IMBA Visit and New Trail!!

Hello Friends

The IMBA visit went great!  We learned a lot, heard a lot of really great things, opened some political doors, built some beautiful trail, and made some new friends.  We have a lot to talk about and digest, and I'm really excited about it.

Check out the blog entry posted by  Chris and Leslie of the IMBA Trail Care Crew below:

On the Trail with IMBA

Click HERE to view more pictures from the visit.

Thank you all for your enthusiasm.

Pete Taylor
Volunteer Board President
Vernon Trails Inc.

IMBA Trail Care Crew Visit

Hello All, 

As some of you may know, Vernon Trails has been selected by the International Mountain Bicycling Association to receive a visit from their Trail Care Crew. Clubs all over the country apply for a visit and we were approved. This is a great honor and opportunity for our community. We have been building some phenomenal “shared use” trails here in Vernon County for the past 5 years and now we get to learn the latest techniques from the pros. In addition, the IMBA crew will be giving a great presentation on the Economic Benefits of mountain biking and shared use trails. I invite you all to join in this unique opportunity. Below is a schedule for the four day visit, you are welcome to attend part or all of this. Please RSVP for which sessions you will be attending. You can respond via email at bluedogcycles@yahoo.com or call Bluedog Cycles at (608) 637-6993 or Vernon Trails at (608) 637-2072. Please pass this along to any interested parties.

Sincerely,

Pete Taylor

Volunteer Board President

Vernon Trails, Inc

IMBA VISIT SCHEDULE

Thursday: IMBA arrives in the afternoon and possibly gets out for a ride to check out the local trails and get a feel for the local vibe.

Friday: Economic Development of Natural Surface Trails Presentation. This meeting is open to the community. I have been/will be inviting City officials, County officials, Tourism Committee, Viroqua Partners, and local business owners to this meeting.

The Economic presentation's agenda is as follows:

• Introduction to IMBA
• Value of Singletrack Trails
• Economics of Singletrack Trails
• Success Stories
• Q and A / Discussion

Please pass along the invitation to anyone you think should attend. The meeting is going to be held at 9:00am at WWTC in Viroqua, Room 115. After the meeting the trail crew will head out for Trail Layout, then we possibly ride and/or socialize in evening.

Saturday: Trail Building School from 9:00 am to Noon.  Lunch is provided by the club.

Field session from 1:00 to 4:00 or 5:00 (4 hours of trail building is usually plenty for most folks).

Sunday: Group Ride. This is usually the time to get the riding on and put the trail talk on the shelf.

Here is the presentation agenda for Saturday's Trail Building School:

Introductions

Powerpoint Presentation: IMBA Trailbuilding School

Who is IMBA?

Trailbuilding Theory

Historical Perspective

Modern Perspective
Sustainability
The Contour Trail

Essential Elements of Sustainable Trails
Water Based Erosion
User Based Erosion

Designing Successful Trails - System Planning

Understanding User Groups
Control Points
Stacked Loop Systems
Effective Signage
Understanding Flow

Trail Construction Basics

Corridor Clearing
Full Bench Construction
TTFs
Advanced Trail Construction - rock work, turns, & drainage crossings

Maintenance Basics

De-berming
Drainage
Reroutes and reclamation

Butter Churn Bike Tour

Hello Bicycle Enthusiasts!

The fourth Annual Butter Churn Bike tour is right around the corner. This is a great event in conjunction with the Organic Valley Kickapoo Country Fair. This event is on Saturday July 24, 2010. This is a well supported tour. We offer a 20 mile, 40mile, and 80 mile ride. All participants receive a free ticket to enter the Kickapoo Country Fair.

Come and enjoy the beautiful scenery and join us for this year’s Butter Churn!

To register go to Active.com, or contact Alycann at 608-637–2072 to register, or to volunteer.  If you don’t want to ride, we can always use volunteer help!

Happy Riding,

Alycann Taylor

Vernon Trails Volunteer

Bluedog Cycles group ride schedule

Hello fellow riders!

Many of you have been out riding this season and may be wondering if and when your friends are out there riding as well. Here is Bluedog's most updated list of rides broken down to days, times, road or mountain, and abilities. All rides leave from the shop at 210 South Main Street in Viroqua. Please pass this information along to anyone you think might be interested.

Monday at 5:30 Road Ride- This is open to all and a welcomed new addition. The ride is going between 15 and 30 miles at a nice casual "conversation" pace (12-15 miles per hour).

Tuesday at 6:00 No Woman left behind Road Ride- This is for the ladies only and our biggest group ride to date. This ride is for ALL abilities and always concludes at a local watering hole.

Thursday at 5:30 Road Ride- This is a 30-50 mile ride at 17 to 19 miles per hour. We will usually average about 17 mph overall but there are always faster sections, especially when approaching a town line sprint. We will regroup a couple of times throughout the ride when necessary.

Friday at 6:00 Friday Night Lights Mountain Bike Ride- This is a new one. This is for everyone who wants to ride the great local "singletrack" we've built. Check in with us by Friday at 2:00 and we will let you know where we are riding. Don't let the name fool you, we still have plenty of light to get a great off road ride in. We will continue this one though as we roll into Autumn and the days shorten, so be thinking light systems.

We hope to see you all out there, and please call the shop (637-6993) with any questions.

Pete and Alycann Bluedog Cycles