River Valley Cycling

Supporting Cycling In and Around Fredericton

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Post Storm Clean-up Update: Woolastook

December 23, 2023 By Chris Norfolk

While this post is about Woolastook that’s only because it was the hardest hit trail system. We know that volunteers have been out cleaning up at MVP and Penniac and we want to send a huge thanks for that! We see you!

We now know that this unnamed storm from December 18th caused a bigger impact than 2014’s Arthur; making the worst storm in RVC’s history. Over the last two days the crew of rider/volunteers have logged 123 person hours (we’re trying to keep track) of extremely hard work in difficult conditions. It’s been heroic!

After such devastation it’s amazing to see what the cycling community can do! The pics speak for themselves.

Before vs after slider!

Woolastook is on it’s way to being reborn in a lot of places. Things are going to feel different. However, some things have thankfully weathered the storm pretty well.

There is still plenty of work left. Above all else we want everyone to be safe. Wear protective gear. Have a plan. Don’t work alone. The eastern end of Woolastook still hasn’t been explored and we expect a lot of impact to our new climber and flow trails to the look-out that still haven’t opened. The map shows what has already been cleared at the point of this update. Thanks to every last man, woman, and dog who has put sweat into giving this place a second life.

Orange has been cleared. Red can be left for the forest to regrow.

Filed Under: Announcements, News Tagged With: storm, Woolastook

Post-storm Update: Woolastook

December 20, 2023 By Chris Norfolk

The unnamed storm that crossed the region on December 18th brought significant rain and winds recorded at ~100 km/h. It has impacted the trails at Woolastook significantly. It has been almost 10 years since post-tropical storm Arthur caused damage on this scale.

River Valley Cycling volunteers began to scope out the situation today. Here’s what they found.

  • The Woolastook Park Campground owner has blocked the parking lot at the highway due to concerns over power lines down on the ground.
  • There is heavy damage to Split Rail. In spots the trail is difficult to find under the trees. The reports we got today only went as far as the intersection with ‘Rough Start’ because it was very difficult walking.
  • Fortunately the impact to the ‘Shoreline’ trail seems to be less intense.
  • No reports yet on interior areas like Bev’s Knoll, Kelly’s Creek, or any of our new flow trails.

For now, riders should not expect to find anything passable. It will take a huge volunteer effort to establish the trails again. We hope to open up enough at Woolastook to have a grooming effort for the winter. That’s an achievable goal. Let us know if you would like to help (at Woolastook, or at any other trail system).

We’ll post more as we know more. Some preliminary reports are coming in from MVP and Penniac but we don’t have a clear picture yet.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: storm, Woolastook

Yeti draw to support Winterbike 2023/24

December 15, 2023 By Chris Norfolk

Update: Ticket sales are now closed. Tune into our social media on Dec 20th for the draw and good luck!

Our friends at Back Trails have put together a big Yeti package to raffle off prior to Christmas in support of our winterbike grooming efforts. Tickets are on sale now ($15) and we plan to have a live-streamed draw on our social channels on Wednesday the 20th.

!

Filed Under: Announcements, News, Winter Bike

Winterbike 2023/24 Launch!

December 3, 2023 By Chris Norfolk

We are rolling heavy towards another winter season and we are ready. Behind the scenes the club exec and our volunteers have been working away to get prepared for a great season of grooming. What have we been up to?

Preparing

Our volunteer groomers put in a lot of time even before the first snow flies. A lot of time is spent planning the grooming routes, and making sure that our fleet of hard-working sleds are well maintained. Dan Breau and Tim Dine have both spent time replacing old worn parts. There’s time spent setting up our parking lot plows and clearing trails of late fall blow-downs. You may have also seen the slick new winterized RVC logo that Christina Tracy did for us! The exec has worked to flip our membership registration over to winter mode (join for 2023/24), and prepare a budget.

Fundraising

Early this spring we set a goal for ourselves – a new sled for our longest-serving volunteer snow-sculptor: Dan Breau. For those that don’t know Dan, he is our groomer who has been looking after MVP since winterbike first evolved beyond early experiments. We’ve come a long way since Wilson’s Loop was kept open by running a leaf blower through the first few snowfalls. The thing is that our fleet of sleds that pull the grooming gear are old, and the maintenance is high. So – we set out to find the money needed to buy RVC’s first brand new sled. With the help of long-time volunteer Kelly Murray we applied to the City of Fredericton’s Community Grant program and we just got word that we were successful! They’ve agreed to put forward $6,500, about half of our target, if we can find the other half. We think we’re just about there. We had some money left in the piggy bank from previous fund raising and we think we can sell some of our older assets to make up the rest. All without raising membership costs. We’re excited.

How can you help?

  • Trail clearing – if you have time for a shoulder season project we need someone to walk the length of Back 40 and Cakewalk at MVP and clear any downed trees. Same goes for Islandview. If you are going to clear trail please let us know what sections you’ve walked and whether you’ve taken care of everything. Keep in mind the groomers need more room to pass than a bike.
  • Shoe-to-ride – we could really use a few dedicated people to lead up some purposeful snowshoeing. Our top priority is to have people willing to hit Odell park after snowfall. For fatbiking we need at least 3 shoes wide and you need to be able to follow the trail once it’s covered up with snow. We also want someone willing to take on a short section at Islandview (~375m) from the parking lot to the last point where Jeremy is permitted to groom. Jeremy does an amazing job but this first bit needs a dedicated person to beat it down.
  • Join RVC Winterbike – this is how you can all help us. Your membership covers all of the basic necessities that our fundraising doesn’t. Gas, insurance, plowing, parts, etc. For a modest contribution you can enjoy our groomed trails and get access to group rides and events.

Filed Under: Announcements, Membership, News, Winter Bike

RVC 2023/24 Winterbike Registration now Open!

November 22, 2023 By Chris Norfolk

Riders – River Valley Cycling is really excited about winterbike for 2023. It’s been 10 years since the first fat bikes started rolling around town. We’ve just rolled out our winter memberships so go ahead and join RVC for the winter season!

To celebrate, we are sharing a winterized redesign of our logo from the talented volunteer Christina Tracy!

Filed Under: Announcements, Membership, News, Winter Bike

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