Black Rock Build Day
January 11, 2025
We couldn't have asked for a better day to be out in the woods in mid-January. Usually the opener would read something like; "60 intrepid souls braved nearly freezing, wet conditions to help re-imagine the beloved Granny's Kitchen trail." In reality, we had balmy (well, balmy for January) and dry conditions all day that allowed for a lot of digging, trail maintenance and some afternoon shredding.
We had the opportunity to sit down with Matt Lund after the event and talk about all things BRMBA and what he is looking forward to at the trail system in 2025 and beyond.
Cascade Bikes: So for people who don't know, what is your official title with Black Rock Mountain Bike Association?
ML: I'm the Black Rock Mountain Bike Association President.
Cascade Bikes: What does that job entail?
ML: I oversee the trail system and the creative vision, it's a lot of hats. Actually, I oversee building work, creative vision, I'm the liaison between the land manager and the trail system, I try to progress the trail system like the sign off on, you know, stuff getting done really, and then I gotta keep fundraising going and keep things moving forward, I guess, yea (--)
Cascade Bikes: Who owns the land that the trail system is on?
ML: The Oregon Department of Forestry.
Cascade Bikes: Looking back on 2024, What do you think were the big highlights for the trail system?
ML: The big highlights for the year 2024 were seeing the near completion of rebuilding all of the existing trails. The Black Rock trail crew has been working really hard to rebuild those existing trails, through tying a lot of the existing trails together to hopefully improve flow and continuity throughout the trail system. It is really exciting to see everyone work so hard to have that all come together. Another highlight was seeing so many people out enjoying the trails that we have been working on. This hard work prepares the Black Rock system so that we can move on to building new trails, which we have been planing for. We started building new trails to a new parking lot at the end of 2024 and will continue to be over the next few years as well as finishing rebuilding the last few sections of existing trails in the network.
There have been a lot of highlights for 2024! Highlights include getting Player Slayer, Sunday Stroll, and Break Check running from the top of the mountain down to Socialist Valley, getting into Granny's Kitchen and rebuilding it from the top down to now below the Cliff Drop as we are in Grannies doubles now, completing rebuilds on Bonsai Downhill and Sickter Gnar. Another highlight was getting the okay, from ODF to start working on a bunch of new trails leading to Black Rock’s future parking lot.
Yes, a big, huge thing is that we have gotten a new parking lot and it has been graded and gated and is ready for gravel. Through some luck and perseverance, right place, right time, we got a parking lot started! Huge thanks to the Oregon Department Of Forestry for that. This parking lot will open up new trails and experiences for riders. We are pretty excited really.
Cascade Bikes Would you say that it's pretty normal to have three years of trail building plans going?
ML: So, when I came on, I think 2020 or 2021, I really wanted to see Black Rock grow into the future. The first thing I did was work with ODF to create a master plan that would help guide the place over 5-10 years. My goal with that plan was was to establish a new parking lot, build new trails, and rebuild the trails on the mountain. These endeavors would hopefully create more longevity, and experiences for the trail system as well as reduce potential conflict with Camp Tapawingo because right now, you have to ride through the summer camp to get up to the trails. I wanted to try to expand the trail system to provide more trails for more people. You’ve got to have a plan. You can't just say, “Oh, I'm going to do this” and then just start jumping in blindly. Also, ODF, the Oregon Department Forestry really likes a good, solid plan, so that they know what we're doing and there's less questions back and forth. I think it just helps me too with goals and passing/ prioritization
I like direction and knowing where I'm going, right? It makes it easier. So, yeah, I think it's good to have three years or more planned out!. I think sometimes it's not normal to have that in a trail system, but right now, in the current chapter of Black Rock, that's where we're at.
Cascade Bikes: It seemed like everyone was a little surprised with the turnout (to the build day) in January. Obviously we had pretty nice weather, so that probably helped, but how many volunteers do you normally see down there for trail days in a normal year?
ML: Yeah, so that was kind of an anomaly, but it was a fun anomaly, it was awesome to see so many people out wxcited about the Black Rock Trails and wanting to be part of it’s evolution. It was more like a trail day/work party, and I'm all for that. Normally we see about 20 to 30 volunteers, and if the weather is bad, about 12 to 20 volunteers. The size doesn't necessarily matter, it's the people who show up. We always get a lot of work done, and it's always fun. I want to accommodate big or small numbers, right? It was super fun, really cool and energizing to see all these people show up to do something that we're all interested in.
Cascade Bikes: What other dig days do you have on the calendar right now?
ML: There are scheduled volunteer community dig days scheduled the second weekend of the month, on Saturday, every month from November until May. We normally take a break during the summer months to ride bikes and plan out or next build season
Cascade Bikes These days obviously takes a lot of organizing. How do you go about deciding what projects you're going to do on public dig days?
ML: So I like to pick out projects for the volunteer build days far in advance. Normally in September or October, when I start gearing up to do these public build days, I try to figure out where I feel the energy in the mountain, [where] it will be most needed and used at different times in the year. I think about the weather, where different projects will be in terms of completion so could use volunteer help. It helps to try and pick projects that are ready for people to get into so generally we try and do a lot of prep work to get the project ready for the volunteer build day beforehand.
