Meet the builders: Cypress Crew

IAN RUDD
Cypress Crew

Tell us a bit about yourself — what do you do when you’re not on a trail?

How long have you been riding, and when did building enter the picture?
I started mountain biking in 1984. Mainly on Cypress as I grew up in Horseshoe Bay. I started maintaining trails around 2000 and built my first trail Family Guy in 2002 with Jason Webber. At the time Fire Hose was a popular run and there was no trail below it. We scouted out a line and got it going down to the bottom approximately where Mulgrave school road is.

What pulled you in? Was there a moment, a person, a project?
When I started building I was injured from a crash and needed to stay active. We needed a new line to continue after Fire Hose so we built a new line. At the time Family Guy was one of the more popular lines on Cypress. Probably the first DH track.

Walk us through a trail day. What does it look, feel, and smell like out there?
For years we were working on non sanctioned trails. Maintaining them so the lines we rode were in good shape was key. With the Trails now being adopted it has opened up the ability to get a lot of production in one session. What used to take a weekend and some evenings now gets done in 4 hrs. For me I really enjoy the trail days, I like working with new people and have a lot of experience guiding workers from my day job. Many times we have young volunteers and that allows me to share some of my knowledge and techniques with the next gen.

What’s the project or feature you’re most proud of?
My favorite feature that I built was the Banana bridge on Family Guy. I took a curved cedar and fashioned it into a humpback bridge. The idea being it would slow riders down. The fast guys were airing it.

What’s your go-to tool, and why does it matter to you?
My favorite tool is a firefighter shovel. The blade is narrower than a typical shovel and a lot thicker. It is made for cutting fire lines for forest fires and does a great job for my purposes. I’m on my second one since 2007 when I first started using one. Since then Mark and Kevin have adopted it as their go to shovel.

What’s something most riders don’t realize goes into the trails they ride?
The most under appreciated work is drainage. You can’t have nice dirt on the trails if the drainage isn’t good. I personally have dug over 500′ of ditches on Cypress.

Who taught you something important — about building or about being out there?
I’m pretty much self taught, many years in construction have taught me many techniques. The one thing I have picked up was sifting the dirt to remove the rocks. It makes the dirt pack up much nicer. I believe Penny and Martin were some of the first to adopt this.

What does your crew look like on a build day? Who’s usually there?
These days we have a pretty solid core of crew that attend. Wyatt and Jared came out to a couple of days and ended up becoming builders themselves. They seem to have a crew that have now become regulars. We typically have 80% returning volunteers. We try to have fun and I think that keeps them coming back.

Is there a moment from a trail day that’s stuck with you?
Rachid brought his boys to a work day on Lower Mystery. There was some pieces of wood that needed to be fastened together. I had one of the boys use my drill and pre-drill the nail holes and then they took turns hammering the nails in. I have a lot of time spent working with children with Cubs and Soccer and always enjoy teaching and helping young people learn.

What’s changed most on the North Shore trail network since you started?
The sheer volume of trails. When I first got into it (1984) we were riding on hiking trails and only a few dedicated mountain bike trails existed.

What are you most excited about for the next few years?
I would like to see more of the existing trails on Cypress adopted by DWV. There are currently 4 trails that parallel or cross the adopted ones, it would be beneficial for these to be included.

Do you have a trail-building catchphrase or the thing you always say?
If a rock has too much metal on it, it’s coming out.

What do you want someone to feel the first time they ride something you built?
The trails I maintain on Cypress are the DH tracks. It’s very important to me that these exist and riders have a place to train. New riders on these tracks are usually very happy that trails like this are available. On any given week a half dozen World Cup racers are banging out laps on these tracks, that for me is a huge testament to what we are doing.

MARK ALDERTON
Cypress Crew

Tell us a bit about yourself — what do you do when you’re not on a trail?
When I’m not working on the trails I’m usually out riding or trying to spend time with the grandkids.

How long have you been riding, and when did building enter the picture?
I’ve been riding since 1986, so 40 years now. I started building over 20 years ago. I attended the very first NSMBA trail day on Coiler, can’t remember the year. But didn’t start building myself until years after.

Walk us through a trail day. What does it look, feel, and smell like out there?
A typical trail day is quite informal on Cypress. We give the volunteers an overview of the project for the day. Try to keep the atmosphere positive and enjoyable. We have met some great people at our trail days. Two of which are now part of the Cypress Crew. We also have quite a few regulars who have shown up for multiple trail days a year. But we can always use more people.

What’s the project or feature you’re most proud of?
I’m very happy with the latest feature that I built on Mystery DH. A curved cedar ramp over huge fallen cedar. It rides and looks great. This replaced a rocked in ramp that I originally built about 15 years ago. I’m also happy with a trail that I built with Kevin called Pamela. It’s a good example of line selection.

What’s your go-to tool, and why does it matter to you?
Go to tools, shovel and rake. I can do 75% of the trail maintenance I need to do with those two. For a new section of trail I don’t have a favorite tool. But chainsaw, sawzall, pulaski, fire rake, all have their place.

