President's Blog

July 1 Trailblazer Meeting Cancelled

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:20:00 -0700

Due to the holiday weekend AND because so many officers and regulars will be out of town, we are cancelling the Thursday July 1 meeting. Please let others know and we'll see you in August. I expect there will be a lot of news and trail opportunities discussed in August.

Have a happy and safe 4th ya'll.

Jim Grover, President Tarheel Trailblazers

June 20th New Belgium Assault Ride

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:35:00 -0700

Please consider supporting both Trips For Kids and CABA by participating in the New Belgium Urban Assault ride this Sunday. This should be a really fun event so grab a partner and your bikes to assault Charlotte. Making this event super successful this year will help ensure that this is just the first of many repeat New Belgium events to come. Oh, and did I mention the free beer??

For more information and to register for this great event, go to : http://www.urbanassaultride.com/charlotte

20th Anniversay Trailblazer Jersies!!

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:05:00 -0700

Just a reminder, times is running out. Place your order ASAP

20th Anniversry Jersey on sale now. We are taking pre orders only so don't miss out.

3 jerseys, and 2 differenet colors, are available.
Racer cut (Snug Fit)
Relax Fit for those wanting a little more room.
Long Sleeve Relaxed Fit
Price is $65.00. Short Sleeve
$75.00 Long Sleeve
Note: Jerseys are Euro sizing, you may want to go up one size

Download this form and fill it out completely, enclose a check payable to Tarheel Trailblazers, and mail to the address below.

http://www.charlottemtnbike.com/THTB20thAnnJerseyOrder.pdf

Jerry Adams
4307 Creemore Drive
Charlotte, N.C. 28213

Internet Colors may be a shade different than actualy Jersey colors

20th Anniversary Jersies

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:58:00 -0700

Internet Colors may be a shade different than actualy Jersey colors

Catawba Riverfront Classic Success

Mon, 24 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The weather cooperated and Neal and his Charlotte Sports Cycling crew put on another fantastic Riverfront Classic mountain bike race yesterday. This is a major fundraiser for the Tarheel Trailblazers and we want to thank all those involved in making this a big success:

Thank you volunteers!

Thank you racers!

Thank you U.S. National Whitewater Center!

and a special Thanks to Neal Boyd and Charlotte Sports Cycling!

Neal and his crew make their races truely seemless events for all levels of racers - from experts/pros, to first time racers. Yeaterday was no exception.

Thanks to everyone for participating.

Jim Grover

Spread the Word - Catawba Riverfront Classic Sunday May 23

Tue, 11 May 2010 10:26:00 -0700

Sunday, May 23

2010 Catawba Riverfront Classic

Hosted by the Tarheel Trailblazers and Charlotte Sports Cycling

The 2010 Catawba Riverfront Classic is set to take place at the US National Whitewater Center on Sunday, May 23. This event is held on some of the sweetest singletrack in the southeast. Bring the entire family and stick around after the event to enjoy the many amenities at the US National Whitewater Center. This event is a fundraiser for the Tarheel Trailblazers and our efforts to build and maintain mountain bike trails in the Charlotte Metro Region.

For more information on the new event schedule for 2010, visit http://www.charlottemtnbike.com/RiverfrontClassic/Riverfront10.htm

OR directly to the brochure at http://www.charlottemtnbike.com/RiverfrontClassic/RiverBrochure.pdf

Please either participate in the race and/ or VOLUNTEER 2 or more hours to help in registration, course marshaling, early set-up, tear down, etc., to help make the race a success. To volunteer please contact Neal at:

Office: (704) 503-0138 - Mobile: (704) 575-4398

nealboyd@charlottesportscycling.com

If you have ANY questions about volunteering, don't hesitate to call me at 704-344-2909.

Thanks!!!

