Jason and Inga move on

All things come to an end; some things sooner rather than later, and sometimes sooner than expected. And our journey as the Trail Care Crew is one of those things. There are a lot of reasons for it, which we don’t need to go into at this time. Instead, we’re looking at what is ahead for us.

What’s important to know is that our departure with IMBA was amicable, and we remain dedicated to helping create trails in our community.

We’re excited to take our next step, and already have become involved with local mountain bike groups in the Pacific Northwest, including the Westside Trail Federation and the newly formed Lower Columbia Bike Project. We are also extremely vested very active with our friends in San Francisco, the SF Urban Riders.

We’re currently in a transitional phase, and haven’t quite decided where we want to end up, but at the moment we have landed in my hometown of Astoria, Oregon. Like the rest of the Pacific Northwest, it has the kind of terrain that makes any trail builder drool. I’ve been reconnecting with the local riders, and taking inventory of the local trails- or what’s left of them. A harsh winter storm in recent years has essentially destroyed miles of trail. We’ve been meeting with local mountain bikers with the goal of reestablishing the trails, and building new ones. There is no reason why the lower Columbia area shouldn’t be known a riding destination.

I’m extremely excited to be able to take a project and follow through with it, from its inception all the way to completion. If you are located in the area and interested in joining the movement for creating new trail opportunities in Northwest Oregon/ Southwest Washington, please join the discussion on our new Google group for the Lower Columbia Bike Project.

Kelowna, BC – Tour de Canada, Part I

Kelowna was our first stop of three for our Subaru/ IMBA TCC tour of Canada, and our first taste of some real BC single track. We learned an important lesson on our drive east from Vancouver; when you see a gas station and you don’t know where the next one is, always stop and top off the tank! Thankfully we made it into West Bank coasting in on fumes, and after fueling up we met up with our host, Mike Kittmer of MTBco. Read more

Subaru/ IMBA Trail Care Crew Visit: Hurricane, Utah

First off, whatever you do, make an effort to pronounce Hurricane correctly. If you don’t, you’re bound to be the subject of some heckling. If you say it more like “Hurri-kin,” as opposed to “Hurri-cane,” you’ll find yourself much better off and spare yourself a good deal of public shaming. Read more

Subaru/ IMBA Trail Care Crew Visit: El Paso, TX

Our next stop on the traveling road tour was El Paso, Texas. At this point the IMBA crews split off and headed their separate ways. Kelly and Collins headed back east, while Inga and myself were to make our way towards the Pacific, through the southwest.
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Subaru/ IMBA Trail Care Crew Visits Part III: Carlsbad, NM

After our job in Payson, Arizona, the two Trail Care Crews traveled to Carlsbad, New Mexico. On the way south we stopped in Tucson to ride with some friends. 
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Subaru/ IMBA Trail Care Crew Visits Part II: Payson, AZ

Life on the road can be a bit hectic. Trying to balance bike advocacy with having a personal life, as well as trying to maintain a semblance of physical fitness has been a challenge, but after a few months of living on the road, we’re actually managing to get into a sort of non-routine-routine. If that makes any sense. If it does, let us know and explain it to us. <*insert some sort of dorky-winkey-smiley face icon here> Read more

Sedona Vacation

When living a life that consists of driving spot to spot on the road, it is always good to find a place to check out for a bit and hide. Even better if its known for gorgeous scenery and legendary trails. After our Subaru/ IMBA Trail Care Crew visit to Phoenix, we choose to make Sedona, Arizona as the place to make our get-away. Read more

Subaru/ IMBA Trail Care Crew visits: Part One

We’ve been on the road for a while now; here’s summary of where we have been, and here is an account of the missions the Subaru/ IMBA Trail Care Crews have accomplished to date: Read more

On the Road With the Subaru/ IMBA Trail Care Crews

It’s official, we’re on the road! We’ve been traveling since the beginning of the year with the senior crew, Kelly and Collins Bishop, and have hardened up into seasoned professional travelers. We’ve been learning the ways of the road, and adopted the lifestyle that comes with a life on the road. Every week we are in a new city- sometimes we’ll wake up and not remember what day it is. Or even where we are! Read more

A letter home

We’ve now been in Boulder for over two weeks and are about to finally head on the road.

Our first week began with a meet and greet with the office staff here at IMBA, the International Mountain Bicycling Association. We learned quite a bit, and are a bit overwhelmed even with the sheer amount of data. The popular term for it around here is “taking a drink of water from a fire hose.” I’d say it is pretty accurate. Thanks to all the volunteers, clubs, and staffers, there is a huge amount of progress being made in Trail Advocacy today.(we’ll touch on this in a future post) Inga and I are extremely excited to be able to directly be a part of it, and make a difference on such a larger scale. 
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