Remy Nelson collecting rocks on the nearly completed Interior Greenbelt Trail on a Thursday evening

When I showed up that first morning, there were about 70 other volunteers ready to get to work. We walked out to the site, which started the day as a eucalyptus, blackberry and ivy covered hillside. The intention was for this overgrown area to end the day as the Edgewood trail, a quick connector between the winding trails above Medical Center Way and the residential Edgewood Avenue below. Before I had much time to contemplate how we were going to achieve this, we were separated into crews and got down to business.

The crew I worked with spent most of our work day excavating a large hole that had been filled with old pallets, plywood, camping mattresses, odd rocks and other debris. After we cleared out this erstwhile campsite, we worked with another crew collecting large rocks and soil from the hillside with which to fill it and create our section of trail. As surprised as I was at how much work our crew got done in those few short hours, I was even more stunned when I walked the length of trail to see what others had been doing and discovered that a retaining wall had been built, several switchbacks constructed and the Edgewood trail more or less completed.

Swoopy turns in the making

Well, this had me hooked. I wanted to know how one could look at an overgrown hillside and see the route a trail might take across it, how to layout that trail to shed water and also design it to be a fun and beautiful place for its myriad users.  I wanted to work on it from beginning to end and, of course, I wanted to run, hike and ride across that trail knowing how it had been created.  The satisfaction I feel after a good ride through these little urban outposts of open space is nothing compared to the connection I feel with that same piece of dirt after having contributed to its existence.

Tools of the trade…

You can see what my first day of trail work looked like by watching the video below or you can come out and see what it’s like for yourself.  National Trails Day 2011 is fast approaching. On June 4th, the Interior Greenbelt Trail (connecting the Edgewood trail down to Stanyan Street), which has already had thousands of hours dedicated to it by SF Urban Riders and other volunteers, will be completed. And there will no doubt be a few amongst them (maybe you…) who will be, as I was, hooked by the experience they have that day.

Words and photos by Isabella Battig

SF Urban Riders wants to be sure you know all the opportunities out there, whether it is to make/maintain trails or check out the meetings, and help you understand better the big old machine that is the San Francisco planning process.

So much going on, we don’t want you to get overwhelmed, we know you have busy lives, but we want you to know as much as we do about upcoming events, and why we think its important to go participate.

and with that (drum roll please)

We would like you to know about a Public Meeting about a space that is near and dear to our single-track lovin’ hearts -  Mt. Sutro.    The SF Rec & Park is proposing to reopen the section of the Interior Greenbelt that connects Sutro to the Stanyan St. Trailhead.   See the official flyer for a little more information.

Stanyan St. Trailhead -Interior Greenbelt Mtg – Public Notice 2-8-10

Why we think this is important – > This is about opening up an old trail and its entrance at Stanyan.  It is a route that anyone coming over from the Haight and East would be interested in and Rec & Park has said it would be multi-use.  This could be a beautiful new trailhead, with direct connection to our Mt. Sutro trails

And of course, its plain-ole important that we cyclists make a special effort to attend any meeting that is about trails in SF.

Grab a burrito on your way over, and enjoy the civic process.  If you can, think through why this trail is or would be important to you and yours, and speak up.  We always have to work to improve the public perception of who mountain cyclists are, so remember, you are helping represent, and we all appreciate it.

So there you go.  This Monday night, Feb 8, 2010.  from  6 to 8pm at Grattan Elementary.