Jim Grover

President, Tarheel Trailblazers

June 20th New Belguim Brewery Urban Assault Benefits Trips For Kids and CABA

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:40:00 -0700

Trips for kids is looking for volunteers to meet their committment for this new New Belgium Brewing Assault ride/festival. If you havene't heard about it - check it out at the website link below. If you are not going to ride in this event, please volunteer on behalf of Trips For Kids. They have done a lot for our club so we want to support them and help make this a very successful event. This will be a real fun time and it would be great to get New Belgium to come back year after year. Let's support the Assault - ride in it or volunteer for it! Oh yea, did I mention the free beer.......

The request and info below comes from Harry Johnson from Trips For Kids.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Ok Folks... how about something VERY different on Father's Day, June 20th ??? New Belgium Brewery is sponsoring an "Urban Assault" in Charlotte with Trips for Kids as one of the recipients of the proceeds... We need just 15 volunteers to sign up as Trips for Kids Volunteers in order to fulfill our obligation... YOU DO NOT NEED TO RIDE . As a volunteer, you will be stationed at one of the "checkpoints" of your choosing.. The Checkpoints will be places where the riders will stop and do silly things like a slip & slide and then get back on their bikes and head to the next checkpoint. You will need to be at the checkpoint for about 4 hours and then you're free to head to Marshall Park to enjoy the festivities ( i.e. COLD BEER)

Click Here to sign up ... and pass this along to your friends ( you know, friends helping friends...)

http://www.urbanassaultride.com/charlotte/volunteer/npo

( be sure to enter as a Trips for Kids Volunteer on the line provided) I have registered for the Smelly Cat Location.

• All volunteers will receive a t-shirt, food, drinks, and beer (21 and older). ( That would be Fat Tire Beer )...
• All volunteers will be contacted the week of the event to confirm details.

This is the first year for Charlotte. It is now in ~ 13 cities in the US and it keeps growing yearly..

Here's the skinny on the event itself... for full info see: http://www.urbanassaultride.com/charlotte

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Urban Assault Ride™ is a truly unique cycling event...and quickly becoming one of the biggest in country! Here's how it works: You and your teammate will set out on a city-wide quest for 'checkpoints' on your favorite two-wheeled steeds. At each checkpoint, you'll drop your bikes and complete a funky/adventurous obstacle course, then remount your bikes and hit the streets for more.
The goal is to complete all the checkpoints in the shortest amount of time. You choose your own route and checkpoint order. This means that the most clever are often the victors. Of course, it may also help if you can pull a mean big-wheel powerslide and fly across an inflatable slip-n-slide
After your pedal-powered adventure, your team will cross the finish line and enter a massive celebration of bikes and beer. The after party is just as much fun as the ride itself, thanks to the craziest raffle prize contest you'll ever experience.
Pick a partner and we'll see you there!

Charlotte NC - June 20th, 2010 Benefitting: Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance and Trips for Kids Charlotte
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let me know if you'll be able to help us out...
Thanks..
Harry

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

I. Thursday November 5th; Monthy Meeting At Fuel Pizza (bring extra folding money!)

1. Buy the Executive Officers a Beer Night! (just kidding,...sort of )

2. Vote for the 2010 Executive Officers (no cash needed to vote, but we will accept donations!)

3. Win Gramp's Race Bike! Last chance to buy raffle tickets to win this sweet ride. The winning ticket will be pulled at the meeting. Who will go home with a new bike? (This is a Trailblazer fundraiser.)

4. Purchase the BRAND NEW TRAILBLAZERS SOCKS! Fresh off the presses, these are MUSTadditions to your trail wardrobe. Be the first on your block - get them while they last! (This is a Trialblazer fundraiser.)

Black on Grey and Grey on Black! (Man, can we do color or what!) Proposed pricing is $10 for a pair, $18 for 2, $24 for 3, ..... depending on how many beers get purchased for the Executive Officers.

5. Lots of news and trail updates. Come on out and say howdy.

II. Saturday November 7th; The Dirt Divas and Tarheel Trailblazers Year End Party at Ann Springs (Ride and dinner times subject to change)

When: Saturday, November 7, 1:00PM

Please join us on November 7th as we CELEBRATE another successful and productive year for our clubs at the Dirt Divas and Tarheel Trailblazers Year-End Party!

