New SORBA merch benefiting local youth mountain biking

Be the envy of all your friends while rocking your new SORBA Chattanooga jersey, bib, or track jacket. These premium goods are manufacturerd by Jakroo (Pleasanton, CA) and come in a fit and size to meet your riding and styling needs.

To make you feel even better about your purchase, 30% from each item sold will fund support for SORBA Chattanooga’s CYCLe (Chattanooga Youth Cycling League) program & the Hamilton-Bradley County Composite NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) team.  Both organizations are SORBA Chattanooga supported and aim to get (and keep) more kids riding bikes in the woods!

All items can be purchased thru our online store. First run order deadline is Thursday 8/30. Orders received by then will receive free shipping and a SORBA Chattanooga sticker..

A big high five to the organizations below who’s financial support has helped these programs for the 2018 season.

Pandora Motorsports

www.pandorasmotorsports.com

Results Physiotherapy

www.resultspt.com

Parkridge Medical Group Spine Surgery Associates

https://parkridgemedicalgroup.com/locations/spine-surgery-associates.dot

East Ridge Bicycles

www.eastridgebicycles.net

Scott’s Bicycle Centre

https://www.scottsbikes.com

Owen’s Cycle

https://www.owencyclery.com

UBS 

http://financialservicesinc.ubs.com/branch/chattanoogacc/

#buildlocalridelocal

​SORBA Chattanooga To Receive $200,000 RTP Grant for Mountain Creek Park Project

SORBA (Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association) Chattanooga was awarded a $200,000 Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to help fund the development of the Mountain Creek park project near Red Bank and Signal Mountain.

The Mountain Creek park project is a joint venture of the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy, The Land Trust for Tennessee, SORBA Chattanooga, Southeastern Climbers Coalition, Access Fund, and Hamilton County Parks Department. This project will span a 200-acre parcel of land that adjoins Reads Lake Road, Mountain Creek Rd. and parts of the W-Road. Once completed, this natural park area will create downhill mountain biking & bouldering opportunities within the Hamilton County Park system.

The RTP funds will be used in conjunction with additional grant funds received from the Lyndhurst Foundation, the Access Fund, and REI.

Tentative plans are to begin construction on the park no later than January 2019

Funding for RTP grants is provided by the Federal Highway Administration through the Fixing Americans Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. TDEC administers this grant program for the state. The maximum federal share for each project is 80 percent, with RTP grant recipients providing a 20 percent match. Grant recipients were selected through a scoring process with careful consideration given to the projects that met the selection criteria and expressed the greatest local recreation need. For more information, visit https://www.tn.gov/environment/program-areas/res-recreation-educational- services/res-recreation-educational-services-grants0.html

National Mountain Biking Survey Needs You!

IMBA has launched the first-ever nationwide survey to understand the habits, access to trails and levels of engagement of America’s mountain bikers. Never before has anyone attempted to reach such a broad and diverse audience of riders.

In partnership with Ohio University and the SRAM Cycling Fund, we’re seeking to paint a comprehensive picture of the state of mountain biking, its opportunities and its challenges in the U.S. and we need YOUR opinion to be a part of it!

Everyone who takes the survey may choose to enter to win a SRAM GX Eagle groupset. If you do, your responses will still be anonymous.

Please take the survey! And be sure to share it with your friends who ride. We need to hear from every person who rides a mountain bike. It is open until September 20.

Click link below to access the survey. 

 https://ohio.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e8ugn6H4uebaBRH

 #buildlocalridelocal

Raccoon Mountain Work Party - This Saturday!

Meet at the East Overlook Party Lot at 8:30 AM EASTERN TIME

Bring loppers (if you have them), gloves and water.  Plan is to clean up Electric Ave and Laurel Point Trails.  Cut back to trail corridor, deberm and clean out drains.

Summer Sike Movie Screening - Thursday 7/26

We’re SIKED to outdoor screen Red Bull Film’s North Of Nigtfall Thursday, July 26th at The Crash Pad. This is a free event with all beverage sale proceeds benefiting the upcoming Mountain Creek Road Down Hill trails & Climbing park.  Bring you thirsty family and friends. Movie will begin @ 8:30. Seen you there!

Summer Sike Facebook Event Link

 https://www.facebook.com/events/1919804484977511/?ti=icl

Trail Chats with REI at OddStory

Join REI, SORBA Chattanooga, Wild Trails, Southeastern Climbers Coalition & Southeast Conservation Corp Thursday, July 19th At OddStory Brewing Co (336 E. MLK Blvd) and talk trails over ales.

Happy hour is 4pm -  6pm and REI is picking up your 1st beer and providing one raffle ticket for each attendee.

Panel discussion and Q&A begins at 6pm. 

Raffle for REI gear and OddStory swag to follow. 

OddStory is a 21+ age venue. 

More info via link below. 

 https://www.facebook.com/events/460117254450431/?ti=icl

See you there!

Pedals, Pig, & Pints Fundraiser

Join SORBA Chattanooga & our friends Yee-Haw Brewing Company at Moe’s Original Bar B Que (221 Market Street) Wednesday June 6th @ 5:30. Moe’s will be roasting a whole hog with all the fixins’ and Yee-Haw will be manning the taps. $15 gets you a plate and pint with profits benefiting your local trails.

Want biking, hiking, and climbing just 10 minutes from downtown? Here's how you can help!

