SMP Freeride

Picture update from recent work

2011-11-14T16:56:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of the recent work over the weekend. We are really making some progress towards having a rideable loop. We have started on two bridges that needed to built before it can be ridden because they spanned very rocky unrideable sections of trail. Both are nearly completed. The one by the entrance just needs a few more rungs, and it will be good to go. This bridges has a cool "dirt topped" bridge that was made by building a box frame, filling it with rocks, and then topping it with dirt to finish it off. The other bridge is at the opposite end of the trail, and spans a small rocky ravine. All it needs is the rungs put on it. It will have some challenge to it due to the exposure on the right side. A big thanks to Doug and Tony for helping out on their day off, and to Brock and Sean for helping on Sunday.

Stay tuned for a big workday soon.

Picture update

2011-11-02T13:10:00.001-07:00

We have begun working on the features at the entrance to the trail. This is a bridge that you ride up to get to the trail that takes you to the drop zone. It incorporates some of the rocks we have all over out there.

Workday Sunday 10-23

2011-10-18T05:16:00.001-07:00

Workday this sunday from 3-6. We will working on a new feature near the entrance so we can connect the entrance with the drop zone. We'll be setting posts for a new bridge...and that means breaking rocks again. The good news is that this one isnt nearly as long or as extensive as the drop zone bridges. We also need to clean up the trail between the features. This involves some destaubing and a small bench cut section.

Bring gloves, mccleaod, pulaskis.

First Section Done!

2011-10-02T16:49:00.001-07:00

This section is finally done. It is NOT open to the public just yet though. We still have to get approval from the land manager before it can be officially opened. Basically what this is is an elevated ladder bridge going into a burm that splits into two seperate lines after the burm. One goes to a 5' drop to a transition, and the other goes to a 1-4' drop to a transition. Both lines have a down ladder so they can be rolled as well. The two drops lead into a table jump over a creek.

August Update

2011-09-14T05:51:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the work over the past month. The smaller drop is completed, and the bigger drop will be completed very soon. All that's left is some dirt work on the transitions, and this section can be ridden! Check back for pics of work on totally new features.

Picture update

2011-07-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

Some pictures of the recent work on the trail. It's getting really close to being rideable.

Impromptu Workday - 6-15-11

2011-06-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

When: 5pm(ish)
Where: Power line cut on Ogg Rd head East about 100 yards.
Bring: Safety glasses of some sort, gloves, drills, circular saw if you have it, water and heavy duty bug spray.

We'll be laying rungs (decking) on the drop zone and wooden berm. Contact Patrick or I for questions. See you there.

-Shannon

ERTA Workday Recap

2011-05-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Above: Jay, Kevin, Patrick, Pete, Nick, Joe, and Doug.

I'd like to thank everyone who came out to work and anyone who pitched in to make this trail day happen. I would call it a huge success. It took 12 or 13 men and one young man about 5 hours to do what 3 men have done in 2 months. There are pics here of the the progress and completed framing for the wooden berm and drop zone.

We'd like to thank the Shawnee Rotary Club again, for their generous grant, Timber King (portable saw mills) for their donation of rough cut timber.

Paul and Patrick working on the 5' drop.

Banked Berm coming in to drop zone.

Rocks from the post holes. Good thing we rented that demolition hammer.

The Drop Zone.

-Shannon

Workday This Saturday 5-14

2011-05-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

We are having an ERTA sponsored workday this Saturday starting at 8am. We are going to work on digging holes for the posts, framing, and putting the rungs on the first feature. There's a chance we might get to ride it when we're done. We're expecting a big turnout, and lunch will be provided. See you there!

Press Release about Shawnee Rotary Grant for SMP Freeride

2011-04-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

http://pressreleases.kcstar.com/?q=node/57623

If you haven't heard, ERTA was awarded $1,000 to put toward the SMP Freeride project by the Shawnee Rotary Club. This couldn't have come at a better time and thus has sparked conversations within ERTA regarding more funding. Great thanks goes out to Neale Shour for providing the opportunity to connect with the Shawnee Rotary Club, and to the Shawnee Rotary Club for providing us with this opportunity to expand this project and boost it into overdrive!

I'd also like to thank Ken Miner and Patrick for meeting up with them to explain who ERTA is, what they do and to receive the check.

Things are looking up gents', so if you aren't coming out to the trail days, you better hop on board because the ball is rollin'!!

With this money, Patrick and I will be purchasing a generator and a jack hammer to aid in the post hole digging as well as a couple 1/2" drivers for the wooden features. This should speed up the progress by about 3x and hopefully we'll have a drop zone, wooden berm, creek jump, and some other features to ride come Summer.

-Shannon

Pics from the Workday

2011-04-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

Picture Update

2011-04-13T10:43:00.001-07:00

Some pictures of the recent work over the past week. The elevated burm is close to being completed.

Pics from the weekend

2011-04-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

Some pics from the work this weekend. Started working on the elevated burm. The 4x4's and the 2x10 are just there for visual purposes now. The line is starting to come together.

