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TRAIL DIRTBy Michael WalshNovember 2001On October 19 – 21, the Chattanooga Bicycle Club hosted the Ocoee / Tanasi Mountain Bike Festival at Chilhowee campground in the Cherokee National Forest. I want to first thank all of our sponsors and volunteers. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!Robert Lee of the USFS was so helpful in putting on this event. There were also many other Rangers who I didn’t get to meet that helped out. Thank you as well. Our volunteers helped out with the trail maintenance prior to the festival and during the festival. We had some good ride leaders and good people to help serve the meals. Our sponsors gave money, food and swag to help with the event, so please support our sponsors. We also had a solar powered generator providing the electricity for our music and coffee. This was a huge help. Thank You Big Frog Energy. The festival went off without a hitch. We had lots of riding all three days. The trails were in excellent shape and the weather was more than perfect. There were no serious injuries and plenty of food and drink, as well as lots of fun with the games on Saturday. There was a huge turnout, about 171 registered for the event. We did have some free loaders, so the total number of people may never be known. Good thing, though, that we didn’t run out of food on Saturday. We did, however, run out of the T-shirts. Several people have been asking if there were any left. IT PAYS TO PRE-REGISTER. The games started with a Kids’ Race. The little ones got to show their stuff. It was fun to watch the little ones ride around. We will expand the kids’ race next festival to include teenagers & preteens. Their race will be around the lake or a similar trail. Several kids did participate this year in the other games. The Granny Gear race had quite a few contestants. The 2nd and 3rd place was a photo finish. From there we witnessed the skill and determination of the Log Pull contestants. This really seems to be a game for the hardtail bikes. Suspension bikes could do it, but a hardtail Klein mastered the game. Second place was a suspension bike with the shock locked out. The Forest Service increased the competitiveness of the Log Pull trail with some major water bars. Getting over the first one was more than challenging. Our first and second place winners managed to get over three of them. Our defending champ, Barry Falls, was really put out when a ‘lady(?) in drag’ outdistanced him. Lucky me got to carry the log back. I’m going to use a wheeled dolly or something next year. What a workout! We had to cancel the "Huffy Toss", something about being repainted with a "New Logo" from a recent acquisition. So we went straight into the Boulder Hop, and what a course! The beginning of it seemed rideable but there were tight turns and then the final drop out of the area was intense. Everyone had fun with this event. Yet no one could do it without putting a foot down more than once. This was a good course. A 12 year old put on a really good performance. After these riders risked life and limb, we had other riders lose their dignity with the "Soon to be Famous—Drag Race". I volunteered for this event and Thank You Kym for that dress! There were some damn ugly "women" in that race. Not only did we have to race around the lake, we also had to parade ourselves around the camping field! So we were judged on our skills of riding as well as how "good" we looked and our overall demeanor. I think it was a good thing I lost this event. My children will be receiving therapy for a while. Saturday night dinner started off with the prizes for the games and a raffle. Afterwards we had a bonfire and ghost stories and marshmallows. There were also some pumpkins that were carved as Jack-o-lanterns. One in particular had an image of a mountain biker riding in the moonlight. Maybe next year we’ll have a carving contest. Sunday morning had our famous Pancake Cook-off. A Poker Run followed shortly thereafter. There were some good hands in that game, but a small straight won the game. All in all, everyone had a great time. Having the festival at Chilhowee seemed to work out real well. We may have the fall festival there from now on. The CBC festival in the spring may be at the Whitewater Center. Speaking of the WWC, there have been some new trails cut out there. The USFS hired Ranger Keith Ginn to operate a SWECO 480 Traildozer. He connected the Thunder Rock Campground to the WWC and put more trails out in the existing trail system. I would like to see the volunteers of CBC come out this winter and help get these trails in shape for a spring festival. Volunteering pays big rewards. Please come and help. Elsewhere in the mountain biking of East Tennessee, we have a new trail system being developed in Cleveland. It’ll be on 16 acres of county land adjacent to the BMX track. It’s in the planning stages and hopefully will be completed soon. Volunteers are needed with the construction. Contact Bill Holt of the BMX track or Doug Coulter or Dylan Mantooth. This could help get more trails in the area by being a model for both Bradley County and Cleveland. There is talk of a connector to the Mouse Creek trail system. But we need to show our support by getting involved. Also, there is a trail being built by Eagle Scout Carson Orten at the Booker T. Washington State Park. This has been going on for a number of months. There is still more work to do. We need volunteers to help; please contact Tom Owen at Owen Cyclery (423) 875-6811. Another thing that happened in October was the I.M.B.A. Summit at Roan State Park on the 6th – 7th. Dylan Mantooth and I were there to represent the Chattanooga Bicycle Club and get to know other clubs in Tennessee. It’s fun to volunteer. The weather was awesome and the riding was intense. We made some great friends out that way. Rob Horn of NTMBA hosted a spectacular event. If you missed it you missed a lot of fun. One idea we were discussing is to have the IMBA Summit at different locations through Tennessee. One year it could be in Chattanooga, another year in Nashville, etc… Let’s not forget the fine folks at the Lula Lake Land Trust on Lookout Mountain. Bill Chipley is a great person to work with. Team Peggy hosted the Lula Lake Brow Beater in October with a fun day on Saturday and a Mtn Bike Race on Sunday. That event went quite well from what I heard. I could not attend because of the IMBA Summit. Bill Chipley has invited the CBC to continue to host weekend rides and Wednesday night rides there. Check the schedule in the newsletter. It’s a great place to ride. There are several locations to ride for all skill levels. One other thing coming up is some trail work on Signal Mountain. The trails at Edward’s Point are in need of some attention. There are also other trails in that area, but the CBC needs a representative to coordinate these efforts. We also are still monitoring the situation in Polk and McMinn counties. The CSX RR abandonment has been making the newspapers and the way it seems is that the RR is going to be removed. It’s still too early to tell what the outcome will be, but I’ll be keeping an ear and eye open. Is there anyone in the CBC willing to attend meetings as a watchdog? Please contact Daisy or me. There was a meeting on the 24th of October at the Collegedale City Hall. It is one of several in the next six months at various locations. It was about the Chattanooga Bicycle Facilities Master Plan. It’s basically going to help the bicycle community to grow. There will be street improvements and more mountain bike trails. There are Civil Engineers and Public Officials involved. It’s a long-term growth plan to build more greenways and bike trails as well as increasing the safety and awareness of cycling in the Chattanooga area. Members of the CBC and citizens of the area need to attend the upcoming meetings. Children will be able to ride bikes to schools and to ball fields and to stores and to their friends’ houses. Senior citizens can get out and feel safe on the streets and cycle to various places in the community. Avid cyclists will be able to enjoy the rural and city roads with a wider shoulder or designated bike lane. Commuters will have better opportunities to get to work. There will be more cycling events that begin or end or involve the Chattanooga area. One major advantage will be healthier lifestyles for the people of the area. Chattanooga will grow and not be overburdened by massive automobile traffic jams. The air will be cleaner. The environment will be better. Life in East Tennessee will improve. Please get involved. Contact Melissa Dickinson or Bill Allen of the Bicycle Advisory Committee at (423) 757-5216. Please attend the meetings and give the Plan your input. It will help you and your cycling future. So much is going on in the world of cycling………………… Until the next time, keep the rubber side down Michael Walsh
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