MERRELL TRAIL WORK DAY: WE CAME, WE BUILT, WE SENT IT
Some teams bond over trust falls. Some go to escape rooms. The Coyotes? We grab shovels, dirt, and a borderline unhealthy obsession with sending it. That’s right…Merrell Trail Work Day was an absolute masterpiece of chaos, camaraderie, and controlled carnage.
It was freaking cold at the start…like “why did I leave my warm bed for this?” cold. But after about five minutes of shoveling, hauling dirt, and aggressively shaping berms, we warmed up fast. Nothing like manual labor and dreams of airtime to get the blood pumping.
Merrell is one of our home trails, a place we ride all the time. That made this day even more special, seeing the kids’ eyes get wide as they realized, “Hey, I built or fixed that section!” was the killer moment of the day. Nothing beats ripping through a section you personally helped shape and knowing your work made it faster, smoother, and way more sendy.
With caffeine coursing through our parent coaches veins and an unreasonable amount of enthusiasm for moving literal tons of dirt, we got to work. Berms? Reworked to perfection. Jumps? Bigger, better, sendier. Owen, our resident air-time enthusiast, even got his own custom launch pad (because when a guy wears his helmet all day like a responsible shredder, he deserves some perks).
Tyler decided to personally test our craftsmanship by absolutely launching off a new jump. The good news? The jump worked. The bad news? His bike was less than thrilled about the situation. After an airborne moment of pure glory, Tyler promptly apologized to his bike for the emotional and physical distress he inflicted upon it.
Tyler Sending It
Would it even be a Coyotes event without snacks? Absolutely not. Between digging, shaping, and sending, we fueled up on a strategic blend of pizza, sugary goodness, and whatever else showed up in snack form. Because nothing screams “peak performance” like a stomach full of pizza right before dropping in.
Watching the team come together was the real highlight. Shovels flew, dirt rained down, and somehow, despite all the chaos, we made the trails objectively better (or at least way more sendy). The stoke levels? Through the roof.
The trails are better. The jumps are bigger. Tyler’s bike has hopefully forgiven him. And we? We’ll be back. Because nothing beats a day of hard work, good friends, and the thrill of knowing that the next time we ride Merrell, the jumps will be bigger… and so will the send.
Until next time, Coyotes…keep the stoke high and the snacks stocked. 🐺🔥