Workday Report Sunday 3-27

2011-03-28T05:48:00.000-07:00

After last month's auger fail, and realizing that where we had planned on setting posts was a massive layer of bedrock about 6"-12" below the topsoil, we made some real progress yesterday. A couple weeks agao, I had the idea to try using a rock bar to break up the rocks in the holes. I wasnt even sure if that would work, but since we had exhausted every other option I was willing to give it shot. To my suprise, it actually worked, and worked quite well. I was able to get these two holes dug, and the post set. Took about 3 hours of digging through solid rock, but I had made progress.
See Shannon's post for the pics...

Fast foward to this past Sunday. With a renewed life in project, we went out Sunday, and got quite a bit done before the weather closed in on us. Yes that's snow in the end of March. Finally preliminary ladder bridge framing has begun!

Here's the pics.

2011-03-27T19:25:00.001-07:00

We had a very successful workday today. Things are finally starting to come together. I'll post pictures tomorrow. Thanks to Doug and Shannon for helping out

Patrick's Been Busy

2011-03-25T11:14:00.001-07:00

After a devastatingly disappointing workday late last month, any hope of progress in the near future was not evident by the fruits of our labor.

Today however, I received an email from Patrick with pictures of post holes surrounded by broken chunks of rock. Apparently he got an itch to give good ol' elbow grease a shot at getting through the bed rock that gave Western Electric's "mini auger" an old fashion butt whoopin.

So, we are heading out there again on Sunday, March 27, 2011, armed with post hole diggers and rock bars to show this thing who's boss. If you are available to help out and don't mind a little hard work, let one of us know and we'll get you details.

Here's what one man, a rock bar, and a post hole digger can do in a couple hours.

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Pics from the workday

2011-02-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

Didnt get as much done as planned, we ran into some problems when augering holes. Here's the two posts that we could get in the ground.

Stunt Building

2011-02-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

Construction of the ladder bridges and wooden features, that will really make this trail what it is, will begin Feb 19th. We'll be out there all day augering holes, and setting posts for the ladder bridges. Big things happening this year so check back for updates!

Quick Update

2010-12-09T14:15:00.001-08:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that this isn't dead. We got an amazing offer from a local mtb'r and trail builder to let us use some much needed equipment. Concrete doesn't set well in the Winter so I'm not sure when the next build day will be. Mark your calendars for the SMP Freeride ERTA workday on March 3rd, 2011.

End of the year equals people looking for tax write offs. If you or your company are looking for somewhere to drop charitable donations, please consider ERTA (earnyourdirt.org) and make sure to mention the SMP Freeride project as the recipient. All donations (money, materials, etc) are tax deductible.

Thanks,

-Shannon

Testing out the new jump

2010-10-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

Shannon and I testing out the new jump that an Eagle Scout built for us.

First Attempt

2010-10-04T09:50:00.001-07:00

Patrick on the first attempt at hitting the newly built bridge jump after doing some dirt work. Don't worry, the other attempts went over much better once the proper speed was established.

-Shannon

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First Feature Built!

2010-10-04T08:31:00.001-07:00

The first feature of the SMP Freeride area has been built. This is an intermediate level bridge/table top jump. Buttery smooth.

It was built by a local eagle scout and its burly! Thanks to JoCoPRD and the eagle scout (name to come) for getting this going.

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Getting things rolling

2010-06-18T11:31:00.001-07:00

Thanks to a donation from our friend, Jared Bayne, we will be buying lumber very soon. This will kick off the building of the features and stunts. Look for pictures and updates very soon.

Trail Update

2010-06-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

So according to Patrick, the corridor loop is finished. However, the trail is overgrown already and needs some love. We can most likely get the DR Mower out there one day soon, but we'll need someone to run it, and we need some help destaubbing the corridor that was cleared (that is, cutting the stumps out of the ground that are on the trail). This is tedious but can go really fast with one big showing of volunteers.

We'll try to post a trail day asap with as much advanced notice as we can give (weather permitting). Lets pull together and get this baby going full steam.

I am also creating a spreadsheet for supplied and resources that will be needed to start building features. Check it out and let me know if you see something I am missing.

If you, or anyone you know, has the ability to donate any of the resources on this list (or anything else that you think would be beneficial to this project) or you would like to donate some cash to purchase those resources, please let me know and I'll get you heading in the right direction. This is an ERTA project and I am pretty sure that all donations, whether cash, materials, or equipment, can be used for tax write-offs. So, ALL YOU COMPANY OWNERS AND BIG SHOTS, please consider this project if you are looking to give a charitable donation to an great local organization this year.

Thanks and here's that link to the spreadsheet. New Link To Spreadsheet

-Shannon

Workday this Saturday 5-15 8-12

2010-05-10T05:02:00.000-07:00

Workday this Saturday. I'd like to get a decent group out there to finish cutting in the trail so we can get moving on building the features. There's not too much left to cut in, but there are some very dense areas(of course)
Meet off OGG Rd next to the trail.

