Winter Woes

Build a Neighborhood Rut Track With the Local Crew

Words & Photos by Drew Rohde // Video by “Sports” Doug Jambor

Sad we know, but the awful truth is, that winter is here. If you’re not one of those powder-hounds praying for snow then these dark months can be downright depressing. In an effort to have some fun cornering practice ourselves and to inspire the our readers to embark on their own undertaking, we got together a few riding buddies who live a couple miles from a little park behind the Wolf Den.

Cameron McCaul, Carson Storch and Kyle Jameson may not be the usual neighborhood riding crew, but rest assured, you can have just as much fun with a little bit of creativity and work! With a box of donuts and rakes in hand we pedaled down the street, ready to cause some ruckus.

You Don’t Need Much

After watching this video you may think how special this track is, or that these guys are pro riders and can make anything look good, or any number of other excuses. The truth is, this track is a blast for beginners and pros alike! That’s the beauty of a project like this. You can quickly, and easily create a training ground, practice zone and neighborhood race circuit that will be just as fun for local groms as it is for world-renowned pros.

Our initial track consisted of just 5 turns and one double that must have been built by some local 12-year-olds and left for dead. The beauty of something like this is, it doesn’t even take a lot of space. A straight line from start to finish measured less than 150 feet in length, but thanks to the tight corners, race times were in the high twelve’s and the fun level was off the chart. Both Cam and Carson bested our personal best times by over half a second. Cam now has the track record at 12.73 seconds and we suspect a few locals will be making some secret laps to see if they can beat his time, ourselves included.

During our morning session we had a few visitors. Everything from young families to a couple friendly old ladies walking their dogs came by and smiled as we railed corners and hooted in the trees. Good dirty fun was had by all, and in just a couple hours we had axle-deep ruts that now lie in wait for the next session.

Don’t just take our word for it! Grab a couple buddies, find your rakes and go ride in your own rut track. Get creative and throw in some odd turns that may not flow just right or force you to get on the pedals hard. This training will make you a better rider. Having odd corners is also a great way to build strength opposed to an easy, rhythmic slalom-style course.

Be sure to tag us in your trail work photos and use the hashtags #loamwolftrailcrew #thankfulfortrails for a chance to win our Thanksgiving prize below.

Thanks to DrinkTanks and Maxxis Tires for the awesome prizes.