MCMBA - November Newsletter

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Motor City Mountain Biking Association

Established in 1990 as part of the MMBA South East chapter, the Motor City Mountain Biking Association is a section 501c3 advocacy organization focused on preserving, protecting, and promoting mountain bike access and diverse riding opportunities on Metropolitan Detroit’s public lands through education, communication, and unified action.

Join or renew at mcmba.org

Chapter News

Did you record your volunteer hours?

As the trail building season winds down, this is a great time to make sure all your volunteer hours for 2018 have been recorded with the MCMBA. Volunteering at our trails not only keeps them in great riding shape, but it builds stronger relationships with our land managers for those trails. Don’t leave your hours on the table - reporting the time that you contribute to a trail is one of the most important things you can do to help us build and maintain great relationships with our land managers.

And if that isn't enough to convince you, then maybe the FAFL awards will. Each year, after tallying up the numbers, a critical group of volunteers will receive an awesome award. All you need to do: [1] contribute atleast 10 hours of trail work (administrative hours count at 1/3 rate), and [2] record your hours!

Awards in past years include camp chairs ("to sit your sweaty [butt] in after a hard day of working on the trail"), changing kilts, and hoodies. What will it be this year? Record your hours and find out!

Record your hours at MCMBA.org > Get Involved > Report Volunteer Hours

1st Annual Perk2Pints - Fall Cycling Tour

The colors were changinging perfectly, and trails and paths were in great shape and the social pace was perfect!

We had a great group of people show up ride with us for the entire route. The weather held out until the last 10 min of our day. The total route ended up being 32 miles, with stops at Plymouth Coffee Bean, Parmenter's Cider Mill and Supernatural Brewing.

A big thank you goes to Amber Koa for pre-booking these places even reserving cider and donuts at Parmenter's. Amber also rode sweep, making sure no one was left behind. Thank you to Plymouth Bean, Parmenter’s, and Supernatural for allowing us to invade and accommodating our group.

Look for a return next Fall when the donuts are plenty.

Upcoming Events

Spoke Easy FUNdraiser and Chili Social, sponsored by Cannondale, Sweet Bikes Bike Shop, and MooseMitts.com
Saturday, November 17, 10:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Hines Drive Mountain Bike Trails

Come join the MCMBA for the Chili Social on November 17th. Sponsored by Cannondale, Sweet Bikes Bike Shop, and MooseMitts.com. This event will showcase the 1st of many Trail Kiosks for the Hines Trails.

Stay for a little or all day to enjoy the Hines mountain bike trails or the many other outdoor opportunities in and Hines Park.

When you’re done come by the fire and buy some food, beer, hot drinks ro MCMBA merchandise to help support the local trails. All served from the convenience of the” Cannondale Spoke Easy”, supported by the MCMBA board.

All proceeds raised will go directly to local trail development.

This event and parking are FREE.

Chili Cook Off – We will have some sweet prizes for the winners. Entering is FREE, but if you wish to enter your masterpiece you’ll need to email Mike Flack ([email protected]) to reserve a spot.

Visit the event on Facebook for the final details! Make sure to share with your friends and family too!

Global Fat Bike Day
Saturday, December 1, 2018 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Spring Mill Pond, Island Lake State Recreation Area

Fat Bikes + Food + Beer + Riding = Winter Folly. Can’t argue with Math!

Come celebrate the annual Global Fat Bike Day with the MCMBA at Island Lake State Recreation Areas! More details to follow, but the general info…

Visit mcmba.org and follow the event on Facebook to learn more.

Chapter Meeting
Tuesday, December 4, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Baker's of Milford

All members are invited to us for our quarterly chapter meeting, where we will discuss the status of our trails, upcoming events, trail work, and new opportunities. We have lots of ideas, next year is going to be a busy year, and we need you! Look for us in the back room of Baker's of Milford (2025 S Milford Rd, Milford).

Mark your 2019 calendar now for the MCMBA events you love!

Island Lake Bicycle Demo Day, Island Lake State Rec Area: Saturday, May 4, 2019

Milford Bike Fest and Trail Challenge, Downtown Milford: Saturday, June 1, 2019

Tree Farm Relay, Novi Tree Farm/Lakeshore Park: Saturday, July 27, 2019

Maybury Time Trails (CPS), Maybury State Park: Sunday, August 25, 2019

Trail Updates

Settlers Park: Part 1 of 3

The MCMBA has been given approval by Hartland Township to extend the Settlers Park Mountain Bike/Hiking trails to 6 miles. Currently a 2 mile loop exists in the west edge of the park and can be accessed at the Meijer trailhead, or via the paved path that runs from Meijer to the township hall. The current loop has become popular with families, new mountain bikers and hikers, and features log piles, rock gardens, berms, a “stump-over” and a new beginner friendly skinny. The new mileage will be made up of two more loops, a 3 mile beginner friendly loop in the center of the park that will connect the existing trail to a new Township Hall trailhead, and a 1 mile technical loop in the northeast of the park. Stay tuned for future trail days.

Novi Tree Farm: New Bridges

Our thanks to all the plank sponsors and MCMBA members whose membership dollars made the 754 loop bridge refresh project possible! A special thanks to the volunteers who gave up their weekends and weeknights to wade through mud, drive posts, tote timbers, angst over plank alignment, and drive thousands of screws. The new bridge is open - enjoy!

About the MCMBA

Each year, our active membership contributes over 3,600 hours of service, primarily developing and maintaining area trail systems. The Bureau of Labor calculates volunteer time at an hourly rate of $23, which means that the MCMBA annually contributes over $82,000 in direct labor to our local parks and mountain bike trails. Our fund raising events help support this work by purchasing tools and equipment for our volunteers, providing materials for bridges, kiosks, signs, and other capital improvements for our parks.

Working with our partner organizations, our chapter maintains approximately 85 miles of singletrack mountain bike trails in Oakland and Wayne counties. In addition, we are pursuing development opportunities for new trail systems in several communities.

The Motor City Mountain Biking Association is a member of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association, a federation of mountain biking clubs focused on state-wide advocacy issues.