What’s something most riders don’t realize goes into the trails they ride?
Most riders have no idea how much time is spent on line choice, building time, sourcing materials, and keeping the drainage working properly. Water will kill the trail quickly if you don’t have grade reversals, pipes, ditches, etc.

Who taught you something important — about building or about being out there?
I have learned several things from various members of the Cypress Crew. Ian is very good at identifying drainage issues. Kevin is good at line selection for new trails.

What does your crew look like on a build day? Who’s usually there?
Well you know, we aren’t a particularly good looking bunch! There are 6 of us on the Cypress Crew, there’s usually at least 4 of us at a trail day.

Is there a moment from a trail day that’s stuck with you?
The 5.10 day has stuck with me as a memorable trail day. There were so many people that we had 4 or 5 projects going at once. People all over the forest, it was great. People coming to trail days really does speed up trail building and trail maintenance.

What’s changed most on the North Shore trail network since you started?
There are several big changes to the North Shore trail network since I started. One is the sheer number of people, we used to ride Cypress and be the only people there. Two would be maps and Trailforks, the trails used to be hidden or “if you know you know”. Now everything is visible, that’s good and bad.

What are you most excited about for the next few years?
Hoping to get a few trails added to the network.

What do you want someone to feel the first time they ride something you built?
I just want riders to enjoy the trails and the features, and hope that it inspires them to come help out on those same trails.

JARED URAMOWSKI
Cypress Crew

Tell us a bit about yourself — what do you do when you’re not on a trail?
By day I’m a mechanical engineer in alternative energy, designing structural parts with lots of hands on and machining work. I also enjoy hiking, canoeing, working on cars, camping, and cooking.

How long have you been riding, and when did building enter the picture?
I’ve been mountain biking for over 20 years, building first came into the picture maybe 12 years ago when I was looking to step it up and get into more DH riding. As soon as I moved to the coast I started attending NSMBA trail days and fell in love with the community we have out here!

What pulled you in? Was there a moment, a person, a project?
Influenced by classic freeride films, magazines, and bike catalogues that all seemed to come from the shore, I began looking for more demanding trails than what was around where I grew up. My best friend, brother, and I got in with a crew of guys who showed us the secret spots and the tools to make it happen.

Walk us through a trail day. What does it look, feel, and smell like out there?
It starts with the smell of coffee, looks like excitement as the community shows up, sounds of hello’s and good-to-seeya’s. After a great day you feel the sense of accomplishment, the excitement to try the new work, the laughs and camaraderie of working on a team, and the smell of a BBQ as we all unwind together!

What’s the project or feature you’re most proud of?
I’m pretty proud of the new section on Jersey where it meets the climb trail. We re-routed to avoid rider conflicts, but the new section opens up a few fun line choices and still maintains that fast and wide-open DH feel.

What’s your go-to tool, and why does it matter to you?
I made a multi-purpose hoe/fire rake/tamper that I often reach for. It was a fun project to kill off some scrap metal and it works well. My mattock is also special, it was a gift from Wyatt and it’s really old, a relic of another time. Gave it a sweet paint job!

What’s something most riders don’t realize goes into the trails they ride?
I think it’s hard to realize how much changing of the landscape actually happens while maintaining the natural look and feel. Some of the stumps or rocks we’ve had to move are just absolutely massive! Being a pretty ambitious crew sure helps…

Who taught you something important — about building or about being out there?
An old school Cypress builder showed me to use ratchet straps to hold logs in place while you drill and nail them down for good.

What does your crew look like on a build day? Who’s usually there?
We have a lot of regulars who we couldn’t do without. But we’re always excited to see new faces, too!

Is there a moment from a trail day that’s stuck with you?
I became one of the Cypress trail day regulars, and one day a guy named Wyatt showed up too. We quickly became close friends, riding and digging Cypress every weekend!

What’s changed most on the North Shore trail network since you started?
The parking lots are busier, but it’s more diverse of a ridership. Kids to older folks from many backgrounds, shuttles or pedals or e-bikes. It’s nice to see and say hi to everyone enjoying the trails!

What are you most excited about for the next few years?
I’m looking forward to seeing how much our trails will continue to improve. We’ve seen a lot of support from the community that has shown as increased volunteer numbers, so we’ve got capacity for some big projects. Maybe we’ll have some new trails one day, or new apprentices!

Do you have a trail-building catchphrase or the thing you always say?
Build it nice or build it twice!

What do you want someone to feel the first time they ride something you built?
I like when features make you feel like a better rider. This could be on a blue or double black feature, but I want someone to ride it and feel good about it. The berm you can hit really high up that makes you feel like you’re on rails, the smooth landing that makes you feel like your suspension was absolutely dialed, the exposed roots you skip over that make you feel like you’re racing a world cup, that sort of thing.

