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Kids' MTB event at Standing Rocks Oct. 1
On October 1, National Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day, the Point Pursuit bicycling club of Stevens Point, Wisconsin; PASTA (Point Area Single Track Association); and WORS (Wisconsin Off Road
Series) will host an event at Standing Rocks Park from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Gary Fisher Bikes and Campus Cycles will donate a Gary Fisher Wahoo mountain bike (valued at over
$400) to be given away to a lucky young mountain biker. Additional items will be given away in a drawing for all registered riders 14 years old and younger.
Standing Rocks a Portage County park with approximately 10 miles of single track for mountain bikers of varied ability, can be reached from I-39/U.S. 51 by taking County Trunk B east for 4.5 miles, turning right
(south) after the Standing Rocks signs onto Custer Road and going 1.2 miles. Turn left onto Standing Rock Road and go 1.4 miles.
From U.S. Highway 10, go west onto County B at Amherst for five miles and turn left (south) after the Standing Rocks signs onto Custer Road.
For more information, call event coordinator Jim Sniadajewski at 715/341-9493 or e-mail him at jndsnad@yahoo.com.
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IMBA trail building events
Trailbuilding experts from the International Mountain Bicycling Association will be in the Upper Midwest this fall to run IMBA trail building schools and do trailwork in:
Milwaukee, WI (Oct 13-16)
E-mail Marty Weigel of the Wisconsin Off-Road Bicycling Assoc. at marty@worba.org
Shawnee, IL (Nov 3-6 )
Contact Scott Whitaker of the Shawnee Mountain Bike Association at clueboy@aol.com
These are opportunities to rub shoulders with IMBA crew members and learn about sustainable trail building. For more info, go to www.imba.com/tcc/schedule.html.
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Midwest MTB clubs receive trail grants
Two mountain biking clubs in the upper Midwest are among 12 winners of 2005 trail preservation grants awarded by CLIF Bar and the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA). The $500 grants will
help these clubs preserve and enhance trail access, promote environmental education and inspire conservation.
The 2005 grant winners and the projects funded include the following:
Peoria Area Mountain Bike Association, Peoria, IL
The Peoria Area Mountain Bike Association will complete a stacked-loop trail system consisting of
beginner, advanced, and ADA-accessible trails at Black Partridge Park in Metamora, Illinois. The area was once slated to become a golf course, but through the efforts of local advocates it remains a wooded area,
home to several endangered and protected species. www.pambamtb.org
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Cronies Outdoor Adventure Tribe, Waupaca, WI
The Cronies Outdoor Adventure Tribe will build the Bramble Loop Trail, the first single-track trail development project undertaken by the club. For the past two years, COAT has organized and hosted the
noncompetive Riverfest Ride on area rural roads. The Riverfest Ride has raised funds for bike programs in the city of Waupaca. www.croniesbike.org
The IMBA and National Off-Road Bicycle Association also recently awarded 10 $500 grants to develop and improve trail systems used by racers and recreational riders.
The 2005 winners included the following:
Michigan Mountain Biking Association & Tailwind Enterprises, Detroit, MI
The MMBA and Tailwind will add a new trail and technical skills area to Stony Creek Metropark near
Detroit. Tailwind organizes a race at Stony Creek, which has become one of Michigan's premier mountain biking areas.
In 2004, a tuneup grant was awarded to the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association of northern Wisconsin. The grant was to help CAMBA relocate the Rock Lake Trail in the Chequamegon-Nicolet
National Forest. The new trail features 14 miles of single track.
Founded in 1988, the IMBA is a nonprofit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and
preserve trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide by encouraging low-impact riding, volunteer trail work, cooperation among different trail-user groups and innovative trail management solutions.
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Walk & Bike to School Day, Oct. 5
International Walk and Bike to School Day is a fun, educational event that highlights the need to keep streets safe for children, encourage kids to be active and remind everyone how much fun the simple act of
walking can be. Anyone can organize an event at a local school.
Chicago Mayor Daley's Safe Routes Ambassadors invite you to participate and raise awareness about the need to:
Promote the importance of regular physical activity to stay alert strong and healthy;
Reinforce children's good traffic safety skills;
Remind adults to drive safely in school zones;
Create and maintain safe places for children to walk within their neighborhood;
Reduce traffic congestion and pollution in Chicago.
In Chicago, contact Beth Gutelius of Mayor Daley's Safe Routes Ambassadors at Beth.Gutelius@cityofchicago.org or visit www.chicagowalks.org. In the surrounding areas, contact
Melody Geraci of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation at 312/427-3325, Ext. 240, or melody@biketraffic.org.
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Chicago posting signs for cyclists
In August, Chicago crews began installing 125 miles of signs up and down Chicago's bike routes and white-lined street lanes. The hope is that by the end of this month, all the city's bike paths will be clearly
marked with the green rectangular signs that provide information and distance to a specific destination.