1:30PM Coordinated trail ride(s) for all skill levels*
4:00PM Delicious dinner and refreshments (catered by Sweet Peppers)

*Trail ride groups will depart from the Field Trial Barn promptly at 1:30.

Bring a camp chair, if you wish, for the bonfire. And please bring extra cash for the big raffle to benefit Project Angel, the Dirt Diva initiative that provides bicycles and safety gear to underprivileged kids. (You can't go wrong with this raffle! - Prizes Galore!)

The Trailblazers request that their members and guests pay $10.00 for dinner. We do not expend funds on the party.

R.S.V.P. required by November 2, 2008, but it really helps with headcounts for catering if you can respond sooner.

Questions? Post 'em up on the Forums!

Jim Grover

Southwest District Park Trail Grand Opening Saturday October 17 10:00 AM

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:52:00 -0700

The SWDP grand opening/ribbon cutting will be taking place Saturday Oct. 17th at 10:00 AM. This media event will be a great opportunity for the club to shine in the spot light after a year and a half of planning and hard work. We will give kudos to those responsible including our grant sponsor REI. Hopefully there will be a big turnout especially with riders in Tarheel Trailblazer and Dirt Diva jerseys. Weather permitting (which looks good), a planned ride with Trips for Kids will happen immediately after the ribbon cutting ceremony. It should be a great day to celebrate and welcome yet another trail addition to our region.

Come out and lets show some numbers from both the Trailblazers and the Divas. Bring you bike for a ride - the trail is in great shape.

When: Saturday, October 10th at 9:00 AM
Where: Parking lot of Southview Recreation Center (1720 Vilma Street)
What to bring: Trailblazer or Diva jersey if you have one and a bike for a ride.

Directions: http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Park+and+Rec/Facilities/Recreation+Centers/S...

IMBA Comes to Tsali

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:56:00 -0700

IMBA is coming to Tsali, NC, Oct. 15-18, and you're invited to join in the special events. Kelly and Collins Bishop of the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew are teaming with the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) and SORBA for a weekend dedicated to improving local trails and having fun.

The visit features several unique activities including USFS chainsaw certification, a Club Care Workshop, National Mountain Bike Patrol training, a poker ride and lots of other fun events! This is your opportunity to rub shoulders with the IMBA Crew while learning all about trailbuilding. Check out the details below and come join in the fun.

Please use the "Tell a friend" button below to send this invitation to other area mountain bikers, land managers and trail users. The more the merrier!

If this event is too far away for you to attend, we understand. We sent you this email to not just invite you but also let you know about the important work IMBA is doing in your area.

Schedule of Events

Thursday, October 15
9:00 A.M. 3:00 P.M. USFS Chain Certification—limited to 6 preregistered participants.

Friday, October 16
9:00 A.M. 3:00 P.M. USFS Chain Certification Part 2—limited to 6 preregistered participants.
3:00 - 7:00 Registration and Welcome: Rivers End Restaurant, NOC
4:00 Ride with the IMBA Trail Care Crew
7:00 P.M. 7:30 P.M. Welcome at NOC and overview of weekend activities/instructions, Kleinrath Hall.
7: 30 - 9:00 Club Care Workshop, Kleinrath Hall.

Saturday, October 17
8:00 AM: Breakfast—on your own
9:00 - 11:00: National Mountain Bike Patrol training
Lunch—provided by NOC, Slow Joe’s Pourover Pub.
2:00 Poker Ride at NOC
6:00 Spaghetti Supper provided by NOC, Slow Joe’s Pourover Pub
7:00 Team IMBA/Summit Promo/Tsali plans update, Kleinrath Hall.
8:30 Poker Rewards and Raffle, Kleinrath Hall.
Movie to follow

Sunday, October 18
Tsali or Jackrabbit Mountain rides—on your own

Sign up here: http://go.imba.com/site/Calendar?view=Detail&id=105122&autologin=true

TRAILBLAZERS Raffle: Trek 9.9 SSL Carbon

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:15:00 -0700

So here is your chance to own this sweet ride and support the Trailblazers!

