News

Launch of Winterbike 2025!

December 1, 2024 By Chris Norfolk

It snowed! More is on the way. Get your fatbike ready!!! While you are doing that the club exec and some big volunteers have been working away to get prepared for a great season of grooming. What have we been up to?

Preparation

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. The team have been sourcing parts and making sure everything’s tuned up and ready to go with our grooming fleet. There’s time spent setting up our parking lot plows and clearing trails of late fall blow-downs. The exec has worked to flip our membership registration over to winter mode (join for 2025), and prepare a budget. There’s been some work planning out loops that will be groomed this winter especially at Wooly where the network has changed quite a bit this year!

How can you help?

Trail clearing – if you have time for a shoulder season project we always appreciate anyone willing to walk trails (especially the out-of-the-way ones) 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.
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. This year we are doing early-bird pricing. Lock in your membership before January 1st, 2025 and you’ll pay a discounted rate of $30 / adult. For all of you who took out an auto-renewing Winterbike membership last year – no worries – you automatically get renewed at the discounted rate!

Keep your fingers crossed for snow snow snow snow!

MVP Update: Time for a Tune-up

September 20, 2024 By Chris Norfolk

MVP remains at the core of mountain biking in Fredericton. We have a chance to get it put back into amazing shape for some great fall riding. We need volunteer help – your help!

The Good News

We were contacted by the landowner of the Flight Deck area yesterday and told that we are now welcome to enjoy the trails again. This is fantastic news from a landowner who has been very generous to the club. We know that the temporary closure really hurt this summer but it’s now finally over.

This weekend club execs will head in and start removing the trail barriers and the closed signs. We’ll be doing a safety inspection on all Flight Deck trails since it’s been some time since we’ve had eyes on them and there could be downed trees or other hazards. Not all trails will open immediately. If there are still barriers in place please continue to respect them. In particular, we are not sure about V-Fib. The harvesting took place very close to that trail and it may have been impacted directly. We’ll wait and see how it looks during inspection and we’ll make a plan from there.

What you can do to help us open everything quickly is pitch in. We expect everything in the Flight Deck area will need to be trimmed back with loppers and line trimmers to re-establish lines of sight. We also expect that everything needs a good raking for loose rock that’s accumulated on the trail surface. These are really easy jobs that don’t take any special trail building knowledge. Any rider can help and you can do it on whatever time works for you. Just let us know what you plan to take on so that we can try and send volunteers to the areas they are needed most. While we are on topic – the MVP beginner zone needs the same kind of love so we are looking for Bunkerama, Wright of Way, Velocity, and La Woodstock to also get some attention.

The Other Good News

For whatever reason – the beavers seem to have left Bunkerama and the pond is now gone. We think this means we have a great opportunity to get this trail cleaned up and back into shape for fall riding. A good raking and clearing debris should be all that’s needed – but we need people to step forward.

Get Involved and Support the Work

Get in touch with us via email or messenger and let us know you are willing to help. We can supply loppers / rakes / and trimmers and we’d be happy to point you in the right direction. Let’s get MVP into great shape for fall riding! You can also help the club by getting your membership if you haven’t already for 2024! It’s not too late. Membership funds pay for tools, gas, insurance, and other costs we have to keep trails open.

Join RVC

New Flow Trail in Woolastook

September 16, 2024 By Chris Norfolk

Riders – we are opening another flow trail. This time, it’s in Woolastook’s front-country and you won’t have to crank out twenty-one switchbacks to get your lap down.

A few weeks ago Kodiak Trial Works returned to Wooly and started digging with an aim to carve out a descent that will run from the “summit deck” to the trailhead. Today we are ready to tear down the caution tape and open up the first section of the trail. While things may still be settling, we think it’s ready to ride down to the intersection with Summit trail. Have a look at these progress pics and go catch a session in the week of sultry weather we have coming up!

For now, the trail will keep it’s temporary “T-8” designation from our Woolastook Master Plan. We’ll wait and see how the rest of it feels before giving it a name. It will be a moderate (blue) grade that it will keep through the rest of the build and it will also be a downhill-only direction. Sorry, because of the expected speeds and the jumps this one isn’t suitable for hiking or trail-running.

T-8 on Trailforks.com

While we are at it… there’s a few other updates we’ve recently made to clean up the map for Woolastook park. All of these updates are live on Trailforks now so update your app if you use it:

Split Rail has now been finished all the way to where it joins with Kelly’s Cove. Thanks Bev! We’ve updated the entire length of this trail to give it a ‘green’ grade.
Rock N’ Roll, The Otterbahn, and Owl Be Back are all new opened in the last few months.
We’ve renamed the trail built around the Fox’s Den to ‘Silver Fox‘!
A few old legacy trails are decommissioned (as per our plan). These include Dave’s Drop, Bev’s Knoll, Mel’s Fav, Rough Start, and Snakes N’ Ladders. These were great trails for their day but they’ve been retired to make room for streamlined new trail junctions and other modern design improvements.

We hope you love riding the new T-8 and the completed Split Rail! These projects wouldn’t have been possible without the generous funding from the Canada Community Building Fund AND from the heroic quantity of volunteer effort that has poured into this park since our project began. If you love Woolastook, as well as the other trail systems we support, it’s not too late to contribute. RVC’s 2024 memberships are still available! Plan for a riding as the leaves change colour and the air turns crisp.

