the best weather,i really enjoy spring and autum riding,if we get summer its a bonus.Basically my shoes are muddy!

9. DO YOU OWN YOUR OWN SHOVEL/SPADE?yup


10. WE ALL KNOW THERE IS HANDFUL OF WRITTEN/UNWRITTEN RULES OF ETIQUETTE SURROUNDING TRAILS PARTICULARLY,PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO THEM COMPARED TO CONCRETE......DO YOU BELIEVE THIS ETIQUETTE IS A GOOD THING? ie "NO CONTRIBUTION NO RIDE" OR THE IDEA OF "BREAK IT FIX IT" POLICY'S THAT ALLOT OF TRAILS HAVE IN PLACE........DOSE IT ENHANCE OR HINDER??
In a small town like Dunedin it hinders for sure because there is such a small amount of people willing to contribute, willing to give there own time up to dig, people just don't see it as an investment in there future, its kinda sad, but each to there own, if they are happy riding the same shit all the time then that's fine by me. What really surprises me is when the older guys are like that, i mean i understand the younger groms having no muscle or dedication to trails but the older guys are the ones that can make a scene grow and become better.
Ithink these rules are good if you have heaps of riders at the trails and riding them but if you are trying to get a set of trails going i think its risky because people flinch at being told to fix something, people flinch at hardwork! In saying that i'm all about these rules ,trails have to have etiquette, end of story!

11. WHAT IS YOU FAVOURITE TIME OF THE DAY TO RIDE? any times a good time


12. TYRES ON YOUR BIKE.....ALL ROUNDERS OR SPECIFIC?? I always have sum bite on the front,rear dosent seem to matter too much,something with a good casin, i guess they lean more to trails.

13. WHAT HAS BEEN CHALLENGING YOU LATELY?TRICKS? never really been a trick guy, laughter.....flatties,whips,ground chuckkers are good to have in the bag but im about the flo bro!

14. IF DUNEDIN GETS A NEW PARK,WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE COMPEERED TO THE OLD PARK?? a toilet for all the shit talking that goes on down there...laughter

15. IN YOUR OPINION, HOW COULD THE BMX SCENE BE MADE STRONGER LOCALLY? (skip if ya not in NZ if ya want or talk about ya scene were eva ya be) well to me,for there to be a strong local scene here in Dunedin,we really need people with a vision of how they want the scene to be,not that is something you can say"oh i want my scene to be like this or that" but i mean,its not just gunna drop out the sky,y ou have to be enthusiastic and nurture it,if its a new skate park you want the you have to fund raise and have jams and BBQs ,if its trails you wanna ride then you have to be prepared to lug a few barrow loads and make them grow into a place that's special to ride, that's what makes a scene strong, when people pull together and build a new line or landing or whatever, if sum one was to organise a jam down at the skate park, i would go and support it, drink a beer and do a skid or 2 even though i don't really ride park, because that's what a scene is, not "oh my footjam is sooo much better than yours" or "did you see my tailwackflip" to me that's just shittalkn. To have a good local scene at the trails, riders need to realize building trails is an investment, the hard work has to be done but the rewards outweigh the sweat 10 fold! The trails don't want your life, just a day a week will get it done .


16. LAST BUT NOT LEAST,I KNOW YOU LOVE RIDING TRAILS AND HAVE DONE ALOT OF DIGGING IN THE PAST,WHATS YOU RECOMMENDATION FOR RIDERS WANTING TO GET IN ON THERE LOCAL TRAILS,BUILDING AND RIDING,CAN YOU LIST 3 THINGS THAT YOU FEEL ARE IMPORTANT?
Well the first thing i think people have to realize is that if they are trying to get in on already existing trails,that means sum one has already done allot of work,so show respect! introduce yourself and let your intentions be know,i would recommend turning up with a shovel and soon after ,i would be bringing food or beer.Other than that,i think consistency is good,its all very well turning up and digging for a day,but people that really get shit done,they want to see you day after day or week after week,so if you decide you want to be part of the trails,i would recommend putting a couple of days per week aside for 1 month and if after that you are still into it,great and if not,well you gave it a decent shot.There is nothing worse than sumone digging for a day,then don't see them for months and then summer rolls round and they think they have a rite to ride.....i think this will piss most trail builders off. If you are into it but simply don't have the time to dig due to work or school or whatever then try donating sum tools,or something,ask whats needed,turn up with food and beer,keep it positive and just be stoked,i cant speak for anyone but myself but if you want to ride Stony Hill Trails ,follow this guideline and yall be aight.
I think people get confused about what is expected of them at trails,but really its simple.....trails need people to make them grow and become better trails, its not about who's the best rider or digger or trick guy or any of that shit,its about seeing it through,so come summer you have new,cool shit to ride....sure there are sum cold,wet days digging but this is what creates a scene,a crew.If you want in on you local trails this is a good realization to have.

3 comments:

Sean Burns said...

lol u mad. Ill be your friend if your really that desperate, just dont expect me to ride trails.

Anonymous said...

When building trails, I like to play with the balance of modern versus traditional, although I don't see myself as either. I feel this gives my work a tension that one cannot pinpoint.

TRUBMX said...

whoa Sean Burns call'in someone mad....com'in from a mad man it's all right tho! do street dawgs dig? I'll believe it when i see it haha keep kill'in those streets you beast!