More mountain biking in national parks

Likely most of you haven't been following what's been going on with IMBA and Parks Canada but this is worth a quick read.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/progs/np-pn/dav-vag/dav-vag01.aspx
The long and the short of it is that Parks Canada will be improving their trail system and opening up more trails for mountain bikers to use, this will include real single track and not just gravel paths.
You can also help out by filling out the Parks Canada survey to tell them what type of riding you like and where you would like to see it.
http://app.fluidsurveys.com/surveys/wnsc/cycling-1/

The HMBA's first annual Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day was a huge success. It was a great day to take the kids out on the trail and a good time was had by all.
Thanks to all who came out to participate and a special thanks to Fitworks for helping out with the prizes.
Hope to see everyone again next year.

Take a kid mountain biking day in Hillsborough

The HMBA will be participating in IMBA's 'Take a kid mountain biking day', this is a program to introduce kids to the sport of mountain biking and give them a chance to see the local trails. The event is usually held on the first Saturday of October( the 2nd this year) but due to some local events we will be holding it on the morning of October 9 from 10:30-12:00 at the main entrance of the White Rock Recreation Area. There will be a bike ride according to age and ability, prizes and food. This will be a free event to all who wish to participate and will be open to everyone, HMBA members an non-members alike. Please contact us if you are interested in participating.

Earl

Everyone will be happy to know that the effects of hurricane Earl were minimal and the trail system is still in great shape. There where some branches and trees blown down, so it would be wise to keep a look out for things on the trails.

IMBA Trail School in Fundy, NB

IMBA is putting on a trail school at the Alma activity centre on Friday, August 13 and is open to anyone interested. Click on the link for all the details.
http://www.imba.com/civicrm/event/info?id=42&reset=1

Sugarloaf videos

Anyone who hasn't had a chance to go to Sugarloaf to try the bike park here is a taste of what your missing. http://vimeo.com/12750234

Sugarloaf bike park opens July 18

Sugarloaf bike park in Campbellton, N.B. is opening again for 2010 and is better than ever.
The Gravity Logic team has return this spring to preform there magic and to get Sugarloaf ready for another season of riding. With many of the trails being improved and new sections being built this will make for some exciting riding.
With 9 lift access trails and 25km of cross country trails ,there is something for everyone.
http://www.sugarloafpark.ca/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=110&Itemid=135

Moncton Ride guide

Riding season is in full swing so don't forget to check out http://monctonrideguide.com/ for upcoming rides and to post your own.

May 15 trail day

What started off as a day with cloudy skies

and drizzle turned out to be a great day of building, BBQing and biking.

The task chosen for the for the day was to repair the the trail known as "The Cut". Over the last few years this trail has taken a heavy beating and was in need of major repairs.

When the trail was originally built it ran through a stand of spruce and fir trees, but a couple years after being built the wood was harvested and the trail then took a turn for the worse. With no trees to soak up the water and a couple of very wet summers the trail soon turned muddy and the enjoyment of using the trail was starting to fade.Now after a successful day of trail work "The Cut" is in great shape again and ready for riding this summer.

A great time was had by all and being able to top it off with food and a ride to try out the new trail work was a perfect way to end the day

Thanks to all who showed up to helped.

Thursday, May 6 evening ride

Meeting at the trailhead by the golf course at around 6:30.

Trail day

It was good to be back on the trails so early in the year to get ready for another season of great mountain biking in the WRRA. This turned out to be a very successful day working on the trails and alot was accomlished.

We focused our work on two sections of trail, one being a trail that had been all but forgotten by mountain bikers since it had fallen into such a state of disrepair. This trail is now back up and running after rebuilding two bridges and performing extensive repairs to get it back into shape once again. Thanks to all who showed up on such short notice and helped out.

Green Snake ride

With the sun shining and chilly temperatures we started off the riding season with a trip to the Green Snake trail. For those who haven't been there before Green snake is a multi use trail located off School street in Alma, N.B. This trail offers great mountain biking and hiking and the long climb up the trail is well worth the exciting ride back to the bottom for mountain bikers. Even though a trail with so much climbing this early in the season may have been a challenge, I think we can all say it was great to get back onto the trails again for the first group ride of the year.

You can check out the video of the ride that Andrew shot here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12NTTVkqews

Spring Already?

I think to every ones surprise spring has started early and even more surprisingly has decided to stick around for the foreseeable future. This has given us the opportunity to get out and have an early start on some trail work and also to begin to plan for the spring maintenance day. With it still being early spring and snow still in the woods we haven't set a date yet,but will inform everyone when we do.
We have already decided on some projects that need to be done and are working towards having materials ready to complete them by trail day(s). We are going to focus on smaller projects and basic maintenance that needs to be done instead of the bigger projects that will require the ground to dry out more.
If anyone knows of a problem that needs to be addressed or has an idea of what they would like to see worked on during trail day let us know.

Introducing the Hillsborough Mountain Bike Association

The Hillsborough Mountain Bike Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting mountain biking, trail building, protecting land access and the maintenance of trails on which mountain bikers ride. We support the conservation of open spaces and we are committed to educating off-road cyclists to ride sensitively and responsibly in order to protect the natural environment and the experience of other trail users.

Our goal is to promote all aspects of mountain biking while creating a sustainable trail system to be used by all outdoor enthusiasts.

The HMBA, with approval from Village of Hillsborough(VOH), will now be looking after the mountain bike trail system in Hillsborough and will be working with the VOH to improve the tail system in the White Rock Recreation Area (the Quarries) for both mountain bikers as well as other trail users. The trail system will now be managed by the VOH and the HMBA and a plan will be made up for the restoration and maintenance of the trail system. The work will commence as soon as weather permits and will included the marking of some of the trails in the lower quarries, an addition of a map at the trailhead and as well as signage, the replacement of 2 bridges, repair of the main parking lot, the repair of an older trail to make a new biking\ walking trail, blocking off of some roads to prevent motorized traffic on the trail system and the repair of the single track mountain bike trails. Hopefully these improvements and future improvements will make the WRRA more enjoyable for everyone and will insure the quarries stay open for all to use.

We are a member club of IMBA Canada. The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is a non-profit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve great trail experiences for mountain bikers worldwide.
Since 1988, IMBA has been bringing out the best in mountain biking by encouraging low-impact riding, volunteer trail work participation, cooperation among different trail user groups, grassroots advocacy and innovative trail management solutions.
IMBA's worldwide network includes 32,000 individual members, over 450 bicycle clubs, more than 130 corporate partners and about 200 bicycle retailers in over 40 countries.