WYATT LEHN
Cypress Crew

Tell us a bit about yourself — what do you do when you’re not on a trail?
This is probably the hardest question to answer. Professionally, I work as a commercial banker, and I help businesses with their banking needs, among other things. Thankfully, the ski run in Revelstoke, “Kill the Banker,” was not named after an experience with me; however, it nearly did do me in. I love camping with friends or poking through thrift stores looking for treasure with my girlfriend. I’m a fan of eating all of hers or my mom’s fresh baking. I’m very fortunate to have lived in other parts of our country and can honestly say that this is the place to be, especially from an outdoors perspective.

How long have you been riding, and when did building enter the picture?
I got into riding shortly after my family moved to BC from Ontario about 16-17 years ago. My dad is an avid outdoorsman, and he was eager to show my sister and me everything our new home had to offer. I had always liked riding my bike. Started with the sketchy plywood ramp on the street, and things progressed from there. My dad showed me the Richard Juryn trail on Seymour, and I was hooked. Not too long after, I started messing around at the local elementary school, building some jumps and landings on the school grounds. There are a few schools on the shore with forests and rock slabs, so they’d make pretty solid bike parks with the odd small modification.

What pulled you in? Was there a moment, a person, a project?
No Dig No Ride was a huge part of mountain bike culture and marketing strategy in the early 2010’s. Watching Rampage and the Coastal Crews segment from Kranked 8 really resonated with me. I wanted to build and ride something that felt was missing from the local sanctioned networks. 2015 is when a buddy of mine from high school (shoutout, Stew) and I started working on ‘Brown TeaCup’, it had been neglected for years. We both agreed, “This has a lot of potential, let’s fix it”. Over the course of 4yrs we fixed it up top to bottom. Many memories of digging, riding, and crashing. To the people who know this trail and have been walking/running and or riding it, and you told us you love the work – thank you, because it fueled me to keep doing it.

Walk us through a trail day. What does it look, feel, and smell like out there?
Common smells are morning dew, coffee, glizzies, BBQ, and brake dust from cars coming down from the ski hill. We’re sure to bring the JBL speaker blasting an eclectic variety of music. We have a lot of regulars who come to our trail days. Cypress has a reputation for being a hard, scary mountain to ride, but I don’t think that’s true for the community it has. We will absolutely put you to work if you come help out, but I want everyone to feel accomplished at the end of the day. I like to hand out stickers at the end of the trail day. No more Fiver Fast Passes.

What’s the project or feature you’re most proud of?
It’s not here anymore, but a few features Jared and I built on a trail that got torn out a few years ago. Really love a sweet on-off box or cedar bridge to a granite slab.
What’s your go-to tool, and why does it matter to you?
Love my Pick-ax. Helps remove roots, duff, build bench-cut, dig out rock, and use it for leverage to get out big boulders. Grab my Pick during a trail day, and I’ll hunt you down.

What’s something most riders don’t realize goes into the trails they ride?
The amount of drainage that we do surprises even the most seasoned of riders and builders from other areas when they come to our trail days. Sanctioned trails or even trails that see a lot of traffic should be built to manage a tsunami of water. Everyone knows trails are a huge investment of time, but investing that time in water management will be well worth it.

Who taught you something important — about building or about being out there?
Everyone in our group has taught me something important. Kever’s taught me to go with the flow and how to manage the trail days. Mark provided lots of insight on Wood Structures, and that my berms never have enough rock in them. Jared’s shown me that hiking with a stove and pot to make forest chilli is absolutely worth it.

What does your crew look like on a build day? Who’s usually there?
We routinely have the same characters out without fail at our public days. Shoutout, Brendan, who rocks up to the build in an Uber. If you’re a ‘Repeat Customer’, you know who you are & I’ll see you out there. You help make the mountain what it is today.

Is there a moment from a trail day that’s stuck with you?
I first met Jared on a Cypress trail day on Mystery DH. If it wasn’t for the trail day and the mountain, my life & the mountain would likely look very different.

What’s changed most on the North Shore trail network since you started?
Less privacy, more variety. It’s almost impossible to build something now without it getting found either on maps or social media. At the same time, I think The Shore is much more accessible than it was before. I appreciate how some trails have been modernized in more tasteful ways to help modern bikes maneuver them. Jank is still out there, but now I can get some flow into a lap, too. Many more women are in the sport now, more kids and families, it’s great. The Shore has evolved with the sport, but there’s a lot more work to do.

What are you most excited about for the next few years?
I don’t think I’m allowed to talk about some of the projects we have going on at Cypress with DWV & BP, but maybe that’ll get some members’ imaginations going. Can I say the prospect of building 1 or 2 new Blue trails on the mountain? Sanctioning more black and double black and adding more sanctioned builders? I’m trying to not think too far ahead. Looking forward to BBQing some chicken thighs for dinner.

Do you have a trail-building catchphrase or the thing you always say?
Shoutout to TrailSlayer for “fill is fill” & “wood rots.” I think Cypress Crew can always get behind the fact we Always Need More Rock.

What do you want someone to feel the first time they ride something you built?
I want riders to feel comfortable but challenged at the same time. These trails are where some of the world’s best practice for World Cups after all.

Coming soon