CAMBA to Build New Trail in Cleveland Metroparks!
The Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association is very proud to announce a brand new mountain bike trail in Cleveland Metroparks! The trail will be built at Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation and construction will begin on Saturday, November 18th, 2006. After 5½ years of dedicated, professional, all-volunteer advocacy work, CAMBA will be building the first trail open to mountain biking in Cuyahoga County. The trail is in the heart of the city and is only about 5 miles from the center of downtown Cleveland…
The trail will be open to mountain biking, hiking, and trail running, and will be approximately 4 miles in length. It will feature a dedicated section of trail called the “Learning Loop” which will be specifically designed and constructed to teach beginners how to ride a bicycle off-road. The remainder of the trail will be rolling single-track in a unique, urban setting. The trail will also be directly accessible from the Towpath Trail.
Like all mountain bike trails in Ohio, this trail will be built entirely by volunteers. Therefore, the amount of time it takes to complete this trail will be dependent on the number of people that come out and help build this trail. If you make the time to ride this trail (and we know you will), you can make the time to help build it. With good turnouts, CAMBA believes it is possible to complete the entire trail by Summer of 2007.This project is the result of the dedication and hard work of many people. Among them are:
- Bill Braum, Frank Dessoffy, Mike Farley, Mindy Kuth, Amy Lennon, Jim Olander, Chris Steffens, Craig Wood, all the past and present leadership, and every volunteer from the Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association.
- The staff of Cleveland Metroparks including Nancy Desmond, Chuck Englehardt, Vern Hartenburg, and Dan Petit.
- Ohio State Senator Robert Spada
- Ohio State Representative Tim Degeeter
- Ohio Court of Appeals Eighth Apellate District Judge Sean C. Gallagher
- Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge David Matia
As a direct result of the Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association, there are now (or will soon be) high quality and environmentally sustainable trails available for mountain biking at West Branch State Park, Quail Hollow State Park, Lake Metroparks’ Hogback Ridge Property, Medina City Parks, and Cleveland Metroparks Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation. Before CAMBA, these trails were either unsustainable and unappealing, or they simply did not exist.
You can help by joining CAMBA at the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation on any or all of the following trail building days:
- Saturday, November 18, 2006
- Sunday, November 26, 2006
- Saturday, December 9, 2006
All trail building days begin at 9:00am, and you can work as long as you like. CAMBA will prepare a delicious lunch for all volunteers!
Look for a complete 2006-2007 trail building schedule to be released soon.
Questions about this announcement may be directed to Mike Farley, CAMBA Founder & Advocacy Director, farley@camba.us.