How To Make The Most Of A Pandemic
2020: It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. Unless you were fortunate enough to be a mountain biker in the Rogue Valley.
Despite a pandemic, fires, murder hornets, and almost everything going wrong that could, 2020 had some bright spots. Like mountain biking. Once I got into the woods and on the trails, things seemed pretty okay—and maybe even pretty darn good. Sometimes a little dirt fixes almost anything. Almost.
One thing dirt couldn’t fix was the challenges Covid posed for RVMBA. We couldn’t host events. Or trail workdays. Or fist bump our buddies after a ride. But we still managed to get quite a lot done, thanks to the dedication of our board, the support of our members, and critical donations from people who want to see mountain biking flourish in the Rogue Valley.
Here’s a quick recap of some of our accomplishments this year:
Filmed by Bike movie night. Who knew this would be our last event for a very long time? Look for a new, virtual Filmed By Bike to be announced soon.
Snark trail access saved. RVMBA collected hundreds of signatures and helped turn back an attempt to exclude mountain bikers from Snark trail. Win!
Trail Map to Recovery. RVMBA developed this mini-manifesto to demonstrate to city government and land managers the economic value of mountain biking. Over 70 businesses signed on to our proclamation that mountain biking is good for people and the local economy.
IMBA Technical Assistance Grant and SOU partnership. Knowing how many people actually use our trails will help power our efforts to expand trail access. By winning the IMBA grant and joining forces with SOU to crunch the results, we hope to gain valuable info that drives our progress.
Dollar Mountain. RVMBA continues making progress on developing Dollar Mountain into another local mountain biking gem.
Loveless Park B-Street Jumps. We are working with Grants Pass and trail builders to develop conceptual plans to revitalize the B-Street jumps.
Bull Gap Jump Line. Many years in the making, this project is provisionally approved by the Forest Service and almost shovel ready. We hope to start construction this Spring!
New RVMBA website launched! Yeah, we know—it was about time.
1% For The Planet membership. This program gives us access to donations from other participating businesses. It’s already paying dividends with generous contributions from Loon Outdoors and Full Circle Realty.
Medford bike park. RVMBA promoted the idea to the city of Medford and has paid for a conceptual design.
Continued negotiations with Westside landowners. RVMBA presented a proposal and continues to work to regain access to Maoi and Mystical trails.
Ashland East Main Park Pump Track. We continue to advocate for the development of this pump track and have been awarded grants totaling $25K.
Emigrant Lake Trail. RVMBA cleared the first 3.5 miles of trail and is working with the Bureau of Reclamation to remove illegal fencing blocking sections of the trail.
Over 1,700 hours of trail work. From the removal of downed trees to smoothing out braking bumps to revitalizing Rabbit hole to re-opening backcountry classics, RVMBA continued to work to make our great trails even better—Covid or no Covid.
If you like what you see, whether it’s on our trails, or in our list of accomplishments, I hope you’ll think of RVMBA when looking for that end-of-year tax-deductible donation*. Whether it’s $10, $100, or something with even more digits, any amount helps and tells us we’re on the right path.
All of us at RVMBA appreciate your support and will continue to work to make Rogue Valley riding the best of times during even the worst of times.
Are you interested in becoming a member of RVMBA or renewing your membership?
Your membership helps us protect, improve and expand mountain bike trail access and the riding experience. You’ll also:
Gain access to local trail building and trail maintenance activities
Participate in local rides and events with like-minded people that love riding and are stewards of the trails
Earn discounts of up to 70% on hundreds of outdoor brands including Keen Footwear, Smith Optics, E*Thirteen, Crank Brothers, Fox Head and more through ExpertVoice.
Keep informed and up to date on trail news in our region
Support the trail advocacy efforts IMBA is doing at the national level
Thank you again for your continued support of RVMBA and I look forward to seeing you on the trails in 2021.
Martin Stadtmueller
President of RVMBA
*We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Your charitable contributions to RVMBA are tax-deductible as allowed by the Internal Revenue Service. Our EIN Tax-Code is 47-1254119
