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Dirt Rag Articles
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Dream job? Perhaps. Fantasy world? That sounds more like it. Jen and Rich Edwards travel around the country spreading the sustainable trail word. Not only do they get a Subaru to drive, they get Gary Fisher Sugars to ride, all the trail riding opportunities in the world and one hell of a good time. So really, who are the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew #3? Well, we caught up with Jen and Rich at an Ohio trailbuilding school to find out more.
DR: OK. Who are you guys?
R: We're Rich and Jen Edwards. Currently the East Coast Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew. For the last 20 months, we've been living out of a Subaru, looking at trails, building trails, helping spread trail knowledge to both volunteers and land managers. Hopefully we've shared a bunch with everyone.
DR: 20 months? How many miles is that?
J: Last year we put 50,000 on the car. This year we're up to 20,000, but we're gonna limit it to 35,000 by March.
R: We're guessing between 70 and 80,000 total miles.
DR: Stop in every state?
J: Not at all.
R: We haven't even touched the northwest quadrant. That's something we really want to do.
J: Last year, we worked in a total of twenty-seven states.
R: We signed up again for another year. We're doing all east coast stops, with a couple out west. But, the east coast for us man, definitely for now, it's easier for us, 'cause we know the forests better, we know the people better and the riding locations, so we can be more effective. It would be a lot of fun to go out west, it would be more adventurous and we'd meet a lot of new people, but we wouldn't be quite as worthwhile. We know a lot about the trail players on the east coast, and next year can be even bigger and better than this year was in terms of our trail school and in terms of the people we can reach out and touch, and in terms of the new skills we're borrowing from other groups that we're gonna be able to teach people. The trail community seems to be going really strong right now.
DR: On the east coast?
R: Well, we really can't speak for the west coast. But the amount of energy coming out of Vancouver, BC alone with thirty bicycle clubs and the Sprokids program coming from there. They held a trail workday with Sprockids, they had 1,000 kids show up. A thousand kids! To do trail work! Completely unlike anything else going on in the states. I mean, there's other programs like that, but not nearly to that magnitude. So there's a huge amount of energy there. But California probably represents the forefront of the trail advocacy issues. Any issues that California has now, the rest of us will have in five to ten years. There's more people there. Outdoor recreation is huge. It's equivalent to half the east coast. In size and in terms of population. Any issues that are developing there first, we've got issues out here, like in New Jersey, but nothing as far as the diversity of what's going on out there. Besides, I like being in the trees.
DR: So you like the forest?
R: Oh yeah, especially the big forests, the older forests.
DR: What are some of the larger older growth forests out east anyway?
J: Joyce Kilmer, in the Smokies I think.
R: No, that's south of the Smokies in North Carolina, then in to the Tennessee side of the Smokies. There's a grove there that's all old poplar, tulip, hemlocks, as big around and as big as the huge oak trees you see in the midwest, like 250 feet. Just enormous trees. You can sit down in some of the roots like a big armchair.
DR: So you guys camp a lot?
R: This time of year, yeah, cause the bugs are down. We don't camp as much, being outside is definitely good for the soul, and the nights that we can afford to get to a camp before sunset, set up camp and have the time to tear down in the morning-it's useless in terms of work. No power, no light, no email. But in terms of recharging us, it's good, it's great to spend a night out in the woods.
J: We didn't camp much this year.
R: I slept out a lot.
J: That's true! You slept outside more times than I have. By choice.
R: We were out in DuPont National Forest and there was a big meteor shower last weekend, and we slept out in this big meadow. It was like a big magic marker out in the sky. I mean, I've seen streaks before, but this one, like a white and orange magic marker, you could actually see this big white smear.
DR: So you get to ride quite a bit?
J: Yeah, when we've got time.
R: It's cool, 'cause it's all different. It's cool to be able to see a bunch of different stuff. We usually try to ride before we do the trailwork. It helps give us the local flavor. Maybe not even the place we're gonna work, but just wherever the local scene is hot. To see where people are on their trailbuilding style. We also get a flavor by seeing the typical trail features.
