This year at the Watson Fire rehab trail stewardship event, we were lucky enough to have former racer, mountain bike hall of famer, trail builder extraordinaire Paul Thomasberg drop by for a day of building and teaching. Paul was in the area to begin work on the Winter Rim reroute, and being the kinetic ball of energy and ideas that he is, he couldn’t resist a bonus day of trail work. We reached out to Paul to learn more about his history and get an update on his Winter Rim work. 

“I have done some riding in this area starting in the early 1990s and love this part of the state. Fault block views, ridge-line as well as steeper trails, and generally off the radar. Not to mention a few spots of excellent fishing. During initial scouting, I was asked to look around for new opportunities for the trail alignment. Some items involved were steep eroded fall line sections archeological sites and delicate superheated soils that the Forest Service wanted to mitigate the impacts of. However, I was free to explore to some extent new terrain because the devastating Watson fire destroyed much of the trail. That exploration brought about a reroute that brings the trail to some spectacular new viewpoints. It will be one of the trail highlights once completed. Perhaps one of the reasons I secured this contract was because of previous experience rehabilitating trails in places that had burned with very hot fires. The section along the winter rim seems a natural rebirth type of fire much of that was densely spaced standing dead and down lodgepole pine. Just like the rebirth of the fire offers new opportunities for different species, it also offers new opportunities for trail corridors that would be cost-prohibitive and or impossible to build. So, kind of a trail builder’s dream in some ways.

The challenges in hot burn areas are that the soils can become very unstable. So drainage features that can withstand the time needed for revegetation are very important. The layout of new trails in these hot burn areas needs to be a little less steep and a little wider. Within a couple of years the forest will quickly encroach on the trail, what looks like a wide trail now will quickly become narrower. The slightly flatter grades ensure good drainage. As we all know this is bovine country and they also have to be considered in the design as if the trail is not sufficiently established during construction the trail disappears into the bovine braiding.

Last year we were racing against the bootleg fire and trying to get done what we could before the full forest closure happened. Even though we got a 48-hour notice of evacuation it was still a crazy eery feeling being up on the ridge and having your cell phone beeping regularly all day telling you to evacuate now. Our camp did not get burned but the fire came within a mile. We were some of the last folks out and communicating with the Sherif as to the fact we had not seen any people on the ridge in two days. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to return to work in the fall as is typical. The Forest Service simply refused all entry except equipment directly related to the fire until 2022.”

Tell us a little about your background as an athlete. I understand you were good at multiple different disciples - from XC to Downhill. Was this before the era of super specialization?

Well like being a trail builder I had no intention of being a professional mountain bike racer. In the late 70s and early 80s, my bikes were either primer red or bare metal wiped with grease. My belief was that any branding at all was sacrilege to mountain biking. We were essentially free riding and doing mega backcountry rides. That was before the wilderness act was interpreted by the Forest Service to exclude bikes. So my background before racing was very diverse and I was a pretty good descender, especially when riding blind. My first race was a wake-up call for climbing speed. I could ride and climb all day but didn’t have any speed. 2 years later I was the Expert national champion and became a pro the next year 1988. But for me, I still love the true backcountry experience.

You’re an athlete, product developer/tester, and trail builder. How does one aspect influence the others? 

They all morph together for me. I have learned to build trails for a wide variety of users. Earlier on there was a strong selfish instinct in trail design, I think that is typical for new or young builders. You have a vision of what you want to ride. Over time that gets tempered and opportunities to build exactly what I want are more limited as a professional. The customer ultimately has the biggest say. I have been fortunate in many projects to be allowed a broad artistic license. Understanding the technology just helps in designing trails that can utilize that technology. Timber trail is slightly out of the mainstream norm considering most rides are now likely less than two hours often only an hour. The focus has changed toward downhill enjoyment. I always consider viewpoints and interesting natural features when designing trails however many riders never fully see this because the focus is on the riding experience.

You’ve been with Shimano since 1990. It sounds like you were quite an inventor before you got started as well. What inventions/developments are you most proud of? 

I am just fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a single tooth on a giant cog. I got to influence the development of XTR for many years. I got the opportunity to work with many very young and talented engineers and turn them on to mountain biking, This was the most important contribution in my opinion.

It sounds like the modern mountain bike owes a lot to your work at Shimano. Below the bar shifters, V-brakes, Disc brakes.

I have had a lot of good ideas over the last 30 years but ideas are a dime a dozen. The long-term relationship with Shimano has been partially based on the fact that they can execute! So if I can conceive and convince Shimano of a concept or idea they are capable of executing virtually anything.

Can you give us a brief timeline of your history of trail work? I know you helped to found COTA and develop Bend’s trail network. Tell us more…

My planning, trail design, trail building, and maintenance experience have been honed over many years. Because of my mountain bike racing experience and continued connection to current mountain bike trends, I have unique insight into creating trails that will appeal to a wide variety of users.

• Central Oregon Trail Alliance: founding member 1991, trail steward, and volunteer for 25 years

• Vice-Chair 2009 to 2014.

