River Valley Cycling

Supporting Cycling In and Around Fredericton

Riding Responsibly – Aggressive Wildlife

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Hey Riders,

Many of you would have heard by now about a scary situation which took place yesterday in Woolastook Park involving a small pack of coyotes aggressively approaching a woman walking her dog. We can’t imagine what this may have been like and RVC is relieved to hear that she made it out safely.

Clearly, whatever she did to react was right.

Since then we’ve received some questions about riding safety. This incident in Woolastook involving coyotes was rare, but there are wildlife present in many of our riding areas, and in addition to coyotes there are risks posed by black bears, white tail deer, and moose (we don’t have cougars – we don’t care what you’ve seen online). We thought we’d highlight some of the strategies that you can take to increase your safety in the woods.

This excellent illustration was proudly lifted from www.bicycling.com. We could not have done any better.

First – RVC isn’t an organization that is the authority on human/wildlife encounters. What we are providing here for ideas are picked from reputable Fish & Wildlife Agencies across North America, with a little bit of focus for riders in our local neck of the woods (we expect most of you don’t carry pistols or bear-spray cannisters on the average ride). These are tips you will probably never need to rely on.

  1. Ride in a group. If you must ride alone make sure you have a cellphone that works and that someone knows where you are. Better yet though… ride in a group! Animals are skilled at math and most will run when outnumbered.

  2. Be loud. Carry a whistle. Models which weigh only a few grams can produce a blast which can frighten and startle an aggressive animal. A whistle buckle on the chest-strap of your riding pack is right where you need it. If you don’t have a whistle you can yell firmly. Everyone has lungs.

  3. Remain calm. If you encounter an animal that advances on you keep eye contact, and do not turn your back on it to run. Dismount the bike and lift it up to make yourself look big. Start to put distance between yourself and the animal by walking back carefully (to not loose footing) and identify an escape route such as a climbable tree if you need it. You cannot outpace any animal on a single-track trail. Make sure the animal also has an escape route.

  4. If the animal charges – fight. Your bike can be used as an effective shield so put it in front of you. Be loud and aggressive and you will win.

Animal attacks such as the one that occurred yesterday are exceptionally rare, but they do happen. Knowing how to respond may just save your life.

More info:

https://www.bicycling.com/news/a20034489/animal-attack-bike/

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/nr-rn/pdf/en/Wildlife/Coyotes.pdf

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/nr-rn/pdf/en/Wildlife/BewareBlackBears.pdf

Slash n’ Berm

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New trail open (temporarily) at MVP!

Slash n’ berm is a new intermediate flow trail at MVP. The top section is a machine built, hand-finished series of berms, small jumps and rollers. There are no gaps – everything is rollable – but if you are riding fast your tires may leave the ground. The bottom section is still in progress – it is hand-built singletrack – and adding features and flow to this section will be a project for next year.

The trail is still fresh and quite sensitive so choose when to ride it carefully. Ride the trail while the weather is good and the dirt is relatively dry. Traffic in those conditions is a good thing and it will help compact the surface. Don’t ride it right after it’s rained or when frozen dirt is thawing. Don’t be that person who leaves a gaping rut down the trail! The trail will be closed again within the next few weeks when we get into frequent freeze thaw cycles. Ride it now while you can!

Slash n’ Berm has been an entire season project starting back in April when Bev, Norm and Alex scouted the area. Since then, many hours were spent cutting the line, then re-cutting the line and then re-re-cutting the line. Tons of clear-cut slash (hence the name) was moved, stump were chopped, and a mountain of dirt & rocks were shaped. A mountain bike flow trail is a significant effort! Major kudos to Chris F., Norm S., Anthony W., Max G., Justin L, Bev B., Kelly M., and volunteers on the trail day, and to people who stopped while riding to do a few buckets. However, the builder here with the vision and the most time is Alex F – so thank you sir!