J: Yeah, are there a lot of turns and swithcbacks or climbs? Plus it gives you an idea for the flow of the trail you're working on. So if you're rerouting a section, you gotta make sure it works with the rest of the trail. You can tell a little by just walking, but you gotta ride it.
R: The rhythm metaphor is perfect. Cause it is a rhythm, you got different rhythm sections, so if you go from one section to the next, you gotta make sure it flows.
DR: What are some good locations you've seen so far?
R: West Virginia is a classic example. It's far enough away from everyone that everyone who wants to can go there and ride, and there probably won't be too much overuse. Not super sustainable, but super burly.
DR: Aren't you guys from there?
R: We spent two and a half years in Slatyfork. While working for Gil at Elk River, we were mountain bike guides. Flagstaff, AZ. Oh man, that place rocks. You can ride from town and get fifty miles of trail. Thirty minutes away is Sedona, Red Rock. Two thousand feet lower so you can pick your climate. Good microbrews, cheap hotels, $30-40 per night. Good culture, good food.
J: Asheville, NC has an awesome scene. It's close to Pisgah, and there's a lot of good riding there. That's a good time.
R: Central Pennsylvania. The undiscovered country. There is so much stuff there. I hope the Gamelands proposition doesn't kick you guys off.
DR: So, what kind of music do you guys listen to?
J: Lots of stuff. We like jam. We like space rock.
R: Yeah! Ozric Tentacles. If there's one thing you can pop into the stereo at any time of the day and it would probably be appropriate, that's probably it.
J: Yeah. Ozric Tentacles.
J: And Bill Lazwell.
R: Style Scott. Bill does all that dub stuff, and we just got this new stereo mp3 player for the Subaru. The big long drives, the concept of being able to pop in a CD and listen to the same CD for eight hours later, not repeating it.
DR: Do you deal with a lot of politics?
R: I'll just say that mountain bikers are a much more diverse crowd than I ever thought they were. I am amazed by the breadth of the political spectrum, that we have people working on the same level as mountain bikers. Political and religious, all different kinds of folks.
J: It's amazing.
R: There's this common bond of liking the ride, being out on the bike, and also being willing to work on the trails, work on the land, that helps tie people together.
J: But we meet people we never would have made the aquaintance of and recognize that they're totally good and wholehearted people. There are very different spheres of living.
DR: How long have you guys been married?
J: Four and a half years.
DR: How has this job been on your relationship?
R: There's a lot of times on the road that it's been better than living in one place. We seem to be a lot less angry than we used to be.
DR: Is this really a dream job?
J: Well, yes and no. It is really cool, and if you're willing to travel and you've got the right mindset, you deal without a lot of structure. It's one of those jobs that's real slow, then it's crazy for 36 hours, then it's all slow again. Like anything, if you start doing something that you love to do for your job, you don't do it when you have time off as much. There's days when you don't want to do it. There's always a new challenge, every situation is different. They're all different in one way or another.
R: Carries over to trails, too. Every day is a new trail, you almost never get to ride the same trail twice. As far as riding, it's been great. Line-picking? It's always fresh.
J: It's like sight-reading music. Trying to keep up with the local guys.
R: We've gotten a chance to sample some cool microbrews. Yeah, there's this place in Madison.
J: Yeah, they've got this Scotish Red Ale. And that place in Milwaukee, they had that Rasputin Russian Stout.
R: It's out of the Northwest. We went there for New Years last year, that was a treat.
J: We went to see String Cheese Incident up there.
R: In a convention center of all places.
DR: Yeah, I've seen 'em before too. They were on a tour with Moe and Government Mule. That was a great sound.
R: Yeah, Goverment Mule's got a nice sound too. But Moe...
J: I miss Moe. He doesn't like Moe as much as I do, but...
R: I saw a bunch of their shows, I was listening to some Panic then too, and it was all right! Moe just seemed to get in those jams, they'd just get there and it wouldn't go anywhere. They'd just wander around for so long, and then the song's over. And it's like, wait a second man! You took us all the way! But Panic, man.
