I'm about to venture into a spot of trail building (established venue with all the access and landowner stuff sorted)
What are your top tips or pearls of wisdom for designing a line to build?
What do you love to see on a man-made trail, and what do you hate?
What makes a good technical climb? should it all be singletrack, or is an occasional fireroad section good for a breather?
Dave
So much is going to depend on how much use the trail is going to get, the soil type, the sideslope etc.
I help build trails in the US, which are shared trails, hiking/biking and hiking/biking/equestrian, so we go for a full on, bench cut to mineral soil to give a sustainable base. We generally follow the IMBA methods in [url= http://www.imba.com/catalog/book-trail-solutions ]this[/url] book, but it is quite pricy. Most of the techniques can be boiled down to, keep water from settling on the trail, and keep water from flowing down the trail.
this is going to be for bikes only, and fairly light use (just our club).
The soil is quite sticky clay, it seems to drain fairly well, but when it is wet it is really slippery. I think bench cutting is going to be necessary for a lot of it (particularly the climbs) because the slope angle is quite steep.
Most of the land is covered with mature trees and dense hawthorn and brambles, which we'll clear as necessary. The hawthorn we clear should provide all the wood we need for building up retaining walls and berms. I'm not sure yet whether we're going to be allowed to put any stone down to armour the trail - some of the climbs will be *interesting* without something to add some grip!
Drainage is a good point, I'll keep that in mind.
Dave
Find a trail motorbike and use that to mark your trail. Probably wont go down well but its really handy! Theres also a new drainage material which is good. ImBA will put you onto it. Dig sumps as well at the worst points - about 4ft deep,fill half full with rocks and backfill. Also a powerbarrow is really useful. Also do your best to utilise every natural feature you can. I found IMBA to be good for details on grants and the like as well. Give them a call. Best of luck.