Volunteers Needed

New East Eagle Trail Approved and Ready to Build!

Thanks to the volunteer and financial support of HTC members, the Town of Eagle, and the BLM, the following has been funded and completed:
1. Botany study to make sure the new trail steers clear of Penstemon
2. Archaeology study including consultation with Eastern Ute Native American tribe
3. Flagging of the trail following requirements from #1 and #2 above

What’s next?

HTC and VVMTA are partnering to build this new trail. This week there will be a Mini-X clearing sage on the trail corridor. As soon as that is complete we'll need volunteers to finish the job with hand tools.

Saturday, October 26 11:00 am – 3:00pm

Meet on Bellyache Road just East of the Dirt Surfer Trailhead (Click here for link to Trailforks POI)

Saturday, November 2 11:00am – 3:00pm

Meet on Bellyache Road just East of the Dirt Surfer Trailhead (Click here for link to Trailforks POI)

Please sign up here so we know how many people to expect.

IF dry, you can ride up. We can also carpool up Bellyache Road, meet at 10:30 at the parking lot on the corner of Bluff & Mill. Please let us know if you want to drive or be a passenger and we'll try to put together groups.

Trail building tools will be provided. Please bring water and your own work gloves. Wear long pants and sturdy shoes. We'll have some snacks on site and beer and food after each work day.

Note: All trail work is weather dependent. If it's muddy and we can't get to the work site without causing trail damage work days will be postponed.

Thanks to everyone who have helped make this trail a reality!

Questions? Contact Laura Turitz 970.306.5681 or Charlie Brown 970.328.3478

 

What does Order Number 3376 From the Secretary of the Interior mean for E-Bikes in Eagle?

Well, nothing yet. And NO, this does not mean that E-Bikes are now legal on BLM land in Eagle. So then what does it mean? At the Federal level the Secretary of the Interior has issued an order that E-bikes, also known as low-speed electric bicycles (class I, II and III), shall be allowed where other types of bicycles are allowed; E-bikes shall not be allowed where other types of bicycles are prohibited; and E-bikes are no longer defined as off-road motorized vehicles.

The intent of the order is “to increase recreational opportunities for all Americans, especially those with physical limitations, and to encourage the enjoyment of lands and waters managed by the Department of the Interior (Department).”

Locally, if the order is executed, many trails in Eagle including Boneyard, Pool & Ice, Redneck Ridge, and all non-motorized trails open to biking on BML land would be open to E-Bikes.

Now, the various local departments (Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Reclamation) have 30 days to adopt the order, provide any justification that would prevent adoption, and seek public comment.

According to a great article from Outside Magazine “it’s currently unclear how each agency will respond—that is, how widely they will throw open the doors of the public lands they manage.” The public response so far is complicated as the pro’s and con’s are numerous.

So now it’s a waiting game for how the BLM will decide to implement this policy. Most of our trails in Eagle are on either BLM land or cross into National Forest Service land, which this order does not apply to.

We will keep you posted on public comment opportunities and any other significant developments impacting local trails including updates from our local BLM land manager.

For more reading, enjoy the full order here and a link to E-Bike rules for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

April 15 is a magical date in Eagle. All the trails open and people emerge from winter hibernation ready to bike and hike and get outside! This year, our 2019 Trail Jam was better than ever thanks to the Town of Eagle, Endorphin, Amy Hawf and Jamie O'hern. The Trail Jam became a week long celebration bringing together every aspect of our community that makes this such an awesome place to live.

Monday April 15th kicked off the festivities with a trail work night at Pool and Ice Rink trail head. Over 40 people showed up and learned about trail maintenance and stewardship. Tuesday celebrated hiking with an Inward Bound Mindfulness event focusing on nature, aerobic activity and mindfullness.  Wednesday brought together mountain bikers for a group ride. Thursday led the night thanks to the Eagle Valley Running Collective with a group trail run. And Friday ended up at 7 Hermits for a fundraiser benefiting Hardscrabble Trails Coalition (HTC).

The Friday fundraiser raised $1,340 for HTC. Raffle prizes included generous donations from Endorphin teachers including personal training sessions, mountain bike lessons, private classes, and a free introduction month. As always, our community generously donated to the cause including gifts from Color, Yeti's Grind, local artists, Soul Spa Studio, hair care from Airika Ann Romsdahl, The Dusty Boot, and 7 Hermits. A local band, Mysterious Forces, played on Friday capping off an amazing week celebrating the outdoors and trails.

The willingness of the community to donate their time and money to continue to support our trails and outdoor spaces is truly amazing. Happy trails to everyone and thanks from all of us at HTC!

Last weekend we setup the booth at the Eagle Outside Festival so we could spread the word about what we've been up to and help point people in the right direction with their demo bike.  It was a great two days and I'd really like to first thank the volunteers that helped setup and man the booth for the two day event.  Each volunteer worked 2 hours shifts, and some choose to work multiple shifts or stay late and help out when things got busy.  HTC is 100% volunteer run and without all the awesome local trail enthusiasts helping out, there's no way we could have the impact we do, so thanks:

Laura Turitz, Stephanie Fuller-Tadlock, Drew Stewart, John Shipp, Chris Gallegos, Caren Davis, Dan Lambert, Stefan Hiatt, and Amy Cassidy. 

If you would like to get involved, keep an eye on our calendar of events and your email inbox for upcoming opportunities to help out.  We're also planning to leverage our new online membership and setup communication channels there, so stay tuned.  More news to come on that front.

Lastly, we need volunteers of all types, shapes, and sizes.  If you've got experience of any kind that could be helpful, we'd love to have you.  It's not all about throwing dirt around on trail days. We are always looking for help with things like writing contracts and RFPs, applying for grants, social media outreach, photography, logistics, and just about anything else a well oiled business would need, so feel free to contact us with ideas.

