Digging in the Dirt: Building the Slalom Play Loop

Experiences in the saddle often begin with dirt.  And so it is dirt we begin with here.

Building of trails is essential for mountain bikers' experiences.  The Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) has built miles of trails in the forests and eastern mountain slopes of the Cascades.  Phil's Trail network has become so well known that mountain bike magazines will often publish Bend in the same sentence with Moab -- the true Mecca of western mountain biking.  Single track mountain biking has helped place Bend on the radar of bikers across the West and beyond.  "You're from Bend, oh, you mountain bike," is as common an association with place and lifestyle as Utah and Mormons. 

There is more to Bend mountain biking than buff, winding trails through Ponderosa and manzanita.  Dirt jumping and free-riding is growing in popularity here like so many other places.  Bend is between Moab and Whistler in this, where just one style does not a population make.

Jim Karn, member of COTA, has built a very particular trail to suit the desire for dirt jumping. His baby is the Slalom Play Loop, developed over the last six years on the land formerly occupied by a rail road track cutting through the forrest along Skyliner.  Jim approached Deschutes County Forest management with his vision of trail building.  He would maintain the forest, re-plant trees, control noxious weeds, and act as an environmental steward.  And he would build two parallel down-hill trails a half-mile in length stacked with a variety of jumps, table-tops, gaps, rhythm sections, and tight banking berms.  

He has kept his promise of stewardship, and after thousands of hours of work over the years (his own estimate) the Slalom loop is a masterpiece of adrenaline art.  The two trails (and a third uphill return trail) contain features so well built riders are limited by only their own ability.  Jumping and banking and fast peddling become one very rhythmic downhill dance. 

What riders may not notice right away is the subtly Jim and fellow COTA volunteer James Reigner have made in building the Slalom.  It's not just jumps on reclaimed land, but it is a sustainable vision they have built.  They have carved out erosion trails, and have been active in re-planting and protecting trees, and maintain the area so that is a finely sculpted acknowledgment of environmental stewardship.  

I met them recently as they had closed off the trail to maintain an erosion drainage and rebuild the the lower, easier loop.  With shovels and Bobcat, Jim Karn was more interested in work than talking about it.  When I asked why he has spent some much time and dedication on this trail, he simply shrugged the question off:  "if I didn't no one would.  Plus, I ride what I build, so I want it perfect."  

For James Reigner, building trails is stewardship.  "It's not just riding," he told me, "it's respect for the forest and the trail.  It makes the ride more important when you are part of the landscape."  Putting shovel to dirt can't get any more close to the landscape, let alone planting trees, maintaining the trail, and controlling weeds.  

The ride is about being part of the landscape, about expressing yourself in the saddle, and, most importantly, offering something for others to experience.  Though the Slalom Play Loop seems to be merely a short stunt course, it is much more.  It is a vision, it is personal sacrifice, and its an example of promises kept.  It is the Ride.