Wild Coast Trails Association

The 2nd Annual “Ride the Dirt Wave” is coming to us Saturday, July 20th and Sunday July 21st!

If you are interested in volunteering for one of the available positions (guides, race course marking/pre-riding, marshals, etc.), we ask that you head over to the sign up sheet today and reserve your spot. Please do not remove others from their position on the sheet – they have already been confirmed.

RtDW Volunteer Sign Up Sheet

For all of the details, schedule, registration (you must register to race or ride!) – head over to the RtDW – Whiskey Run Website. This includes details on the 7 Devils Saturday Gnomewrecker IPA re-release party with food and live music!

Below is the Volunteer Guide previously shared out via email with all of the pertinent details you will need if you are volunteering/thinking about volunteering.

Please plan to arrive 15-10 minutes early to check in with Zack Martin at the Main Parking lot (link for location here) for more detailed instructions and to receive the necessary materials.

The road will be closed Saturday from 8am until 4pm.  Please let the road attendants know you are working the event.

Please bring everything you need for a day outside- water, sunscreen, layers, food (there will be some for purchase from Robin’s Nest food truck), comfortable shoes or your biking gear.  If you have a Wild Rivers Coast MTB Club t-shirt, please wear it so everyone knows who the volunteers are. 🙂

Saturday After-Party at 7 Devils Brewing – come to 7 Devil’s Brewery for our Post-Ride Party & Gnomewrecker IPA re-launch!

• Where: 7 Devils Brewery & Taphouse – 247 S 2nd St, Coos Bay, OR 97420
• When: Saturday, July 20^th @ 5:30pm

Role Specific Information:

GUIDES:

Please be prepared to ride and assist with any small on-trail mechanicals or human bumps/scratches. Repair items/tools, small 1st aid-kit is a plus.  Please bring extra water or snacks in case of clients “bonking.”  Make sure your bike is tuned and functioning.

Guides must register for Saturday event at thedirtwave.com (direct link to event) to sign liability waiver and track participation.  Guides will enter a special code to get free registration. Please reach out to [email protected] if you plan to volunteer so you can receive this code.

Remember: this ride is for the clients to experience the best of Whiskey Run in their skill-set.  This is not a ride for you.  Please make sure the ride is accommodating for the group level.

• Beginner riders stick to green and easy blue trails and go a slow pace, waiting and assessing at each intersection. 
• Intermediate riders please enjoy green and blue trails at a slightly faster pace than a beginner ride, but again – waiting at intersections and making sure everyone is comfortable. 
• Advanced riders will assess the group- perhaps splitting into 2 depending on number – for those that want to experience jumps or those that want to crush the miles in a more enduro style.
  • Advanced riders will enjoy green, blue, and black trails with options for Down-The-Hatch…. This is a great opportunity for pre-ride, re-ride and rip!

ROAD CREW:

Please bring a chair for your shift, or consider sitting in the bed of your pick-up truck. Also I suggest an umbrella or big sun hat for shade as the roadside closure locations are in the sun. Payment will be made at the end of your shift when you check back in at Registration.

MARK RACE COURSE or COURSE PRE-RIDE (Sat) & COURSE MARSHALS (Sun):

Bring your bikes and riding gear, 1st-aid kits (marshals), extra water.

OTHER VOLUNTEERS:

More details and directions will be given at Registration Check-in by Zack Martin.

Bring your smiles!

We’re excited to announce our “Member’s Meeting & Social” event Saturday, April 13 @ 2:00pm at 7 Devils Brewery & Tap Room (thanks Carmen for the space!!)

Unlike a typical board meeting, the Member’s Meeting will have some updates on new trails & initiatives, information on grants received, and fun things coming. This is designed to be more of a conversation than the “download” of a board meeting.

We encourage folks from the community to come join us and hear from the board but also socialize with other mountain bikers. Especially if you’re new to the area, come meet your local IMBA chapter!

Hey Whiskey Run Riders!  

The past few days have been a preview of spring at Whiskey Run!  Overall the trails are riding great and some dedicated volunteers have been keeping blown culverts, downed trees and muddy sections open and rideable.  Hope you got out and rolled some dirt this weekend!

There’s another atmospheric river bearing down on the region this week.  So consider waiting until things can dry out again before riding on any of the trails.  Our trails are doing an absolutely amazing job in handling the traffic and rain from this year’s El Nino winter.  It’s always good to check on conditions before you ride.  

If you didn’t know, there’s a RAWS weather station on the county forest where you can see daily 1, 3, 6 and 24hr precip levels as well as seasonal and yearly totals (Thanks NOAA!)  We use this for trail work planning and trail management.  It’s called the 7 Mile Creek site (https://www.weather.gov/wrh/timeseries?site=SMCO3).  If the precip levels reach over .5″ in 24 hours, you should consider bagging your ride and go do something else (maybe ride the dunes?)  That’s just sound stewardship.

Luckily, for both our Whiskey Run and Winchester Trail systems,  precip levels in the county forest have been significantly lower than areas to the immediate south.  

The seven mile creek station has received less than half the precip than port orford, 35 miles to the south.  Still, 21 inches of rain since Jan 1 is a lot.  And we have to be a bit skeptical about that “half” the rain because we don’t know if the loging and removal of trees (due to timber harvest) has created potential for windblown precip to not drop in the RAWS collectors.  Still, it’s a lot of water.  

A note about the classic side:

The majority of the south side trails were riding great, especially those in the clear cuts.  As expected, anything in the woods was a little greasy but overall riding superb.  I do want to touch on a couple of areas where we ran into significant standing water and why the trails will not be rerouted or adjusted.  I’m talking about Captain Blacklock and a short portion of Sir Lancelot.  

The trail tread in these problem areas is still hard and rideable.  Keep riding straight through them.  The issue isnt the trail or the routing, it’s the water table.  This is a rainforest less than a mile from the ocean.  On winters with big precipitation the water table perches and there’s just nothing a sump drain, lead off ditch or gravel would do to improve this.  The last time these areas had similar issues was spring 2018.  That was after an impressively wet 2016/2017 winter followed by another wet winter of 2017/2018 during phase 1 construction.  These 2 trails traverse areas of former marine terraces with a soil locally called Blacklock.  It’s the same stuff the cranberry growers flood and work on.  Great for flooding, poor for draining.  We found the best option was to let the water sheet flow, or try and wait it out.  Ditches, corduroy and turnpiking works for most winters, but in years like this, when the water table rises significantly, there’s just not much we can do.  Ride on through and don’t deviate! Any minor muddiness or tracking can be easily smoothed later.

It’s one of those years that in some locations you could poke the ground with your finger and get the flow of a garden hose.  Still, our trail conditions are great overall.  We’re looking forward to a wonderful spring riding season, and putting together our worklist for future trail work parties! See you out there!