Testimonial, Lee Quarry Mountain Bike Trails, Lancashire County Council.
Rowan Sorrell and his company Back on Track have undertaken a number of mountain bike related projects for us over the past four years. These have ranged from putting together initial scoping documents identifying possible routes and outline costings through to detailed design and build. The most recent work Rowan has done for us at Lee Quarry which was a design and build contract has been a great success and we have had a lot of very positive feedback from users.
From the point of view of someone managing a contract Rowan and Back on Track were a joy to work with, they did exactly what they said they were going to do within budget and within the agreed time constraints. Lee Quarry is a SSSI and is a challenging site to work on Rowan and his team worked in an environmentally sensitive and thoughtful way. Problems encountered during the construction phase were dealt with, quickly and with the minimum of fuss Rowans team had a very positive can do attitude and were very flexible in their approach to the work. Obviously health and safety is a primary concern when undertaking a project like this and Back on Track complied with all the CDM and risk assessment requirements we asked them to.
Rowans team are all enthusiastic riders themselves and this is apparent when you ride the trails they build, they flow very well and appeal to a wide range of riders of all abilities.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want any more information about how we found working with Back on Track. Tony Lund, Countryside Officer, Lancashire County Council |
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Cwm Rhaeadr XC Trail, Forestry Commission:
Rowan Sorrell was appointed by the Cilycwm Community Assn to design the Cyd Coed funded Cwm Rhaeadr MTB trail, built on Forestry Commission land and project managed by Brian Hanwell, FC Wales Local Area Manager.
Rowan brought a wealth of insight to the design, and coached a civil engineering contractor who had no previous experience of such work to build a superb trail. He has an open and friendly nature, coupled with a passion for mountain biking, that made him an easy designer to work with. Rowan designed a trail that was appropriate to the design brief - a red grade, without serious challenges, suitable for younger novice riders from the local community. But what made it special was an eye for detail, utilising the natural features and viewpoints. Riders enthuse about the beauty of the trail, and although the design may have few technical challenges, the flow and ride quality displays the forest environment off to great advantage.
The trail was included in the first Trans Wales event in 2007, where it also featured as a special stage. The event is revisting Cwm Rhaeadr in 2009.
Whilst this trail will never be a crowd puller like those at Cwmcarn or Coed y Brenin for example, it fills a gap in the market for a short, local trail where quality is not compromised.
Brian Hanwell, FC Wales Local Area Manager |
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Merthyr Indoor Dirt Park, Private:
‘I had an idea of having an indoor dirt park and immediately thought of contacting Rowan Sorrell knowing the understanding he has of building dirt jumps, pump tracks and the quality of his trail building in and around South Wales. I set them a brief to: - build a dirt park that would allow a person to develop their skills and progress on to more difficult lines/jumps. Rowan Sorrell visited the unit and mapped out his vision of an indoor park around the spec I gave him. The job involved building a dirt pump/jump track and a wooden curved wall ride and roll in / start ramp.
The people employed at Back-on-Track were extremely professional and flexible in their attitude and were a pure joy to work with. The final result of the indoor track has far exceeded my wildest expectations. People who have ridden the dirt park all comment on how clever the park has been built to suit all types of riding ability from complete novices to expert riders, I highly recommend them.’
Huw Lloyd Lewis, Owner, Merthyr Indoor Dirt Park
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Testimonial, Skills loops, Bro Myrddin School:
The bike track has been a huge success and works very well both in curriculum time and outside curriculum time. It has also been hugely successful with junior school groups. There were initial concerns amongst higher management about safety etc. but these have been totally allayed and to date [almost 2 years of use] there has been nothing worse than a few scratches. We are also very pleased with the way the track is holding up with no need for any maintenance up to this time.
The most pleasing thing about it is the increase in interest, and the skills of the pupils of the school, since it has been opened. There is now a sizeable group of boys who mountain bike regularly in Brechfa and Abergorlech with parents and friends as well as run mountain bike clubs in school. The pleasant surprise is the increase in girls who are participating who up until now would not have shown any interest whatsoever in mountain biking, but who are now competent on the track in school as well as the green and blue tracks in Byrgwm, Brechfa.
Without doubt, one of the best aquisitions to our physical education facilities.
Hefin Elias, Head of PE Department, Bro Myrddin School
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Gisburn Forest Mountain Bike Project, Phase One Blue, Red and Black trail build:
Back-on-track were initially employed by the Gisburn Forest Trail Partnership to critique the trail corridor identified by the team, suggest any potential improvements and advise on the use of features and micro design. After spending a couple of weeks in the forest walking the proposed routes and alternatives Rowan was able to come up with some valuable additional ideas and an outline costing which enabled us to put in a funding application.
Once funding had been secured for phase one I had the pleasure of working with Rowan and the team from Back-on-Track whilst the construction of the new singletrack sections were underway during early 2009. Back-on-track were employed for their trail design expertise to provide the micro design element and oversee the contractor who was completing the build of the trail. I was impressed with both of the trail designers who were employed on the project. They developed a good working relationship with the contractor and the trail produced rides very well. I was especially pleased with the section of trail built, on Rowan’s recommendation, with the walking excavator. This trail construction method, using on-site materials (large rock slabs and material from borrow pits) to create the trail, was low impact and has produced some of the best trail on the site (including rock drops, causeway and roll-ins) all built to a high standard.
Overall I am more than satisfied with the work completed to date and look forward to continuing to work with Back-on-track in the future.
Nigel Pilling, Countryside Ranger, United Utilities Bowland Estate.
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As a keen mountain biker I wanted to involve young people at the centre in an activity that kept me physically fit and out of trouble as a young person. The centre’s client group is between 10-16yrs old, often from poor social backgrounds who find themselves within the Youth Justice system for numerous reasons.
Back On Track built a pump track at the centre consisting of berms, tabletops, double’s and a step up. The course is challenging but fun with hidden jump lines, my only regret is that we did not have double the land to build a bigger track!!
Rowan and the team visited the centre several times and met young people who were involved in the design brief. The young people enjoyed the contact with the guys and stories of cycling locations, jumps and races.
The design of the track took different guises with the above design best utilising the space. The track meets very specific guidance laid down by licence conditions of the centre, there was however little changes required to the teams usual high specification of building. The track has weathered fantastically and shows no sign of wear and tear, our eighteen residents of which six are girls are enjoying cycling at the centre. I believe this is more enjoyable thanks to a well designed and built track, a big shout out to the team. Cheers!
Paul Dickens, Unit Leader, Nottingham County Council Social Services Department.
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