The WNYMBA Sprague Brook Race Series kicks off tonight.  Remember online registration only (no walk ups) with registration staying open until 5pm today.  The series deal (special price and t-shirt) also ends today at 5.  Check-in (5-6:15) and parking will be located near shelter #5 near the other bathrooms.  This is located just past the bridge and up the hill on the west side of the park.  Very near where last year's spring series was held.  Below are links for registration and a map of Sprague Brook Park.  See you tonight!

WNYMBA and our WNY Mountain Bike Meetup have teamed up with the Buffalo Outdoors Meetup (BOM) for an Introduction to Mountain Biking event on June 1st - National Trails Day - at Sprague Brook Park, 2 PM - for lunch and then an introductory ride.  This event will occur just after our 9 AM - 2 PM trail work project.

So far, we have 26 new riders from BOM, and we will need to split into smaller groups with at least 2 rider leaders per group.  If you are going to National Trails Day, please consider helping out with a ride.  This could be a huge opportunity to introduce new people to the sport.

We will be putting together the list of ride leaders the day of the event.

Our WNY Mountain Bike Meetup allows you to sign up for the National Trails Day Event here:

And you can sign up for the group ride here:

While I was riding in Ellicottville a week ago, I struck up a conversation with a man hiking out on Big Merlin.  Seems he had just retired, and decided to up and move from Cleveland to Ellicottville.  He said that he moved here because he said it had some of the best hiking around.  I told him about WNYMBA and he thanked us for all the work we have done on the trails.

Most hikers share this perspective.  They believe in shared use trails, and enjoy what can be achieved when different user groups work together.  To most hikers, the shared use trail network in Ellicottville is wonderful.

However, there is a minority of the hiking community that doesn’t believe in shared use trails.  They believe in single use, segregated trails.  This minority includes some, but not all, of the leadership of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference.  The Finger Lakes Trail, also known as the White Trail in Ellicottville, is also part of the North Country Trail, a national scenic trail.  This minority wants a single use trail through the state forests in Ellicottville.

The WNY Mountain Bike Meetup has just reached 100 members.  In its first three months, we have had 10 meetups, and another 17 are scheduled. The spring meetups are typically trail work, because it is too wet for riding.  This year the trails have dried early. No trail days are scheduled for June - August, so we hoping that members can create their own group ride events during this time.