Bring Loppers, McCleods, Pulaski.

See you there.

We've got Wood!!!

2010-04-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Finally after months of coordination, emails, and phone calls, the lumber was delivered to the park yesterday afternoon. A big thanks to Kevin's dad for going out to Buckner Mo, to pick it up and bring it to SMP. Thanks also to Jeff at Great Southern Wood for donating the lumber. This is the first step in getting features built on the trail. We still need 8-10' long 4x4's and 2x6's so if you have any or know of any one that does please let us know.

We Need Your Help!

2010-03-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

The last trail day went well. 4 showed up but we got quite a bit done. Free coffee and Donuts for all. The boyscout came out to assess the land and see what he could do. He has agreed to build a wooden table top jump over the first creek crossing. He is even supplying the materials. Prety sweet. Could be a good contact for gaining more volunteers.

We found a beautiful area for some dirt jumps. The trail leads right into it and it's even on a dh run in. Can't really ask for more than that in this area.

Overall, we have some great idea's and a lot of opportunity to build some pretty sick stuff (compared to anything else in the Midwest). We need more dedicated volunteers. Freeriders, DH, Dirt Jumpers, XC riders, Urban folks, 20" riders, carpenters, landscapers, sponsors, equipment owners, etc. If you love to ride, just build cool stuff, or have any thing else that would benefit this park, we need your help.

Needs:

1. Truck, Trailer, and Time to haul lumber from Buckner to SMP. We have a mill that has offered to donate a large amount of treated lumber to ERTA. We have no way to get it out there and we pretty much have no funds as we are all volunteers. ERTA will give you what you need for a tax write off if you donate your time, equipment, and gas.

2. Skilled carpenters with tools. We plan to build a lot of wooden structures in this trail system. We need people who know how to swing a hammer, have experience building decks (most of what we build is very similar to building a deck), have pneumatic, electric and battery operated tools (saws, drills, etc).

3. Equipment owners. Bobcats will make everything easier. If you own or have access to a bobcat (skid steer with a bucket attachment) and are willing to lend us a hand or just let us use it, please let us know. If need be, we can provide experienced operators. If you need reimbursement of some kind, we can provide whats necessary for a tax write off for your business. Jumping Jack plate compactors are great as well. We have one but the more the merrier.

4. Plain old volunteers that aren't afraid to get dirty and work hard. The more hands we have on this, the faster things will get accomplished. If you are interested in taking the lead on any project, please let us know.

Stay tuned for trail work day postings in the near future!

-Shannon

sbharness at gmail dot com

Trail workday Saturday, February 27th. 8am-12pm

2010-02-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

Trail workday Saturday, February 27th. 8am-12pm. We'll be clearing more trail for the initial loop. Bring loppers, pulaski's, McLeod's, pick axes, shovels if you have them.

See you there.

-Shannon

Update

2010-01-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I had a chance to post an update. The last trail day went really well. We cleared the trail over to the beginning of the jump trail. With that section of trail cleared, we can begin building stunts on it. We still need to clear the entire loop trail, but with the current weather condition, and only 4 months until spring it might have to wait until next winter. Speaking of the weather conditions, trail work with 15" of snow on the ground is a bit difficult so as soon as the snow melts we'll be back out there working again.

Workday Saturday Dec 12th 8-12

2009-12-08T04:50:00.000-08:00

Workday this Saturday. We'll continue working on clearing and cutting in the loop trail, and try to get most of the jump trail cut in. Bring tools for clearing trail, loppers, mccleod, pulaski, rakes etc.. The forest is extremely thick in some areas, but starts to open up once we get to the jump trail.

Park off of Ogg Rd.

Next Trail Day Sunday Nov. 22nd

2009-11-11T06:08:00.000-08:00

The next trail day will be Sunday Nov. 22nd
We'll be doing more of the same, cutting in and clearing trail. Hopefully we can get over to the Dirt Jump area, and then the trail will be ready build the stunts.
Park off of Ogg Rd like last time. Bring any tools you have, rakes, loppers, mccleods, pulaski's.

Add this event to your Google Calendar! Click the button below.

Trailday Nov 7th 8-12

2009-11-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

The first trail day wil be tomorrow Sat Nov 7th from 8-12. We'll be
working on clearing trail, and maybe build a couple of burms if their
is time. We'll be building stunts very soon.

Approval to start building!

2009-11-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

After 7 years, we have finally been given approval by the Parks Dept. to start building the Freeride/DJ area inside Shawnee Mission Park. This will be the first legal Freeride/DJ area of its type to built in the KC Metro area, and inside a Johnson County Park. Check back here for updates, pictures of trail work, maps, and general info.

This is a preliminary map of the loop trail, and dirt jump area. Phase one will be the construction of the loop trail from the entrance to the dirt jump area, and construction of the dirt jumps. A new more detailed map with contours will posted as it is developed.