Drawing will be at the November 5th Trailblazers meeting. You do not have to be present to win.

Specs:

Bike weight as shown is 20.9 lbs

3 month old MINT condition Trek 9.9 SSL carbon frame

size 19.5

-BB90 bottom bracket with ceramic bearings, SLX cranks
-1x9 set up with bash guard and custom chain stop 34x11-32
-Sram x-9 shifter and derailleur, Sram 991 hollow pin chain (one month old on the chain)
-Bonty raceXXX carbon riser bars with a carbon stem with Ti bolts, lock on grips, and XTR brake levers. Avid BB7 disk brakes 160 rotors
-Headset is internal 110 Cane Creek
-Saddle is an used older model Bonty that matched the frame
-Seat post is carbon but does have some scratches where the bike hung on my work stand.
-Wheels are Mavric Cross Max SL-SSC ( front and rear) with Continental Race King Super Sonic 2.2 set up currently with tubes
-Fork is a super light RS SID race 80 mm

Raffle Tickets are $ 20.00 each or 6 for $ 100.00

They can be purchased at the Oct. meeting, summer series races, or via mail.

For mail orders PLEASE no CASH check only.

Make check out to The Tarheel Trailblazers and put Trailblazer raffle in the info field.

Mail to:
Rick Wynne
3215 silver Spur ct.
Charlotte, NC 28273

Your Ticket (s) will be mailed back to you with in two days.

More photo's can be found here. http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/9428668_2hZio#632082634_cvhAZ

Lakewood Community Mountain Bike Skills Facility Turning Heads

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0700

I got my first look at the completed Lakewood community track this morning. I previously only saw it under construction.

The pump track and skills area look great. Michael and the local kids planted lots of grass on the back side of the berms and around the area. They want to do some more landscaping to pretty up the site.

The trail is just under 1,000 feet long, but looks like a lot of fun and incorporates the same skills laid out in the skills area. There are also some large logs available that could be used for additional skills.

I encourage anyone with interest to go take your bike and take a few turns. Contrary to some comments made on the forums, the rules of engagement are really no different than at any other trailhead - lock the car and don't leave anything of value. I'll bet there are more problems at Renni, USNWC and even Beatty than at this location.

There are several planning projects in the works to make changes to surrounding parcels of land to open up and give better access to the existing community park and to incorporate the immediately adjacent creek corridor into the Park & Rec. Greenway and Carolina Thread Trail systems. This is the land that the future expanded mountain bike trail will use. There are a lot of good folks working to make it all happen - and it is happening. The new mountain bike skills area is just the beginning and is already making an impression. When people [b]SEE[/b] the track - the light bulb goes off and you get that "Aha" moment. I saw it in others today.

It's a geat project to be involved in and I look forward to getting access to future parcels so we can help develop more trail for the kids and the community .

Jim Grover

President, Tarheel Trailblazers

REI Awards Trailblazers Grant for Fisher Farm

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:07:00 -0700

We learned this week that REI has awarded the Trailblazers with another trail building grant in the amount of $7,000. For this year's grant we were nominated by the REI store at the Northlake Center. Store Manager Aubin Guinness and many of his associates have worked with us on several trail projects and last year we used their community meeting room for our IMBA Club Care presentation.

The grant will be applied to the expansion of the trail at Fisher Farm Park in Davidson. As many of you know, Mark Sullivan (The Cycle Path) has continued to lengthen and improve the trail since he initially conceptualized the trail several years ago. Under agreement with the Town of Davidson, the Trailblazers completed Phase I (2 miles) in the spring of 2005. Phase II (2.25 miles) construction started early fall 2005 and completed spring of 2006 bringing the trail to its current length of 4.25 miles. With the completion of this Phase III construction, the multiuse trail will be approximately 5.5 miles in total length.