• Trail crew leader instructor for building and maintenance techniques for 15 years. USFS Certified chain saw instructor and machine-built trail instructor.

• Attended professional training and classes from IMBA, USFS, and Professional Trail Builders Association.

• Built trails on several different Region 6 Forest Service Districts within a fairly wide range of environments. Conducting land manager educational talks on the future of mountain bikes and user trends. Working with Private, Federal, and State land managers on trail planning projects for 25 years.

• Lead conceptual designer and initial layout and scouting for the Wanoga competitive event trail system in Bend Oregon.

• Designer of many trails throughout Central Oregon.

• Team member on the COTA Ochoco multi use trail plan - layout and mapping of the 265 mile 4 phase trail system. Lead person in the development of the Central Oregon Trail Standard.

• Recently completed the Spence Mountain Master Plan a 60-mile multi-use trail system plan in Klamath Falls Oregon. Trail design, layout, and building Phase 1 through 6 of Spence Mountain trail system in Klamath Falls Oregon in cooperation with Dirt Mechanics LLC.

• References supplied upon request.
  

Do you think trail work needs to be taught? How can we further encourage this? How can we make trail work parties more inclusive and inviting? 

Sure, trail work needs to be taught but experience ultimately is the teacher. There are only certain people that are really attracted to volunteer to do trail work more than once. It is not for lazy people, trail work is hard. But mountain bikers, in particular, tend to be hard workers so the pool of potential is good. As to the last question, I am not sure, it is hard to sell a sense of accomplishment. Good food and a beverage of your choice at the end of a long day are helpful. When I was on the board of COTA it was really clear that the food and beverage aspect helped. But also most folks only want to work half a day or so. Then there are those that want to get it done. So managing to get the crew leaders set up with the correct volunteers can be helpful. Crews that work together consistently will become much more efficient. 

"The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-distrust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciple."

Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888)

Do you have a preferred method of trail building? Machine-built or hand-built, or does it depend on the terrain and how many miles of trail you need to build? 

No preferred method I like both. Machine building is more cost-effective in most situations. Also, it tends to build a more durable trail. However, machine-building is more destructive so in some cases, hand-built is a necessity. Moving 5000lb rocks with hand tools is satisfying and expensive. Often machine-built trail is a bit ugly for a year or two but then grows in. On winter rim we are employing both hand-built and machine built. The contract is for a set price per foot for the whole job however it is the machine-built portions that are paying for the hand-built sections. The story of John Henry applies.

Do you have a favorite tool? Or is a tool just a tool? 

The minimum number is always best. Keep things as simple as possible. Trail work is very dynamic so we have a range of tools. I get the best quality I can and prefer wood handles. My machine also has a selection of tools. 

“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."

Albert Einstein (1875-1955)


When talking about the new trail on Winter Rim, you mentioned designing with bovine traffic patterns in mind. Can you tell us more? 

Cows want food and water, food is dispersed water in concentrated generally. Cows can make great trails and there are many examples around the country where their trails have been utilized for recreation. The problem is food is dispersed so as you go away from water they braid in an ever-expanding way. Sometimes you can keep cows on a trail and that can be an effective way to keep a trail open. Of course, we all prefer to not ride in cow poo, etc. however in a place like Winter Rim where cow traffic is 1000 to 1 to bike traffic the cows can quickly braid a new trail. In some places, cows won’t follow a trail because it doesn’t go to food or water. There is a little bit of both in the Winter Rim project.

You mentioned the Fremont was a dream job in terms of what’s possible post-fire. Can you tell us more about that? 

What is the positive impact of fire that we (maybe) forget about? In the case of Winter Rim, the trail was chocked out and lined with cut logs and dense brush in places. Some of the reroutes would have been entirely cost-prohibitive because of dense lodgepole tree growth and deadfall. The time and cost are much higher. My perspective on fire is it is a natural rebirth. Of course, that is not great if your life or structure, etc are involved. But in the forest, it is a cleansing process. In 1901 there was a huge debate about fire. To burn or not to burn that was the question. The result was not to burn as the ideology of the time was it was just like burning all the gold into ash. The competing argument was that the forest to some extent had been managed by fire in part by nature and in part by humans for thousands of years. Especially in the west many of the forests we now understand need fire to maintain health. Unfortunately continuous anthropomorphic fire suppression for over 100 years has created environments where once started the fires can no longer be stopped. The mosaic of natural continuous burning cannot be accomplished by man in my opinion. Perhaps new more hands-off management in these large burns will re-establish the mosaic forest structure? What you can see now in the winter rim and the bootleg fires are the live trees that will become the future old growth. The first stage of the mosaic. Thunder over the Ochoco series and the Big Burn are books that have influenced my understanding. We can also see contrary to some information out there that the early 1900s had far bigger fires in terms of total acreage burned.

What inspires you?

Perhaps the most important thing to know about me is that I am passionate about creating awesome experiences. With each new project I look forward to creating that moment of joy, awe, excitement, or connection to nature. This is a contribution I make not directly related to financial gain but for the benefit of humanity!” 

Paul Thomasberg