04/23/2026
Visit the Laurentian Escarpment Community Trails or Three Towers Trails and you will experience the craftsmanship of Brent Bull and crew. While the technical trail features are built to challenge mountain bikers, the real talent lies in the wooden structures designed to cross wet areas and help curb erosion.
Brent has been a “putter woodworker” for over 40 years, and building trails for at least 20. But it was when he retired in 2021 that the work really took off. Last summer, Brent alone logged over 200 hours of volunteer time on the Laurentian Escarpment Community Trails. Much of that time was spent cutting lumber at his home shop, hauling it up to the trail site by hand, and assembling the boardwalk structures with his crew … all before most people have had their morning coffee.
“We could essentially build the structures without speaking to each other. You might get whacked on the back of the head if you’re not moving fast enough… but no time to pause.”
The crew Brent has assembled is tight-knit and skilled. They’ve built enough structures together that the work flows without much need for words. Will brings artistry to the craft. Don builds steps like nobody else. Ted, as Brent puts it, “is the gorilla guy.” Everyone has a role, and the results speak for themselves.
They are also, every one of them, riders. That shared love of the sport is part of what holds the group together and part of what drives them back out to work on trails they could just as easily enjoy. “We’re doing this not just for ourselves,” Brent says. “This is a community trail so many people enjoy it. It’s fantastic.”
On the days the crew wraps up a new boardwalk, they pack up their tools and head home for a short rest. Then, most afternoons, Brent is back out there… on his bike, riding the same trails he just helped build.
Read the stories of other local Trail Champions at discoveryroutes.ca/trail-champions/
North Bay Mountain Bike Association