I want to sincerely express the club's thanks to REI, not only for this newest grant, but for the continuing success of their mission which fundamentally incorporates direct, impactful involvement in the community and in promoting outdoor activities for their neighbors. I have always been impressed with REI's committment to this goal. It's not just a marketing gimmic or promotional campaign to be "green" or to project an image. It has always been a part of their culture and really is projected by their employee/associates. If you have ever been a part of a trail work day where the REI associates come out, you know what I mean. They come out IN FORCE and they are glad to be there making a difference. These guys really walk the walk.

Thank you Aubin and the REI crew; we look forward to continue to work with you on lots of future projects.

By the way, if you were not aware, this is the third grant that the Tarheel Trailblazers have received from REI for local trail construction and related costs. The Dirt Divas have been the recipient of at least one recent REI grant that I know of. Also, Trips For Kids recently completed the Lakewood Community pump track and skills trail (built by Ben Blitch's B4 Construction) with an REI grant.

We selected Fisher Farm Park as or target for the REI grant funds for several reasons. Below is some additional information that was included in the Trailblazer's REI grant application.

This additional trail length is greatly desired to enable the trail to better support special trail events that bring many participants into the park to use the trail system and to benefit regular users by creating an improved and longer trail experience.

The Fisher Farm multiuse trail has been used to host several mountain bike races including the local summer mountain bike series that rotates between area trails from week to week, two separate high profile, national mountain bike races (the Cowbell Challenge in 2008 and 2009 and the MTB Oktoberfest, U.S. Cup race series in 2009) The trail also supported a cyclotross race in 2008. It has hosted many local and regional cross country running meets and is used for practices by local middle and high school cross country running teams. The local women’s mountain bike organization, the Dirt Divas, has used the trail for skills clinics in 2006, ‘07, ‘08 and ‘09. Also, the Piedmont Area Singletrack Alliance, a local SORBA mountain bike chapter, has held advanced skills clinics in 2007, ‘08 and ’09 at the trail. Both the Divas’ and PASA’s skills clinics attract a lot of youth participation and are highly anticipated and well attended events. Finally, the town of Davidson Park & Recreation has hosted summer mountain bike camps for kids in 2006, ‘07, ‘08 and plan more in 2009.

This amount of “special event” use at this trail is almost unprecedented. The Fisher Farm multiuse trail is among the shortest trail in the greater Charlotte area, yet it attracts these special events more than any other facility. This is due in part to the beauty of the natural setting, accessibility, ease of parking and the availability of open space to allow event organizers and participants to set up temporary structures and tents that are used at the events. There is room to spread out at and near the trailhead allowing many people to easily participate.

The great thing about special event trail uses is the large number and diversity of people that they draw to the park. Races, clinics and other festival type events attract not only participants, but also bring entire families and others to the park that normally wouldn’t directly participate in a biking or other sporting event. Getting families and onlookers out to the park creates a lot of support for increased involvement in the particular activity and gets new participants involved. Special event uses are great promotions for increased outdoor activity by kids and other community members. We believe these special use events have a great impact on increased participation in mountain biking and other trail uses.

Increasing the multiuse trail’s length by over 25% will make holding special event uses much easier to support. A four mile track is a bit short for most mountain bike race events, but a five and one half mile or longer course really makes a difference to the organizers and participants. Also, the new terrain offered by this new extension will add considerable diversity to the existing trail layout. It will add a good bit of climbing and descending trail and some more technical riding challenges which will also attract special event use as well as everyday riders, runners and hikers.

Please let us know if you have any questions on this or any of our ongoing trail projects.

Jim Grover
President, Tarheel Trailblazers

Trailblazer News Update

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:04:00 -0700

One of the biggest problems that we face as a club of volunteers, is dissemination of information to our members. While our website serves us well, especially in the forums, it seems that we come up short when trying to update our membership with club news. And there is a lot of news to share…

To begin with, you may know that we are in the midst of our yearly membership drive. In January and February, we encourage club members to renew their membership. This way, we can budget our funds for the upcoming year. And it simplifies the process of when a member is due to renew.

