River Valley Cycling

Supporting Cycling In and Around Fredericton

Woolastook to Get Exciting Investment

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Riders. We have good news.

After working for more than a year behind the scenes we are thrilled to share today that RVC is going to receive more than $303,000 from the Canada Community Building Fund to build/upgrade 15 km of singletrack at Woolastook Park. This may be the largest single investment in mountain bike trails ever given to a volunteer-based community organization in the Province’s history. Exciting.

This funding will dramatically improve the experience and the riding at what is already one of our best local destinations. This will be the most ambitious project that RVC has ever taken on but we are feeling confident. The terrain at Woolastook is fantastic, the security of the land is strong, and we are making a plan.

We want to hear from you. What would you like to see done? Where are the opportunities? Get involved! This project will be front and center at our Annual General Meeting for members on April 5th at 7:00 at the Grimross Taproom. The club will present our ideas and it will be a great chance for a discussion.

Intro to Winterbike 6 Week Ride Series

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Riders!

RVC is excited to be hosting a 6 week group ride series aimed at beginner level fatbike riders starting Sunday Feb. 13th ,10:15 am, in Deer Park. This ride series is totally free, and aims to give you the basics of expanding your singletrack experience to include the best months of the year!

Each ride will be about 90 minutes in length and the ride pace is going to be slow and steady. Nobody will be left behind. The ride plan will focus on enjoyable, but less demanding trails in some of our favourite groomed networks. Between rides RVC will post some tips on our Facebook and Instagram channels on how to get the most out of your winter ride. By week 5 and 6 the ride will mix in a few more interesting trails with a little more terrain but the pace will remain friendly.

We really want to thank rider and volunteer Heather Ongo for identifying a need to do this and stepping forward to lead each ride. RVC is a volunteer driven club and we love it when riders want to make things happen. Thank you Heather!

Heather O. our ride leader for this series!

Now – the ride series will depend on good attitudes and good snow but it will also hinge a bit on the COVID-19 situation. We feel good to launch it now that NB is in phase II but if we go back into lockdown we are obviously off. We do ask that everyone social distance at least 2m while out on rides with people outside your steady 10 bubble and bring a mask just in case you find yourself needing some up-close and personal help. If you are feeling crummy please stay home and rest!

Deer park – tour stop #1

Remember to dress appropriately for whatever the forecast says that morning. Also remember to bring yourself some snacks and a warm drink (pro-tip fill your bottle or hydration bag with warm water to delay the inevitable freeze). Please also remember to Join RVC Winterbike if you haven’t already.

Introducing RVC’s Bearcat

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Success!

After a 6 week fundraising campaign RVC exceeded its goal and collected more than $5,000 in support of winter biking in the Fredericton area. It is so great to be a small cog in a big community that loves the outdoors and winter trails. From individuals who gave us $10 where they could to outstanding local businesses like the Radical Edge and Explore Velo who donated significant amounts – RVC appreciates your support!

Today we’re proud to introduce you to the newest member of our grooming fleet: a 2016 Artic Cat Bearcat!

This machine replaces ‘Fat Panther’ who retires from RVC’s fleet after a distinguished career and Bearcat isn’t wasting time making its mark. RVC Groomers Dave and Andy took it through the entire Woolastook winter network today on its inaugural run. Nice work guys! The plan is to keep Bearcat based in Woolastook for now but this machine could make appearances at other networks!

If you get out to Woolastook today let us know what you think. If you see riders enjoying the trails ask them if they remembered to join RVC Winterbike for 2022. If you see Dave and Andy out grooming there this winter stop and let them know that you appreciate their work.

Once again – to our winterbike members and GoFundMe supporters – a thousand thank you’s from the RVC team!

Winterbike Plan 2022 – Deer Park

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Deer Park is a great place to introduce people to winter riding for the first time. The woods are nice, you’re never too far away from the car, and the terrain is easy going. That’s why RVC is so happy to support the grooming there. It rounds out what we have to offer at MVP and Woolastook really well.

For 2022 the plan is going to keep 7km of the primary singletrack and double track open. There’s plenty more singletrack in the park and we suspect that the snowshoe activity will have it opened up most of the time. It should be a worthwhile place to ride.

Grooming takes extraordinary volunteers. These people are often out for long hours in the cold and sometimes in the worst weather. Thanks Troy for stepping up once again to take this on!

If you’re not sure about winter riding go take a spin in Deer Park. We’ll let you know once the grooming starts (last night was a total bust… what happened to the snow we were supposed to get!!!). If you give it a spin and you like it enough to want to support our grooming effort please consider Joining RVC Winterbike for 2022.

Winterbike plans 2022 – MVP

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It’s January 7th and we’re finally looking to get our first dump of snow today in a nor’easter. RVC is excited. You’re excited. Dan and Todd are excited.

So what better day than to tell you about the grooming plan for MVP this winter!

For 2022 MVP will have ~ 22 km of groomed singletrack. This includes most of the Flight Deck area and we’ve got the trail building crew’s support to groom Monkey Business this year too. For you riders who have never ventured over to ride Greg’s Way in the summer make sure to go check it out in the winter. The Back 40 is a game changing connection and it open’s up access to the Greg’s way area. Back 40 is a hilariously good trail in it’s own right. We’ll keep the parking lot open all winter so that you don’t have to brave narrow slushy roads to get to the riding. We’ll also keep the Trailforks map up to date but remember to hit the ‘winter trails’ option on the map and you may need to refresh the data on your phone app.

MVP mountain biking trails

Keeping 22 km of singletrack groomed takes a lot of resources and a heroic effort from the groomers! You can get your 2022 RVC Winterbike membership here to access the trails and support the grooming. Also, if you love winter trails and want to take your support one step further please check out our GoFundMe campaign. We have one week left to try and meet our fundraising target of $5,000 to get the grooming team some updated and more reliable equipment. We are so close and even small donations are a big help. Thank you!

Proud Members of: Velo New Brunswick

Canadian Cycling Association

International Mountain Biking Association