Oregon Cycling Magazine

How mountain biking enthusiasts and land agencies worked together to create an Oregon freeriding mecca

by Tom Baldinger

Black Rock Mountain Bike Area is a set of mountain bike trails outside Falls City, Oregon. The tale behind it is unique and a good lesson for other mountain bike clubs around the country. In the early 1990s, most of the trails there were cross country (XC) trails. They were first used by motorcycles, and later by mountain bikers. Around 1998, illegal freeride trails started to pop up near the town of Dallas. They were built by riders looking for bigger challenges. Freeride trails differ from traditional XC trails in that they feature man-made features such as ladders, wall rides, gap jumps, etc. Technical spots on more traditional mountain bike trails are part of the natural terrain.

The Oregon Department of Forestry is the land management agency in charge there. Rather than banning bicycles, they elected to work with a local club to regulate the illegal trails, setting the stage for future development. In 2002, the Black Freeride Association was founded by Leo Kowalski, Michael Susse, and Jason Vogt, owner of the Fall Line bike shop in Silverton. BFA was formed to build sustainable alternatives, with the cooperation of ODF. The agency has been quite responsive, and actually has a couple staff members who ride themselves. In 2006, the group changed its name to the Black Rock Mountain Bike Association (BRMBA). The name was changed to be more inclusive of the general mountain bike community. The group has about 700 members, including a couple off-road unicyclists who will ride your socks off!

Under the Adopt A Trail Program, BRMBA has taken stewardship of Black Rock. The program enables the club to take care of the area. They are responsible for building and maintaining trails, under license from ODF.

The approval process for trailbuilding is very straightforward. BRMBA members will first write a proposal, and then flag a potential route. Afterwards they walk it with representatives of ODF, explaining how they want the trail to run, and what sort of stunts they plan to build. When the initial plan is laid out, ODF and BRMBA sort out the details. This type of working relationship is an excellent example of how mountain bikers can create well-planned freeride areas with long term potential.

Says club president Rich Bontrager, “in 2002, Black Rock became the first Mountain Bike Only trail system approved by the ODF in Oregon.”

Leo Kowalski, Michael Susse and Jason Vogt dug the first freeride trails. Later additions were designed and constructed by a core group of volunteers over the last five years. Also leading the way has been Troy Munsell of Santiam Bicycles in Salem. Troy has spent a considerable amount of time digging a trail called Granny’s Kitchen. It drops approximately 1000 feet in 2 miles!

According to Joe Rykowski, one of the area’s pioneers, Black Rock is not just for hardcore enthusiasts. It can accommodate various riding styles, from pro-level freeriding to relatively tame XC lines. Sicktar Gnar is the original trail that showed ODF an example of what the club wanted to do. One of the most interesting things about it is that riders with different kinds of bikes can all ride on it. There are bailout routes on the technical features, enabling riders to take different lines and still ride together on the same trail. When the BFA’s first freeride features were made, the architects used rules established at the Whistler Bike Park in British Columbia as a model for their own efforts. For instance, bypass lines are required on man-made stunts. There are also signs which clearly indicate the difficulty of certain terrain. Despite the copious attention paid by locals, there is little traffic there. For instance, an average weekday will bring 10-20 riders. On the weekends, there might be 30-50 riders total.

Black Rock has been host to numerous events, including last year’s Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day, which was organized by IMBA. There are also shuttle days and regular work crew days.

If you’ve been to the shuttle days, please do your part by coming to the work crew days as well! To get involved, check out www.brmba.org. There are 14 board members, and there is a monthly meeting. As Black Rock increases in popularity, it will be even more important for riders to volunteer their time and effort to its upkeep. This year, the first ever Black Rock Mountain Bike Festival will be held on September 15th and 16th. It will based in the city park in Falls City. There will be a limit of 200 people. The two day festival will include shuttling, games, bike maintenance classes, booths from industry vendors, food booths, and a beer garden on Sunday. BRMBA is committed to advocating for the sport and provides a great local example of progressive land management.

If you haven’t heard of Black Rock, do yourself a favor and get out there! You’ll discover some new trails, a really dedicated group of people, and one of the best success stories for mountain bikers in Oregon.

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