The executive board recently added new membership giving levels. We did not raise the basic rates of membership, instead we have added to them and are offering an enticement to raise your contribution. The 2009 membership structure:

Basic Membership                    $20
Fat Tire Family                         $25
Middle Ring Supporter             $40
Trailbuilder                               $60
Big Ring Supporter                   $100

Corporate Singletrack              $200
Corporate Big Air                     $500
Corporate Mojo Sponsor         $1,000

Contributions at or above Middle Ring ($40) will receive a voucher for a Trailblazer t-shirt. You can register on-line from our homepage or mail in your registration, also available online.

As in all things voluntary, we sometimes have a bit of a lag in getting updates and / or upgrades to our website. There may be a few issues with online contributions at certain levels, but our membership director, Emily Sardonas can be reached at membership@tarheeltrailblazers.com. Emily can help you through the process.

That said, what happens to our raised funds? Well, recently we have rebuilt our Ditch Witch track machine, purchased two trailers to move our heavy equipment (which includes the aforementioned Ditch Witch, a BobCat, and a Volvo mini-excavator. In addition we have an enclosed trailer that houses our Suzuki 4 wheeler, dump trailers, chainsaws and countless trail tools). Just keeping our fleet of mechanized machinery up and running can be a task in and of itself.

Recently (at our December meeting) the club voted to approve the spending of $10K to hire Trail Dynamics (www.traildynamics.com) to punch the trail corridor of Phase IVa at Lake Norman State Park. This new, advanced level trail will be a departure from the feel of the existing Itusi trails (Hawk, Hicks Creek, Norwood and Monbo), as a more narrow corridor and naturally occurring obstacles will elevate the skill level. The corridor will be roughly 3.25 miles in length. This phase will intersect a fire road that will join to a second trail to complete the loop. Next year (2010) we will venture across the fire road (Phase IVb) and complete the loop. The total trail length of Phase IV will be +/- 7 miles, bringing the total available trail at LNSP to approximately 20 miles!

This is the first time (other than the point trail at the USNWC) that the club has paid to get trail on the ground. But we feel it is the wave of the future for the Trailblazers.

So much so, that Jeff Archer has submitted a Recreational Trail Program grant application to the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources for $75,000 for Phase V at LNSP. 255 acres and upwards of 11.5 miles of additional trail awaits us in this Phase. Once again, the Trailblazers would hire a trail construction company to blast the corridor and then rely on the Trailblazer faithful to groom and apply the finishing touches to the trail. It’s a scene that will become more familiar to club members in the future.

At Southwest District Park, club member Brian Malec has laid out a beautiful 3 mile trail in a distressed neighborhood off of West Blvd. Recent moves by the Charlotte Housing Authority call for the razing of Boulevard Homes (on adjacent property) and in it’s place constructing a mixed use community. The new trail will be one of the first amenities to the park that will also include ballfields. These will complement the Southview Recreation Center, already on site. This is a tremendous opportunity for the club to be in on the ground floor of a community in renaissance.

The Trailblazers have received grants totaling $10K (a $5K, NCDENR, Adopt-A-Trail grant and a $5K grant from REI) to construct the trail corridor, once again through a trail construction company. Then we’ll rely on the Trailblazer faithful to finish the trail. Sound familiar? The work Brian and other members have already provided to lay out the trail easily exceeds 200 hours total to date.

The Lakewood community has long been forgotten as the construction of I-85 and Hwy 16 has cut it off from easy community access. Trips for Kids, a non-profit organization aimed at getting at risk youth on bicycles has a major foothold in the community. TKF, along with local community groups have banded together to link parcels of land to provide these under privileged kids with a trail to ride within their community.

