Chattanooga, Tennessee: SORBA Rallies to Make Chattanooga a Trails City

Getting closer to the city's 100 miles of trail in a 10 mile radius by 2010 goal

The Chattanooga riders like to share. This shot shows Huntsville, AL-based Robert Murphy, local hammer Jeffrey Scharrschmidt, and Crew leader Jill Van Winkle enjoying the beautiful weather and fun trails at Booker T. Washington State Park.
Look to nature to provide your tools. After filling in a low spot that was constantly wet, the fill material needed to be compacted and smoothed. A heavy log, combined with some muscle, does the job nicely.
TN State Trails Coordinator Gary Patterson gets behind the wheel of a Toro Dingo to do some maintenance of the existing trail. Charlie Schultz (of the infamous Schulaski tool) came up from Georgia with the Dingo to assist the Chattanooga SORBA chapter.
The Chattanooga Tool Trailer backs up to the Trail Care Crew Subaru as riders prepare to enjoy the sunny skies and newly-fixed trails at Booker T. Grant funding help purchase the trailer and stock it with tools. SORBA chapters have been extremely successful at obtaining grants for tools and trailwork, particularly through the Recreational Trails Program.
Portions of the original trail had not been properly constructed with some trail outslopes in excess of 30% slide, causing riders to hug the outside of the trail and erode the tread. Volunteers fixed this problem by properly benching the tread, and then softening the backslope to make the section more passable.
Fishermen accessing the lake had created numerous social trails from a nearby parking area. In this instance, there were three fall-line trails, all within about 20 feet of each other. Volunteers worked to stabilize one of the trails, and then closed the others.

The mountain bikers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are a dedicated group. Who else would try to build 100 miles of singletrack within 10 miles of Chattanooga by 2010? The Singletrack Mind Initiative is a great example of using a unifying vision to guide the club's political and trailbuilding efforts. The club has partnered with NPS River and Trails Conservation Assistance Program, the city, and other community groups to make Chattanooga an urban trails model. On March 10 - 13, the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew visited the city to help keep the momentum humming along like a fat, knobby tire.

The Chattanooga club of SORBA put together a good mix of work and play to keep their club members interested and involved. The weekend included an IMBA multimedia presentation, highlighting some of the best mountain biking in the United States and beyond. The IMBA visit was covered by the local television stations, resulting in a story in the evening news about the efforts to build trails in the area.

The highlight of the weekend was the trailwork party, with over 35 people showing up to work in Booker T. Washington State Park. A beautiful park along Lake Chicamauga, Booker T. contains several miles of existing trail that winds through the trees and shows off stunning water views. Unfortunately, the beginning section of trail skirts too close to the edge of the lake, and contains many low-lying wet sections. This was the focus of the majority of the trailwork efforts, and the many volunteers were successful in greatly improving the trail, for both the environment (reduced erosion) and for the users (fewer mudholes = more fun!).

Chattanooga is a local chapter of the regional Southern Off-Road Bicycling Association (SORBA). SORBA members travel to not only ride the trails of other chapters, but also to help with trailwork. Visitors from Huntsville, AL, Nashville, TN, and Atlanta, GA showed up to lend a hand and provide additional expertise during the weekend.