The signs will direct cyclists toward the well-known, well-trodden lakefront paths, as well as neighborhoods and landmarks such as Wicker Park and the South Shore Cultural Center.
For more information, visit the Chicago Department of Transportation at www.ChicagoBikes.org.
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U.P. group seeks volunteers for Nordic skiing Junior Olympics; Event to be held in Houghton, March 3-11
The top junior cross-country skiers in the country will converge in Houghton, Michigan, next March for the 2006 Chevrolet Junior Olympics presented by Barilla.
Organizers of the event are seeking volunteers for all or part of the weeklong series of races. Help is particularly critical on the race days of March 6, 8, 10 and 11.
"We need literally hundreds of volunteers for this event," said Mike Abbott, one of the race directors. "We
need folks to help with a wide range of things, including course control, copying and posting results, parking, staffing the information center and no experience is necessary."
Those who would like to volunteer can find details at www.2006junior olympics.org. The Web site includes an information form that volunteers can fill out and submit online.
The Junior Olympics will feature the top cross-country skiers, ages 14-19, from around the country. The weeklong event includes sprints, classic, freestyle and relay races. The trails at Michigan Technological
University in Houghton will serve as the venue for all of the races.
For more information, and to volunteer, go to www.2006juniorolympics.org.
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Illinois governor announces $2.5 million for bike trails; Projects to provide safe riding in 11 communities
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced in late August that 11 communities statewide would share more than $2.5 million in bicycle path grants. The funds will expand local and regional bike trails that provide safe
places to ride for families, children, commuters, and fitness and recreation enthusiasts.
"The bike paths we are supporting with these grants are an investment in local and regional recreation
opportunities, tourism and neighborhood enhancement," Gov. Blagojevich said. "Trails are increasingly
popular in all parts of the state as places for families to ride, walk or jog together safely. They are also an
attractive feature as communities market themselves to visitors, providing a boost to tourism and economic development efforts."
The bicycle path grant program is administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It reimburses local governments up to half the cost of approved land acquisition and development costs for
bicycle trail projects. The program is funded through a percentage of the motor vehicle title transfer fee and has supported acquisition and development of nearly 1,000 miles of local community bike paths throughout
the state.
Below are this year's bicycle path grant program projects. The governmental units that will receive the funding are in parentheses.
Glen Carbon (Madison Co.)
$200,000, to develop the 1.65-mile Green Space North Bike Trail and Ronald Foster Heritage Connector Trail. The project will connect the Madison County Transit Nickel Plate Trail with the Village Hall complex,
a U.S. post office and the Ronald Foster Heritage Trail.
Lake County (DOT)
$200,000, to construct a 1.45-mile trail to connect the existing Skokie Valley Bike Path at Laurel Avenue
to the North Shore Bike Path along Illinois Route 176. This project completes the development of the 11-mile Skokie Valley Trail.
Lake in the Hills (McHenry Co.)
$127,500, to construct 1.71 miles of trail on Reed, Haligus and Grafton farm roads.
Madison County Transit Dist.
$200,000, to construct a 3.4-mile trail that will run from the Madison County Transit Nature Trail near Interstate-255 in Pontoon Beach to the Glen Carbon Trail in downtown Glen Carbon.
Marine (Madison Co.)
$200,000, to develop a 1.1-mile easterly trail extension of the existing 11-mile Ronald J. Foster Heritage Trail from Illinois Route 4 to Vernon Street in the Village of Marine.
Peoria Park Dist. (Peoria Co.)
$200,000, to construct a 1-mile trail to connect the 28-mile Rock Island Trail to the 7.3-mile Pimiteoui Trail. The segment is located between Glen Avenue and Knoxville Avenue.
Rockton (Winnebago Co.)
$198,400 to the township to develop a 1.36-mile trail section of the Dorr Road Bike Path, which provides a northern link to South Beloit.
Skokie (Cook Co.)
$720,000, to acquire a 1.04-mile portion of abandoned Union Pacific railroad right of way located between Oakton and Dempster streets in Skokie.
St. Clair Co. Transit Dist.
$107,000, to construct .26 mile of trail between two existing sections of the Metrolink Bike Trail and the Southwestern Illinois College Nature Trail. This segment is parallel to Green Mount Road and is primarily
on the college's property.
Will Co. Forest Preserve Dist.
$200,000, to construct Phase IV of the proposed 24-mile Wauponsee Glacial Trail. This 7.6-mile segment
of trail connects the village of Symerton, the city of Wilmington and Custer Park.
Yorkville (Kendall Co.)
$200,000, to construct 4.23 miles of trail as part of the regional Blackberry Creek Trail corridor that runs through Kendall and Kane counties.
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