Lakewood in the 1910’s – 1920’s was Charlotte’s, Six Flags. Soldiers would ride the train to the park that included a beautiful lake, boardwalk, Ferris Wheel, food, recreation and relaxation. The park died in the late 20’s as a tornado ripped apart the dam, draining the lake and ruining forever the excitement of the area. To this day, beautiful stone bridges still stand as a testament to the park and an era, gone by.

The Lakewood Community and TFK’s were recently awarded a grant through REI that will amount to $12.5K to construct a trail in this community. This is the feel good project of the year! Once again, the Trailblazers will oversee the construction of the trail corridor by a trail construction firm and then rely on you, our faithful membership to groom the trail. Sounds like a broken record, I know, but it’s the wave of the future for trail construction in our area. The community sits on the edge of a proposed CMP&R Greenway and will provide connectivity that the community hasn’t enjoyed in ages. And we’re all a part of it, each and every member of our club…

Edward Autry has recently submitted an application for an Adopt-A-Trail grant to NCDENR for the construction of a trail corridor at Park Road Park. The $5K grant would once again allow us to hire some level of trail corridor construction. The new trail would connect with the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. In addition to adjacent trails in the immediate area, this project could result in approximately 12 to 15 miles of stacked loop mountain bike trail in the heart of Charlotte with connectivity to a major greenway.

We have recently been contacted by Charlotte Mecklenburg Park and Recreation and informed that our trail at Jetton Park is going to be nominated for a National Association of Counties Achievement Award. The 1.1-mile trail, constructed to allow the physically challenged the opportunity to enjoy the sport of mountain bike on specially designed off road hand cycles, is located in Cornelius. A grant of $10K from Transamerica Reinsurance provided the funding necessary to purchase two of the cycles that are housed at the Cycle Path in Cornelius. We will be providing information to assist P&R with the application process.

So in closing, I would like to thank you, our members for your hard work, dedication, donations of time and money as we together are making a difference, a HUGE difference in our community. Our economic times our tough, what better way to help us through it than to contribute to the betterment of the Metro-Charlotte community.

It’s membership time.

Think about it.

Sincerely,

Tom Mathews

Past President

Tarheel Trailblazers

2008 Executive Board Nominees

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 12:53:00 -0700

After serving 2 years on the executive board, vice president Jerry Adams and I are stepping down at the end of our collective terms, effective December 31, 2007...However, as many of you already know, former executive board members never really go away, we just kinda lurk in the shadows...I know that I still have several irons in the fire that I want / need to accomplish, and Jerry is always looking for that next parcel of land to build on...

I must admit that I have had many sleepless nights, worrying about who would pick up the baton and run with it in 2008. I was more than relieved and greatly excited to learn that Jim Grover, our resident legal expert, was interested in accepting the nomination of club president...Jim is a man of great integrity and has a deep passion for our sport...His leadership will chart a new course for the club, and I look forward to a host of interesting projects and innovative programs...

Paul Bellin, the club's volunteer coordinator for the past several years and an individual that always steps up and becomes involved for the betterment of our club has agreed to his nomination as club vice president...Paul's attention to detail and his keen relationships throughout the sport will assist Jim and the executive board in continuing to steer the club forward...

Leah Mitcham has agreed to return for a second year as club secretary...Leah has been prompt and efficient in her duties and is always ready to voice her opinion...Her dual membership with the Dirt Divas provides us a liaison between the clubs...

Frankie Pietras, former two term club president and trail coordinator has agreed to continue on in his role as club treasurer...As treasurer, Frankie has helped turn the club from money strapped to one that operates comfortably in the black...His conservative financial nature has helped the club grow financially and has us on stable ground...

Along with a multitude of role players, I am pleased to introduce these individuals as our executive nominees for the 2008 Trailblazer season...The election will be held at our next club meeting, November 1st...

Your continued support and dedication to the club will result in an ever expanding trail system, one that will elevate the Metro-Charlotte area to new heights, and to continue to be a model volunteer organization for generations to come...

Sincerely,

Tom Mathews, President