J: Yeah... Panic is so...last year we would [sound of rider passing by on trail overrides Jen's words]
R: You might not want to publish that. I'd hate to see that stuff in Dirt Rag.
J: Turn that recorder off! Wait, ask us another question we can't answer, no ask us some trail stuff.
DR: Ok, the class we attended today, the group was totally diversse. A third hikers, a third mountain bikers and a third equestrians. Is that common?
J: No! We've never had a group like that.
R: A few places we have, like DuPont State Forest. In some other places, there's a really good mixture, but here it's kinda, the coalition that they've got is so powerful because it takes so much to get grant money, and when they represent the interests of so many people, that's less work for the guys that make the decisions. They look at that and say, “I can sign this one thing and get everyone out of my hair? Sure!” It's all about making it easy for people. They want you to like them, but if you make it difficult, it's much harder for them.
J: That's very wise.
R: Right tool, right person, right place, right job.
DR: I like that. Anything else you want to throw in?
R: Yeah, my Fisher Sugar sure rides fine.
J: Subaru is awesome. They give us the car, they pay our salary, they give us enough to live on.
R: That's the amazing thing. No IMBA money goes to support us. It's all Subaru.
DR: Wow.
R: Yeah, it's amazing. And our Subaru? We went some crazy places in that-back roads in Maine, 200 miles of dirt road in Alabama, just all over the place. Arizona-I was sure we were gonna trash it. But we didn't.
DR: So Subaru is your main sponsor. Doesn't it feel kinda weird driving all over the place to support people to ride ecologically sound machines through the silent woods.
J: Well...
R: Yeah, but as someone who didn't own a car for seven years, lived in DC, was a member of Auto-free DC, advocating ridding the streets of DC of private automobiles, uh... yeah, it's a double-edged sword. I'm super supportive of bikes as transportation, and I think bikes as transportation is an incredibly important issue, but I think I can tie the two together by saying that if we support people riding recreationally, we're hopefully breeding more commuters. It's the toy versus tool mentality.
J: They can be both.
R: Using bikes as transportation, you're increasing the quality of life. By getting more people in the woods, you're getting more people to value the woods. Once more people value the woods, you'll get a stronger constituency, then we can have tax-payers that are willing to buy open spaces and preserve them. Not necessarily making it wilderness, but...
DR: Amen!
J: Well said. But the thing is, we can't do what we do without a car. We can't tow a BOB trailer all over the country. We just wouldn't make it very far. So, for doing outreach and getting IMBA out there and spreading the message, it just wouldn't be possible.
R: This is a huge country. It's enormous. That's one thing we've realized going back and forth. It's huge. We drive all over. We're constantly driving past 20-30 places to ride every day. There's so much out there.
J: We've ridden so many trails.
DR: Favorite trail so far?
R: Thunder Mountain that goes through Bryce Canyon.
J: North Fork Mountain. We can't tell you where it is.
R: A beautiful ridgetop ride. There's twenty other rides like it in Virginia. Uhh...Butterfly trail, Mt. Lemon, Tucson, AZ. Incredible. Also, a few we can't tell you about. There's stuff everywhere. Crazy stuff in the middle of Chicago. Lynn Woods in Boston. People that like big rock drops. It's slick-rock in the Northeast. Pedro's Fest trails in Wisconsin.
J: There's stuff everywhere.
R: We went on a great ride in Wales, on a 2,000 year-old neolithic track, huge open moors and stuff, tied together with pieces of singletrack, dumping down into the woods. Looked like the Appalaichians. Rocks, streams, hardwood forest.
J: But big open views so you can see the sea. And old structures that are who knows how old.
R: Not even structures, but something that someone just formed a long time ago. Benchcut trail that's 2.5 millennia old.
DR: Wow.
J: So that's the thing. There's trail everywhere, you just gotta find it and take care of it.
DR: Thanks guys.
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