Big tune-up at MVP

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Fall is here and it’s an incredible time to be riding around Fredericton. Just in time for the season, RVC’s small but growing enduro-zone at MVP just got a nice tune-up.

A build crew spent the weekend improving and revamping many of the features on two of the city’s most popular progressive trails: Monkey Business and #BlazingDestruction.

In both cases it’s going to be important for riders to get familiar with the layout again – the features have changed. Pre-ride, Re-Ride, Free-Ride! These remain black-diamond trails but there are no mandatory jumps. Everything small can be rolled and the big stuff can be safely avoided. However, when you’re ready we’ve seen some of the new features and they look pretty dialed!

Here’s the report from the crew:

Blazing Destruction:
-Landing of the drop was redone and smoothened.
-Jump out of that drop area was redone and the landing was built up.
-The roller jump before the box was redone.
-The jump to the step up box was reshaped and moved back a foot.

-The landing off the box was push back a foot and steepened/lengthened.
-The hip after the box was touched up and there is an optional side line jump that has a gap.


Monkey Business:
-The second table on the trail was redone.
-The 1 foot drop was removed on one side to allow an easy option to roll down.
-The optional wedge gap jump was roughed up beside the 1 foot drop.
-The take off to the step down was reshaped.
-The area after the step down got a major revamp. This is a totally different section and riders should look first. They are tables but there is a side lip on the second jump that should not be rolled .

Now it’s shout-out time.

Some of you may have noticed that this was no small amount of work. We are lucky to have a crew of builders who invest their time volunteering to make something that we can all enjoy – either today, or when we feel our skills are ready.

So let’s give a big thanks to:
-Chris Furlotte
-Max Guerette
-Justin Leblanc
-Mike Barnhill
-Jase Fitzpatrick, &
-Alex Mctiernan

Oh and one last thing. Do you see that mini-excavator that’s hiding in some of the pictures and video? Yeah – that thing was DONATED to RVC for the weekend free-of-charge by local businessman and owner of JIL Engineering & Construction, Jeff Lenehan. He even dropped it off for the weekend ready to go! We are very lucky to have supporters like this so thank you Mr. Lenehan for helping make this work happen.

Riding Responsibly – Hunting Season

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Hey riders,

Moose season 2024 continues in New Brunswick this week until Saturday Sept. 28th. This means that there will be a lot of excitement in the woods as some hunters can wait for decades to be drawn in the lottery for a license. Beyond moose, it’s deer season until December and hunters can try for smaller game later into the winter.

While it is a hunter’s responsibility to identify his/her target there are a few things that riders can keep in mind:

  • Hunting is legal and expected at several of the trailheads that riders frequent.
  • Odell Park and Deer Park are good choices if you want to stick to areas where hunting isn’t permitted. There’s also the UNB Woodlot which is designated as a wildlife sanctuary and offers some good gravel riding circuits. Take a road trip and check out Rockwood Park!
  • Wear blaze orange and other bright colours.
  • You can wait until after dark. Hunting is legal until dusk. Charge those lights up and go for a night ride!

Although it’s extremely unlikely, riders have been involved in hunting accidents.

Remember that many of the trails we ride on are on private land. That hunter you encounter this week may be the landowner, or may be there with the landowner’s permission.

Stay safe and share the woods.

New Route into Islandivew

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Recently RVC has enjoyed great cooperation from the Provincial Tree Nursery at Islandview. They’ve been very accommodating of our recent trail work by allowing vehicles through the property. Through those discussions we’ve also settled on a more straightforward route through the nursery. It’s a small tweak, but it involves fewer twists and turns.

The new route is all signed up (thank you gnomes!) so it should be easy to follow! Please make sure you stick to this access and don’t stray off into the tree orchards.

Remember, riding at Islandview is open to RVC members only after working hours (5:00 pm) and on weekends. The nursery is in operation at the crack of dawn so no early morning rides here.

Proud Members of: Velo New Brunswick

Canadian Cycling Association

International Mountain Biking Association