Crew Configuration
Crews typically consist of 3 to 5 individuals: a foreman, occasionally a second operator, and two to three handworkers. All Rock Solid foreman have demonstrated trail building excellence through a tangible review process overseen by Aaron Rogers.
They are responsible for bringing the vision of the trail to reality and act as jobsite supervisor. They operate the largest excavator to break trails and in rough features. Second operators follow the foreman to narrow the tread width and complete heavy finishing work on features.
Handworkers bring the energy and their own personal touches to the trails by completing the tread and rock work. Most importantly, handworkers remove fine debris from the tread and compact the trail and give it an overall polished look. This involves the use of a wide range of handtools and powertools.
Workflow
Work typically occurs between 7 am and 6pm, Monday through Friday. Work may occur on weekends if weather delays occur during the week. Ideally, work progresses in the optimal or intended riding direction for the trail.
Crews meet each morning for a brief tailgate meeting to walk the flag line and plan goals for the day. Challenges and unmet goals from the previous day are also discussed.
Dirt.
Our trails fit seamlessly into the landscape. We use earth to carve flow trail features like berms, rollers and jumps. We carve bench trails into hillsides or raise the tread to avoid sticky spots.
Rock.
As our name suggests, working with rock is our specialty. Whether it’s benching a bedrock side slope, utilizing on-site rocks for features, or bringing in rocks to enhance the ride experience, we have the know how and tools to rock n’ roll.
Wood.
Rock Solid employs multiple foremen with wood craftsmanship backgrounds who have shared their experience and adapted it to Aaron’s unique build style. We typically build with Cedar because of its hardiness and rot resistance. We will import wood or use on-site trees not only for bridges but features such as log ride skinnies.
Steel.
Our fabrication crew has extensive capabilities and experience fabricating structures in the field and in-house. Steel is functional and steadfast providing reliable strength to a feature. We weld steel into sculptures of art that are fun to ride, and always take rider safety into consideration.
Bridges
Rock Solid frequently constructs bridges and flyovers, usually over water crossings or other bike trails. These bridges vary in size, complexity, and construction type; from straight cedar log bridges to steel bridges with multiple complex curves.
Rock Solid can install pre-engineered features, although custom work is typically our strong suit. We pride ourselves with structures designed in a way to fit in with the landscape and optimize ride experience. In-house CAD drawing services are available as needed. Our fabrication crew has extensive capabilities and experience fabricating a diversity of MTB-optimized structures serving basic needs all the way to purpose built fun filled features.
Hubs
Elevated hubs were brought into the cycling world to give trail projects a sense of place—a centerpiece of a trail system that groups trail intersections to minimize confusion . Not only serving as a social gathering place to rest and plan out the ride route but also to establish trail speed through starting drop-ins. Our hub systems serve as few as two trails to as many as 8.
The Rock Solid team will work directly with you to find a hub set-up that meets your project’s specific trail layout needs. We’ve build everything from a simple intersection with proper signage to more advanced designs, complete with engineered rock retaining wall platforms. Some of our more noteworthy examples include the Lake Leatherwood Start Hub, Centennial Park Stonehenge, the G6 Castle, and Choo Choo Hub.
Travel
Part of trail building life is being nomadic, which can have its pros and cons. We encourage our construction crew members to have a mobile housing setup so they have the ability to travel. Over the years we have learned what it takes to offer employees comfort and stability when it comes to life on the road, we employ positions like Operations Manager, HR Manager, CPA, and Project Manager to keep the show on the road. We also offer industry-leading employee benefits to supplement the lives of our workers too!