Another goal for the weekend was fund raising for upcoming projects.  It turns out planning, building, and maintaining trails isn't cheap.  Like any other year we sold socks, patches, and maps as well as asked for donations at the booth.  People were generous as usual, so keep an eye out for those socks on the trail and tell the person wearing them thanks for supporting local trail efforts.  What you may not have known, however, is that if you were demoing bikes this year, you were supporting ongoing trail building efforts with you $10 donation.  That's right, ALL of the money that was collected from bike demos this year will be going directly to the Hardscrabble Trails Coalition and directly to upcoming trail projects, maintenance, paying for surveys, archaeologist studies, botanist studies, buying tools, renting equipment, and all of the other miscellaneous costs that come along with building world class single track.  For the full story on the bike demo program, I'd encourage you to check out the "All Trails Start Here", article in the Vail Daily. 

All in all, it was a great weekend and many thanks are in order to the companies and Town of Eagle that make this event possible.  Come stop by and chat next time.

- Rob

We need to install a cattle guard on the LOV Connection trail on Thursday night and we're looking for some volunteers:

Thursday 5/24

5:30 - Meet at Mountain Pedaler - 101 E 2nd St, Eagle, CO 81631

 

OR

6:00 - Meet at LOV Connection Abrams side bridge (the long one)

LOV Connection on Trailforks.com

We will have tools staged but we are looking for manpower to move cattle grates to their permanent locations and we need some holes dug for posts and supports.  Bring gloves, sturdy shoes and your muscle.  Ideally we'd love to have 8-10 people. 

Don't Ride Muddy or Closed Trails!

Eagle, CO Trails opened on April 15th after a long season of wildlife closures for migrating and wintering animals! Hallelujah! But, it's raining today...

Remember, muddy trails are always closed. Don't be the reason we can't have nice things! A lot of work (read days) of trail-work goes into repairing a few hours of muddy riding. A good rule of thumb is that if you are leaving an imprint, stop and wait for dry conditions. The climate in Eagle is very dry and ruts that are made during muddy conditions stay there for a very long time. These ruts carry water down the trail and cause erosion over time. They are also very rough to ride on, especially in bermed sections of trail.

There are plenty of dry days to ride in Eagle, so "When in Doubt, Wait it Out!"

Trail work was just completed on Haymaker, making the berms oh so smooth. Don't be the reason we can't have nice things!

Have you ever wanted to know what the current trail conditions were in Eagle?  How about somewhere up valley or on the Front Range?  There's an app for that!  If you haven't heard of Trailforks, you should head over to their website and check it out - https://www.trailforks.com/ .  The website and associated mobile app allow you to explore trail networks, plan trips, read reviews, and lastly, check the status of a trail.  You can check the status on the mobile app, the website, or conveniently, we've embedded Eagle/Gypsum area status widget on our ride page.  If you were to check the status from our site on your phone, you might see something like:
 

Yesterday when I went for a ride, I updated the status of the trail I rode (Haymaker).  If you click on the trail that you're interested in, you get to the detailed report:

So this is awesome right?  I can see if a trail is muddy, or go find a downed tree on a work day or just point any interested person to the current trail conditions.  Well sure, but it only works if people are updating the status.  It's pretty easy to add a report if you have the mobile app as seen in this Trailforks video:

With the trails opening in a few weeks, there is likely be a lot of questions about what a trail is riding like.  A few of us here at HTC will be scouting and reporting on the app, so be sure to check out the status on our ride page!

- Rob

In an effort to get more organized and focus on more than one shiny object at a time, we've decided it would be best to form sub committees and get people grouped up to lead efforts on multiple fronts.  Currently these are the sub committees we're focusing on:

Singletrack Sidewalks
Work with local land managers to secure permissions and easements as
needed to expand the trail network connecting neighborhoods, schools
and trailheads with singletrack trails. Coordinate work days and
volunteers when time to build.

Trail Work Day Coordination
Anyone is welcome! Folks with crew leader training or a general
knowledge of trail building and maintenance or a desire to work on trails
and learn more. People with the ability to haul tools and/or bikes if
needed are always very helpful. Also anyone who likes to help plan,
coordinate groups and help with food and refreshments on our big work
days are great.

New Trail Planning
Work with Government organizations, local land managers (BLM, USFS,
Town of Eagle, Eagle County) to propose and layout new trails. Helpful to
have some familiarity with working with land managers and their
processes.

Trail Maintenance
General routine trail maintenance - clip and ride, spring and fall trail
clearing, minor repair of holes, ruts or other issues that come up
throughout the riding season. Can be done independently, leader of
group will help maintain list of projects that need to be done and a group
of people who can help when available.

Fund Raising
Focus on community engagement with HTC, strategic partnerships with
business who want to help (ex. Dusty Boot ‘Boot Burger’ program) Fund
raising, merchandise sales and new opportunities.

Camping
Work to find camping options in the Eagle Valley

Signage
Maintain signage through the area to make sure they are accurate, in
place and improve where needed. Implement educational sign program.

Communication
Help with web site, social media, design of flyers, stickers, bike tags,
promotional material, email blasts to members, keeping sub groups
connected

If you're interested in joining or leading any of these sub committees please join us at our next meeting or email us at info@hardscrabbletrailscoalition.org

- Rob

We're happy to have our site up and running once again.  We're planning on funneling most of our activities through the new site and will be posting information about meetings, work days, land use issues, and general biking related events in our calendar, so make sure to check back often or subscribe to our RSS feed!  In the mean time check out the site, drop us a line, and get to know the board!