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Building and Riding the Backyard "Flight Deck"

May 31, 2021
Last week we built a mountain bike trail in my

backyard

, the Berm Peak Express. We built it wide and flat, so it could serve as an access road to the trailhead at the top of Berm Peak. Naturally, the summit is where all of our downhill mountain bike trails will begin and today we're going to make the summit even higher. The plan is to build a large 6 foot tall platform to roll on. This will allow cyclists to pick up speed almost instantly, making better use of our limited space. This platform will be the largest wooden structure I've ever built for a video, and if you don't believe me, ask old Ridgy.
building and riding the backyard flight deck
Any wood you use on Berm Peak must be transported here by hand. In the Pacific Northwest, rot-resistant species, such as cedar, can be harvested on site and used to build features. Not out here. In the Southern Appalachian Mountains, very few trees would be considered rot-resistant, so treated wood is the sturdiest option for outdoor projects. But the chemicals in this stuff are nasty. So, I'm working on getting rot-resistant wood from a local sawmill to experiment with in future videos. Still, it will be necessary to transport everything here as well. Like the bike wash station, we are

building

what is basically a platform.
building and riding the backyard flight deck

More Interesting Facts About,

building and riding the backyard flight deck...

But this time we need to dig much bigger holes and deal with the roots. This reciprocating saw has been a lifesaver in these tight places where swinging a machete simply isn't possible. Since continually exposing this saw to dirt and moisture can shorten its lifespan, I'm interested to see to what extent. Since we are on a slope, it is very difficult to assign these holes to my plan. Therefore, it is important to dig them more than necessary. The wide holes allow for adjustment later, and this is crucial since I don't know what I'm doing. You might think that constructing a rectangle would be simple.
building and riding the backyard flight deck
But this is a fairly large rectangle on an uneven surface. I'm wearing temporary braces to keep everything in place, while I try to place 12 foot 6x6s with a reasonable degree of accuracy. With each adjustment, we get closer to this structure, square it, level it, and plumb it. Ok, we are going to install joist supports again, but this time it will be much easier. In the bike washing video I expressed how difficult it was to install them and many of you pointed out that there is an easier way. Simply attach the hanger, tap the tab near the top, and then install the fasteners.
building and riding the backyard flight deck
That's what the hanger was designed for, but I never looked closely at it. Thanks to you, I get things done faster and have plenty of time for things like shovels and cannons. With all of our beams installed, it's time to turn this into a real platform. These

deck

boards look a lot like bike wash boards, but much cheaper. They have warps, bows, and knots that make them undesirable for pretty home improvement projects. But in the case of the

flight

deck

, no one will notice the difference. I waited to get this far into construction to prune this tree because I couldn't reach it before.
But it's good that the rest invades the deck a little. Since the plan is to build ramps from this thing in all directions, it may be difficult to find a way around this tree in the future, but we'll try. With a surface suitable for standing and traveling, the Flight Deck is now officially a platform. You know what it means. Some testing skills would have made that hit a little easier. Now, let's move on to making this usable. You may have noticed that these posts extend much higher than the structure. They are for railing. To stiffen the railing, we will add another post in the center.
This will be attached to the beam with lag screws and we will cut a hole in a board to make it look like it belongs there. Now, given the purpose of the

flight

deck, it may seem pointless to add a handrail. But with several cyclists congregated here, I want something they can back up against. We can assume that they will be facing the ramps, so this reduces the risk of someone slipping backwards off the platform. But there is another reason for the railing. All of our trail

building

tools will be stored right here at the trailhead, so we are building a rack.
These tubes are made from material left over from the shovel cannon. But in this much smaller configuration, only garden paddles can fire. But we're not done with the Flight Deck yet, we still need an easy way to put bikes on it. This 12-foot ramp will be as long as the flight deck itself, so it will be a really smooth climb to the top. Many ramps like these contain bumps to use as a base when going up, but this ramp must be smooth so that we can use it to go down to a future trail. Of course, that will require some gardening.
For now, we are using the bottom of the flight deck to store some wood and the Endurbarrow Version 2/aka the shovel gun. But I can do a little more with this place if the need arises. And with that, I think we're off to a good start with the flight deck. It's tempting to aim downhill and start cutting the trail tomorrow, but this is the only surface I have. We need to get it right the first time and make the most of this space. So next week we're going to convene the think tank, take a serious ride through these woods, and come up with a plan to turn this place into a mini bike park.
Thanks for traveling with me today and we'll see you next time.

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