trail care crew

Next month, IMBA Canada will kick off a series of trail building workshops in Crothers Woods, and at the Bayview Bike Park. Ten workshops with the Toronto Region Conservation Authority are scheduled throughout 2012, and IMBA Canada staff will be participating, along with Sustainable Trails Ltd.

Attending groups include the Toronto Off-Road Cycling Association (TORBA), Youth Unlimited, Wild Betty's Cycling Club, and Evergreen Bike Works.

Stay tuned to the calendar for more information on the workshops, including who will be facilitating.

Just over a year ago Chad and I embarked on the second leg of our journey as Canada's first Trail Care Crew. We covered a lot of ground in 2012 but were excited and relieved to hang up our boots in December. While we sat around our temporary residence surrounded by boxes of our belongings we opened a bottle of our coveted homemade wine and reflected on our experience as TCC.

This experience shaped us in two distinct ways, as builders and as individuals.

ep·ic adj \ˈe-pik\ : extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope.

One word to describe the 2011 Trail Care Crew season; epic. Thirty two official visits, 9 provinces, 290 days on the road and over 50,000 kms travelled. We drove through snowstorms, a hurricane, a tropical storm and endured a heatwave. We started the season digging into frozen ground, we finished the season in a wind storm.

Campbell River is definitely a great place to check out if you are planning your next riding vacation. A short drive north of the Comox Valley (which also has fantastic riding) and near Mount Washington (for the gravity lovers), the Snowden Recreation Area has about 100 kilometers of singletrack.