SORBA News & Events

Presents

Come ride some of Alabama’s fastest flow trails professionally designed by IMBA and build by Flow Motion Trail Builders. The Beaver Creek trails offer 400 acres of adventure in the Forever Wild Land Trust, with a mile of bridges connecting beautiful wetlands to upland forest.

Featuring 3 days of riding activities, 2 nights of live entertainment, local foods, and beverages for mountain bikers!  Will have bike demos, trails rides, skills clinics, camping opportunities, and much more.

TICKET HOLDERS BENEFITS
“BEAVER CREEK BASH” FAT TIRE FESTIVAL
APRIL 5-7, 2019
DOTHAN, AL

Ticket holder benefits: Kick off the Beaver Creek Bash Fat Tire Festival Friday afternoon with registration packet pickup (including T-shirts and swag bags) at the North Trailhead at 1:00pm. 384 Narcisse Drive, Dothan, AL 36301. Guided group rides at 2:30pm for all levels of riders on the Forever Wild Trails at Beaver Creek. Then, starting at 6:00pm ticket holders can take advantage of the bus trips to and from “Foster Fest” in Downtown Dothan from the selected hotels and camping site as “VIP” guests with 2 designated VIP areas with local companies providing food, Folklore beer, and Pepsi products. The Foster Fest features 3 local/regional bands, food, and local product vendors, car/motorcycle shows and other local talents all as a “VIP” for ticket holders. Raffle tickets will be sold at Friday and Saturday events for prizes from local and regional sponsors of Southeast Alabama Mountainbikers.

Saturday starts off with breakfast and late registration at the North Trailhead clubhouse at 8:00-9:00 am. Montgomery MultiSport will be featuring Trek and Norco bicycle demos for the day. Don Cullen of “SingleTracks Skills” will offer a beginners skills training course from 9:00-11:30 am. (Available only to Fest Ticket holders for $45.00 additional fee-limit of 12). Group rides for all levels will be available from the North trailhead in the morning as well. Lunch will feature hotdogs, chips, and drinks provided by Southeast Alabama Mountainbikers at their clubhouse. Saturday afternoon will feature a SingleTrackSkills course for Intermediate level riders from 1:00-3:30 pm. (Available only to Fest Ticket holders for $45.00 additional fee-limit of 12). Another activity for the day is a “time trial” on a designated section of Cemetery Ridge on the Strava App with a $600.00
purse to be shared by the top 3 male and female finishers. Saturday evening Fest-goers can take buses from the designated hotels and campsite to from one of our “Gold Level” sponsors, Folklore Brewery for an evening of fun. Beer at Folklore and food by “Fly By Night” grill are cash/credit card only.

Sunday will kick off with a light breakfast served at the Southeast Alabama Mountainbikers Club House 8:30-9:30 am. Next, the Poker Run with 5 stops on the trails starts at 9:45 lasting 75 minutes. 11:00am the showing of the hands and prize presentation for the top 3 cardholders. Independent riding available at Troy University-Dothan and Forever Wild Trails Sunday afternoon.

The final benefit of being a “Beaver Creek Bash” Fat Tire Festival ticket holder is the fact that you are helping support Southeast Alabama Mountainbikers, a 501 C3 volunteer organization that is your local advocate for trails for all levels of riders, local NICA team sponsor, Forever Wild Trails maintenance manager, and supporter of several youth programs for mountain bikes, physical fitness, and nature. We buy and maintain equipment for trail work, train our volunteers, promote riding and outdoor nature enjoyment for everyone, have social events at our clubhouse, bike maintenance clinics, and monthly club cookouts.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Take advantage of current early “snowbird” pricing at $65.00 Weekend Pass and $35.00 Day Pass until 2/28/2019. Ticket prices to increase to $80.00 Weekend Pass and $45.00 Day Pass on 3/1/19.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

Join SORBA’s volunteers, land managers, advocates, and members in Johnson City,TN, May 15 – 18 for the 2019 Southern Mountain Bike Summit. Workshops, presentations, panels, networking, socials, bike riding, and lots of fun will be had by all.  Participants will have access to the new Tannery Knob Bike Park and the Tweetsie Trail, breweries, shops and restaurants, which are all within walking/biking distance from the host hotel, the Carnegie Hotel.

Click HERE for more exciting info about Tannery Knob Bike Park!

The Southern Mountain Bike Summit is a not-to-be-missed event. Nowhere else will you see such a passionate group of mountain bikers in the Southeast meet and work together to create better trail opportunities for all. And, you get to ride your bike on the finest trails in the Southeast!

Special thanks to Tri-Cities SORBA and Johnson City for hosting this Summit!

Summit Location Friday, May 17 – Carnegie Hotel, 1216 W. State of Franklin Rd, Johnson City, TN 37604

Summit Location Saturday, May 18 –  East Tennessee State University, Basler Center for Physical Activity, 1244 Jack Vest Dr, Johnson City, TN 37614 (walking distance from Carnegie Hotel)

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, May 15 

• Chainsaw Certification for Sawyer B – Bucking Only- Instructors, Chuck Ramsey and Jim Holland – The Sawyer B – Bucking only is a two day course designed to train volunteers to safely and effectively clear downed trees. Participants will learn to independently buck and limb any size material in moderately complex situations.  Just as a prospective driver does not go to the local DMV expecting to learn how to drive, prospective sawyers are expected to be comfortable with chainsaw use and to have basic chainsaw maintenance/troubleshooting skills before certification, must have a current CPR/First Aid Certification and PPE.