JOIN RVC

RVC’s “Wooly 4” Presented by Trailway for 2024

July 30, 2024 By Chris Norfolk

Sunday, August 25, 2024

This long-running favourite event is about having a good time. Race solo, or as a team, at a hammer or chill pace. We’re excited to be showcasing a couple of brand new trails in this year’s course that will suit a wide range of skill levels! The course will include both new hand-built as well as machine-built trails, and everything will be flow-tastic. Racers complete as many laps as they can in the allotted time, solo (must be 19+) or as relay teams of 2 or 3. Or just do as many laps as you feel like riding, and hang out at the start/finish cheering and socializing. It’s all fun.

As usual, there will be great draw prizes from our amazing community bike shops, Explore Velo and Radical Edge, and refreshments and swag from Trailway Brewing. We’ll have Willie’s Sausages on site BBQing. You’ll get one item with your event entry (meat or veggie), and spectators and extra-hungry riders can buy extra items at $5 apiece.

Adam of Baxter Photography wil be taking shots during the event, so ham it up or catch some sweet air when you see him. After the event you can get access to the photo set for $5.

As in 2023, Race HQ, the start/finish, and parking will be in the Fox’s Den. You won’t find it on Google Maps, as it’s not normally open to camping, but HERE are directions from the 102. Basically you’ll follow the campground road all the way around to the campground loops. You’ll pass a set of gates and then a little garbage trailer and then turn left where it’s signed “Fox’s Den.” Race day, it will be signed from the park entrance on the south side of the highway to the start/finish and parking.

Categories:

Solo Men (must be 19 or older)
Solo Women (must be 19 or older)
Open Team (members may be of any age and gender)
Women’s Team (all members must be women/girls)
Youth Team (all members must be 16 or younger)

*(Solo racers must be 19 or older as of December 31, 2024)

Event Day Schedule:

9:30-10:30 am Registration and plate pickup
11:00 am Race start
3:00 pm cut-off to begin final lap
3:30 pm awards and draw prizes

Race Registration Fees:

$40 until 6pm on Saturday, August 24 or on site race day for $50.
If you are not a Velo NB member, there is an additional fee of $10 for a day license.

Trailforks.com

Other important info:

There is no potable water on site. We’ll have some bottled water, but do yourself and the environment a favour and plan ahead.
Bathroom facilities are a rustic outhouse and a Port-o-John.
If you prefer to sit somewhere other than on the grass, bring a portable chair of some sort.
The event runs rain or shine.
Parking is in the campground loop near the start/finish. Pull into a site or clearing or pull up on the side of the road where there’s room, don’t block people in or park on any tents.
Want to stay at the park? Ask us about unserviced camping at the Fox’s Den loop adjacent to the course.

FAQ

Is the course marked for pre-riding?
You can find the course above on Trailforks and here on Strava. “On the ground,” the course is lightly flagged in pink and orange. Meaning, there are flags around turns and intersections. If the flag is on the right, the next turn will be a right turn. The course will be signed and mostly taped Saturday.

Can youth participate?
There’s no minimum age to participate on a team. For youth who wouldn’t be confident completing the course on their own, one option is for a parent to team up and ride with them. Your team will only get credit for relay laps – i.e. if you ride a lap together, the timing system will only register one lap.

Where can I set up my team tent?
There will be room set aside for team tents near the start/finish and feed zone. Ask our volunteer parking attendants to direct you when you arrive.

Is there an e-bike category?
Sorry, e-bikes are not permitted this year.

What’s this I’m hearing about an enduro?
If you’re in the park Saturday from around 1-3 pm, why not cheer on the club enduro race? It runs on Radical Ledge, Big Wooly, Mammoth, Birch, and Leg Eater. If you’re looking to preride the Wooly 4 course Saturday, that will go more smoothly before and after the enduro, as the events share a couple of trails.

I have more questions!
No problem. Ask your question in the discussion in the Facebook event, or get us on Facebook messenger, or use the contact us.

RVC receives support for long-term trail access from JDI

July 19, 2024 By Chris Norfolk

It’s been a busy week for club activity in Penniac. We are very excited about the upcoming race here on July 29th as part of our RVC 2024 Enduro Race Series. This will be the first big race at this trail network since construction for Highway 8 cut the area apart in 2014 and ended the long-time ‘Hadley Challenge‘. Events like these aren’t possible without the support of local land owners.

*Classic shots of classic trails during one of Fredericton’s classic events!*

Last year we approached several private landowners in Penniac with the idea that we’d like to formalize rider access to important historical trails. One of these landowners was J.D. Irving, Limited (JDI), who own a property that captures classic trails including ‘the Numbers’, ‘Mom’s N’ Tots’, ‘Rock Bottom’, ‘High Road’, ‘Bull’, and ‘Dozer’. Over the course of several months the conversations progressed and today we’re happy to let members know that RVC has secured a 10-year trail access agreement with JDI covering these trails, and setting the stage for additional future expansion.

The agreement is built around the principle of respecting the land.

For riders, this is as simple as living by the ‘leave-no-trace’ ethic while you are out. For the club, it means we will practice sustainable trail techniques when we perform maintenance and new building. For JDI it was important that the trails support only non-motorized use but we reached an agreement that class 1 e-bikes commonly sold at our awesome local bike shops are good to go!

We understand that JDI is considering the area for inclusion as part of their “Conservation Program“, which would mean that they’ll consider the special character and community value of the area when they plan their future forest management activity.

*The beauty that is ‘the Numbers’ on a crisp fall day.*

With this agreement, the support of the Penniac Rec Center, and the support of other adjacent landowners, RVC will feel more confident than ever in hosting events and investing energy in the area. We hope to improve the signage in Penniac over the next year and it’s possible more improvements will follow.