Right now the Black Rock Dig Crew is doing prep work on trail new trail extending BDH and SG. Our trail crew did prep work on Granny's doubles before we got in there last weekend, so that we could get a lot of hand work completed. The volunteer building days allow us to get a ton done quickly so that we can finish that section we are working on a lot faster than if we worked solo, due to the people that show up. We try to strategize like that. BRMBA loves the energy and output that volunteers bring and accomplish.
BRMBA is planning another volunteer build day on February 8th, we're hoping to be working on, new Sickter Gnar extension, new Banzai Downhill extension, and the new climbing trail which will bring riders back to Basic Training. We're prepping right now for that. We're clearing brush and trying to get it all ready to go, so when people get in there, they know where to go, and they know what to do.
Cascade Bikes What do you think the average rider doesn't understand about the whole [trail building] process, especially if you're dealing with The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife or Department of Forestry?
ML: A lot of people just think that, due to the ease that they see, that we can just go anywhere and build trails at Black Rock. That's not the case. These trails have been planned for years now, and we're just now seeing the active act of clearing the corridor and making the trail. The work of making those trails, I guess a reality, takes a lot more time and planning and a lot of meetings and a lot of back and forth. That's always something to think about.
The more people who come out, we're always super appreciative of all the volunteers that come out. It stokes us all out, and also it gives you ownership of your trail system.
Cascade Bikes You mentioned a couple projects, do you have one project in 2025 you're most looking forward to?
ML: We're really trying to tie all the mountain together and get us going downhill towards the new parking lot. That's something I'm very excited about, and we're starting to do it right now. Our next trail build day will be, you know, going down and extending Sickter and Bonsai down to the southeast part of Mount Brown, which is in the direction of the parking lot. Which is really, really exciting for me. You know, a childhood dream becoming or, a young biker-me dream becoming true, which is really cool. I think a lot of people have held that dream as well.
A more personal dream line is a trail on the northwest side of the mountain, that we have gotten the okay to start working on. I'm very excited about working on that trail, it should be a technical, rock heavy, more sinewy type trail.
Cascade Bikes That might touch on my next question, but do you have any other dream projects at Black Rock?
ML: Well, at Socialist Valley, there are two new enduro style trails planned that will come down to the parking lot, along with a few more trails below. Sickter Gnar and Banzai Downhill will extend all the way down to the parking lot. There'll be some top to bottom runs per say and then there'll be some mid mountain enduro type trails that you can access from Social Valley down, which will really provide a lot more dynamic experience for riders. I am excited that we will be creating these new trails with more of an enduro style to kind of balance out the awesome jump lines that you see a lot of at Black Rock.
Cascade Bikes What's the best way for people to support the trail system down there?
ML: There are a lot of ways, go ride the trails, come out on a dig day, or if we're doing a fundraiser, put some money in. You'd be amazed at how a bunch of individual $10 or $30 donations adds up. A bunch of individuals making dreams a reality, right? And with that said,, we're a fully volunteer organization, and our fundraising goes directly to helping the trails.
Really, everything helps. Showing up matters, donating matters, riding the trails matters. BRMBA is really excited right now about seeing Black Rock grow and expand into its next evolution. We really appreciate all the folks who have been making these changes reality.
Cascade Bikes: A couple of quick personal questions. How long have you been mountain biking for?
ML: Oh, boy, I started mountain biking when I was like 12 or 13 while growing up in Dallas, Oregon. I got a random Mongoos BMX bike for my 12th birthday. Shortly after, I was going home from school while riding the BMX bike in front of a retirement village, someone pulled out from the retirement village and accidentally tried to run me over. I luckily hopped up on top of the guy's hood but he ran the BMX bike over. Long story short, the bike was totaled and the guy felt bad. I went back to the bike shop, and they were all out of the Mongoose’s, and all they had was mountain bikes, and I got a yellow Trek 830 and started using it to go fishing.
One evening while returning from fishing, I saw these guys in tight fitting clothes coming out of the woods riding a bunch of blue full suspension Cannondales. I was like, What the heck are they doing? And they were all dirty. I thought it looked pretty cool. I asked them what they were doing and they told me riding bikes down trails. They said, “Yeah, there's trails right up the road”. And so I went out a few days later with tight fitting long johns and stuff to emulate their spandex radness and discovered those trails and had an absolutely fun time mountain biking. Good old Treefort and Tanglewood!
Cascade Bikes Do you remember your first trip to Black Rock?
ML: So when I was a kid, a few friends and I would get one of our moms to drop us off and than ride our bikes to the top of the Mount Brown before there were any legit mountain biking type trails there, and then, stash our bikes at the top of the mountain, hiking down to the reservoir on the opposite side of the mountain and go fishing and then we would come back and up and over the hill and get our bikes and go flying down these old motorcycle trails that existed then, and then have our mom pick us up back up. It was pretty fun. That was probably some of my first memories at Black Rock.
Cascade Bikes Do you have an all time favorite bike that you've ridden at Black Rock?
ML: Either a Rocky Mountain RM6 or Rocky Mountain RMX.
Cascade Bikes What do you think is the best running trail out of the trail system right now?
ML: I mean, they're all running really well right now! Banzai is running really, really well. The excavator work to make those really cool doubles on the bottom end of Banzai is top notch. Player Slayer/Sunday StrollBreak Check is running very well, from a progressive jump line perspective. Honestly, it's hard to say, because I like them all and think they are all running good. I’m really proud of all the talented hard work all the builders have put in to make this place what it collectively is.The trails wouldn’t be running without them!