Mid-State: Burchfield

[xcrdr]

You guys could rebuild this bad boy

That was fun to ride. Even more challencging was the downed tree in the background. It was not designed as a stunt but if you rode in the opposite direction you could ride right up on it. Biggest problem is you had to wheelie drop off the side and it was a pretty good drop. I have an old video of my son doing it and ramming his seat into his man parts. Ouch!

[Paul_D]

That was before my time riding, I thought that downed tree was supposed to be apart of it!

In that case lets build one of these!

[xcrdr]

If you look on the right of the picture that was the entrance. You had 3 options. Go right on the long ladder, straight off the down ramp or left on a shorter ladder with a little drop. The tree in the background was not a stunt but every time we went there we said what if so one day we did it. It was about a 3 and a half foot drop. The great thing about the stunt was you could practice getting up the ramp and roll off the end then move on to doing the other directions. We had to build on our skills back then!

[xcrdr]

Some older BF shots. Hope you don't mind.
This one used to be a little log jump right before the skinny that's on the left leading to Dragons Claw.


This one is right next to the road exiting to Riverbend lot, it's after the a frame when you get to the top of the small hill and take a left. That small dip on the downhill used to be bigger. The runout at the bottom used to be much shorter. To me, that makes these 2 pics really impressive. Take a look next time you ride that section. That is a lot of air for no suspension and no transition.





These shots are the a frame in the same section. I didn't ride it exactly like this.





This is a plank jump that used to be on one of the downhills.



Since it's not trail conditions I can move the post. Just thought BF riders might like to see them

[jonw9]

There is all sorts of good stuff that could be built here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=98212

Like everything else, you can volunteer to come out and build stuff, or wait for somebody else to build it. The "playground" at Anderson is a great example of that.

[gtrowbridge]

There is all sorts of good stuff that could be built here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=98212

Like everything else, you can volunteer to come out and build stuff, or wait for somebody else to build it. The "playground" at Anderson is a great example of that.

Jeff, jonw9, what happened to all this stuff? Did it fall apart and then not get replaced or did the county/state say it was too dangerous and it had to be removed? Curious....
How long ago was this?

[jonw9]

The stuff in the linked video I posted was someplace else.

Many items at Burchfield deteriorated over time. Some were removed (articulating features).
I am not sure what happened to Kentaro's feature.

I think the county has been very accepting of proposed features. There are some minor limitations, but an idea that is brought forward via the proper channels is generally approved. This is not 12 pages of documentation, rather a sketch and a location given to the TC so he can show it to the park people.

Not to continue to beat the drum, but a lot has to do with upkeep, volunteers willing to build/maintain items. There are always a lot more wiling riders than willing workers.

[xcrdr]

Old school building on existing logs and downfall just didn't last in some cases. I like alot of what Refuge has done. It would worry me a bit to have the elevation of some of the stunts. The skinnies that are 2 feet or so off the ground are just as fun for most riders and the risk of injury isn't as high.

[jonw9]

Old school building on existing logs and downfall just didn't last in some cases. I like alot of what Refuge has done. It would worry me a bit to have the elevation of some of the stunts. The skinnies that are 2 feet or so off the ground are just as fun for most riders and the risk of injury isn't as high.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that aspect. Another stunt was taken offline last year because the fallen tree it was built upon would no longer hold a nail or screw, and things were getting cobbled together.

Yes, the height is a bit much on some features out there. Honestly, I would ride around many of those shown because the penalty for mistakes is a bit more than I am willing to risk. However, something like the "Dragon's back" would be super fun on Swamp Thing. Agreed that 9' is too much, but making some undulating boardwalk would be cool.

[TenSpeed]

I would like something high, but not that skinny. I would be willing to help with this.

[Steve_Balogh]

Decided to ride a trail I haven't done in several years on Labor Day today. Good shape, everything was pretty dry, the few mud puddles didn't amount to anything. Hard to remember, but I'm thinking there's more trail now than the last time I rode Burchfield. Enjoyed.

[jonw9]

Decided to ride a trail I haven't done in several years on Labor Day today. Good shape, everything was pretty dry, the few mud puddles didn't amount to anything. Hard to remember, but I'm thinking there's more trail now than the last time I rode Burchfield. Enjoyed.

I thought that was you gearing up the Fatbike when I was out there. About 4 of us were delivering bridge beams for Swamp Thing.
There is some new field, and reroutes added within the last year.

Send me a PM before you come over next time, and I will come over and ride with you.

PS, let me know when you get the video that you shot uploaded. Thanks!

[AllMountin']

Forgot to mention that I rode Reid's new stunt on Sunday evening. I tried it blind and ended up stopping on top of it, not wanting to endo. Went back and ran it clean the 2nd time, without issue. I found the steep exit to be just fine and it works well with the little tree slalom there.

Nice job Reid. Very professional stuff.

Things overall aren't bad out there. I think we can have the place shipshape without too much work in time for the TT...

[Steve_Balogh]

Decided to ride a trail I haven't done in several years on Labor Day today. Good shape, everything was pretty dry, the few mud puddles didn't amount to anything. Hard to remember, but I'm thinking there's more trail now than the last time I rode Burchfield. Enjoyed.

I thought that was you gearing up the Fatbike when I was out there. About 4 of us were delivering bridge beams for Swamp Thing.
There is some new field, and reroutes added within the last year.

Send me a PM before you come over next time, and I will come over and ride with you.

PS, let me know when you get the video that you shot uploaded. Thanks!

Thanks! Was a spur of the moment thing, I also was debating Ionia, but I left too late to make it worthwhile. Burchfield was closer, plus I really explored Burchfield as much as possible. All the climbs were doable by the Fatbike, got some good vids of the rock gardens along the river.

[jonw9]

Things overall aren't bad out there. I think we can have the place shipshape without too much work in time for the TT...

We are having a trail day this Saturday, 9 am at Riverbend to start getting things in order. We will need to do some work getting the bridges together once the park moves them into place, and start the cleanup.

Bring your bike and some pruners, and you can just ride along the trail clearing debris and face slappers.