• Trail Crew Leader Training Course – Instructor, Walt Bready The Trail Crew Leader training course is a two‐day course for any volunteer that wants to learn the basic technical trail work skills to lead a crew. It will cover natural surface trail design, construction, maintenance and crew leader training. The focus is long term sustainability that can reduce overall maintenance needs and user impacts on natural resources. Trail crew leaders should have a strong commitment to building sustainable trails and get satisfaction out of helping others have a good time while doing good work.

Thursday, May 16

• Women’s Trail Maintenance & Construction Course- Instructor,  Valerie Naylor – The Trail Maintenance & Construction Course is a one-day course geared towards women.  Basic sustainable trail planning, design, construction & maintenance.  2-3 hours indoor instruction, 3-4 hours outdoor instruction.
• Chainsaw Certification for Sawyer B – Bucking Only – 2nd day

• Trail Crew Leader Training Course – 2nd day

• Summit Registration – 5p – 7:30p, Carnegie Hotel, Lower Lobby
• Social – 7p  JRH Brewing, 458 W Walnut St, Johnson City, TN 37604.  Food & libation on your own.

Friday, May 17 – Land Manager Day – Advocates and land managers are welcome to attend a series of sessions geared for the land manager.  Coffee reception, lunch, group ride and evening social are included.

Location – Carnegie Hotel, GSBR/Wilder Room, 1216 W State of Franklin Rd, Johnson City, TN 37604

Lunch with Chris Bernhardt on Friday and Saturday. Chris is the Principal with C2 Recreation Consulting and former Director of Field Programs for IMBA.  Chris who has worked on major trail development projects from China to Switzerland (not to mention Coldwater Mountain in Anniston Alabama), will share his knowledge of current trends in trail building and design.

Sessions will include

• Johnson City, A Success Story – Learn how SORBA Tri-Cities, local land managers, property owner, bike shops, and IMBA Trail Solutions worked together to create an awesome place to ride!
• Managing Bicycle Speed on Multi-Use Trails, Valerie Naylor, Trails Specialist
• The Power of Trails and Trends in Outdoor Recreation – Your park, mountain biking and the bottom line, Andy Williamson, Principal at Active Strategies
• Portland Oregon’s Off-Road Cycling Master Plan: The surprising challenges for mountain biking in a cycling paradise!  Jill Van Winkle, Trails Coordinator, Parks & Recreation, Portland, Oregon
• Tour of Tannery Knob Bike Park and the Latest Trail Building Techniques
• Group Ride – 4:30p – Winged Deer Park
• Evening Social – 7p – Yee Haw Brewing, 126 Buffalo St., Johnson City 37604

Saturday, May 18 – Advocates Day – Land managers, SORBA chapter representatives and advocates are welcome to attend sessions geared for our advocates.  Coffee reception, lunch, group ride and evening social are included.

Location – East Tennessee State University, Basler Center for Physical Activity, 1244 Jack Vest Dr, Johnson City, TN 37614

Sessions will include

• SORBA Board of Directors Meeting for chapter representatives
• National Trails Strategy & 10 Year Trail Challenge – Chris Sporl, Director of Recreation, Wilderness, Heritage and Partnerships/Volunteer Resources, USFS Region 8
• Thinking Strategically Panel Discussion including the MTB Market Analysis – Deb Caffin, Trails Program Leader, USFS Region 8, Jill Van Winkle – Portland OR Parks & Rec, and Sig Hutchinson
• Working with your Local Government Officials – Eric Melson, and Sig Hutchinson
• IMBA’s in the House – David Wiens, IMBA Executive Director / Patrick Kell, IMBA Grants Manager and Anthony Duncan, IMBA Local Manager –  Updates on IMBA and chapter support.
• Chapter 101:  For new chapter leaders.
• Bike Patrol Training – Kelly Pruitt, SORBA Woodstock
• Group Ride – 4p – Tannery Knob Bike Park, 18 Tannery Knob, Johnson City, TN 37601
• Evening Social & Award Ceremony – Sponsored by New Belgium Brewing – 7p – Atlantic Ale House, 111 McClure St., Johnson City, TN 37604

All programs, clinics and sessions are designed to meet the increasing demand from our chapters, land managers and mountain bike communities for developing and maintaining more trails close to home!

Sunday, May 19 – Group Ride, location tbd

Lodging

Host Hotel – Carnegie Hotel, 1216 W State of Franklin Rd, Johnson City 37604  423-979-6400 * Special rate of $130 + tax.  The summit meeting and sessions will be here.  Clinics will be on another location.  Easily accessible to downtown and Tannery Knob Bike Park.

Other hotels – Hampton Inn, 508 N State of Franklin Rd, Johnson City 37604,  423-929-8000                                      Quality Inn, 1900 Roan St, Johnson City, TN 37601   423-928-9600                                                                            Fairfield Inn, 3078 Hamilton Pl, Johnson City, TN 37604   423-900-8640

Camping – Woodsmoke Campground, 215 Woodsmoke Dr, Unicoi, TN 37692   423-743-2116  (20 minutes)              Camp Stonefly, 200 Blevins Rd, Johnson City, TN 37601   704-301-4080  (15 minutes)                                              Warriors’ Path State Park, 490 Hemlock Rd, Kingsport, TN 37663   Reservations (30 minutes) 12 mile MTB Trail

Registration Fees – We are working on that now!

Sponsors

Bike Demos