Dear SORBA Chattanooga members, mountain bikers, and friends of the outdoors,

Since 2016, the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy has been working to create a unique 200+ acre park that spans from Mountain Creek Road and Reads Lake Road all the way up the W-Road. Through partnerships with the Land Trust for Tennessee, the Access Fund, the Southeastern Climbing Coalition, & SORBA Chattanooga we acquired property and began enlisting renowned trail builders to develop a trail plan that will offer unique climbing, mountain biking, and hiking opportunities just a short distance from downtown Chattanooga. We have applied for and received several grants that will help us build out trails to the unique natural features, and we have initiated plans to maintain these features once the park is open and in use.

Now you have your opportunity to pitch in on this project. On June 13th, the County Commission will consider a resolution that would authorize the County Mayor to accept the conveyance of the property from the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy. The Council will vote on the measure on June 20th. We need you to contact your County Commissioner and urge her or him to vote in favor of this resolution.

SORBA has worked hard with our partners to create this opportunity; now is the time for you to tell the Commission that you want this park to become a reality. 

Thank you for your support,

Kevin J. Smith

SORBA Chattanooga

---

Whom To Contact?  CLICK HERE.

How To Contact?      CLICK HERE.

What to Say?

Mr./Mrs. ________________,

 I am writing to urge you to vote in favor of the resolution that will allow the County Mayor to accept the eventual conveyance of a tract of real property from the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy. This “tract of real property” will be a completed park with climbing, mountain biking, and hiking opportunities, and this represents a wonderful gift to the community. Please help the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy and their partner organizations continue their good work by assuring them of the County’s commitment to accept the park.

Thank you,

YOUR NAME

SORBA member discount for July Lookout Mountain bike tour!

Discover why Chattanooga is single-track heaven on an all-inclusive, fully-supported 3-day bike retreat with Velo View Bike Tours! From Lula Lake to Five Points to Cloudland Canyon, you'll experience the best of Lookout Mountain with experienced guides and professional support. You'll also have excellent accommodations at the newly renovated cottages at Cloudland Canyon, with a personal chef preparing all your meals. The tour runs Friday thru Sunday, July 20-22.  SORBA members will receive a 10% discount off of the tour price. Click below for more info and to save your spot!

 https://veloviewbiketours.com/tours/georgia-lookout-mountain

Velo View Bike Tours specializes in all-inclusive, highly personalized, and fully supported bike tour experiences in a compact timeframe. Fun but not frantic, relaxed but never boring. What a bike vacation should be. Quality over quantity.

SORBA Chattanooga Chapter Meeting - May 24th @ Enterprise South

Come join us @ Enterprise South 6PM Thursday May 24 for our monthly chapter meeting and trail work party.  This meeting we give back and will work on prepping trails for upcoming Gone Riding SERC #6 race on May 27th. Many hands will make this work go by quickly so bring your mountain bike family and friends. Tools will be provided, you bring the sweat, and East Ridge Bicycles will provide the pizza and water!

Atlas Trail Grand Opening Saturday April. 14th

The expansion trail at Enterprise South Nature Park, Atlas, will have it’s grand opening on April 14th at 1 pm!

Atlas is not a beginners trail. The trail is 5.5 miles long with approximately 680 ft of elevation gain.  Man-made features have been installed throughout the trail.  Signage is in place to alert riders.  Please ride within your limits.

Check back later for more details.

Vandals destroy portion of new Atlas Enterprise South mountain bike trail

 http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2018/apr/06/vandals-destroy-mountain-bike-trail/467759/

If you have information that could lead to identifying the culprits responsible for this damage, please contact Enterprise South Nature Park at 423-893-3500 or SORBA Chattanooga at bod@sorbachattanooga.org

SORBA Chattanooga Chapter meeting @ Litespeed - 6PM Thursday March 29th

Titanium Mountain Bikes...enough said!  

Litespeed is opening the doors of their factory store to host the March Chapter Meeting. Come learn about the ins and outs of titanium bikes.  

We will discuss the progress of the Atlas Trail (ESNP Expansion Trail), updates on the Signal Mountain project and plans for 2018.  

Food & beverage will be provided.

RSVP via below Facebook event link  

 https://www.facebook.com/events/174866659902670/?ti=icl

Atlas Work Party - Sun. March 25.

Work Party on ATLAS (new mtb trail @ ESNP) this Sunday, 3/25.

Directional signage will be installed at the two trailheads, tree stobs removed, and limb trimming to open up trail exposure. Bring gloves, h2o, and your bike! We’ll ride it after!

Bring a friend or three. Shooting for early April opening.

Ninja Mountain Bike Performance is coming to Chattanooga!

Whether you are looking to ride faster, flow through corners, clear a rock garden, or jump a tabletop, Ninja Mountain Bike Performance can help. 

Ninja Mountain Bike Performance is coming to Tennessee in May and thanks to SORBA, you can get 50% OFF any of their clinics.

Checkout their clinic schedule for Chattanooga (5/12 - 5/13) and Knoxville (5/19 - 5/20) at http://ridelikeaninja.com/tennessee/.

ESNP “Atlas” Trail Work Day - 8AM Saturday March 17th.

The final touches on the Enterprise expansion trail “Atlas”.We need to address bridge curbing and tree stump stobs.

Bring gloves, a water bottle and a hand saw (no power tools allowed).

No hand saw, no problem!  Bridges need to be curbed. SORBA will have hand tools available.

Feel free to bring your bike to ride between work sites.

Log your volunteer hours.

2017 Earned Mine Volunteer Shirts will be available for pick up on Saturday.

Two local Boy Scouts will be working on their Eagle Scout Projects on the trail.

SORBA Chattanooga Annual Meeting & Board Elections - Thursday Feb. 22nd

SORBA Chattanooga Annual Meeting & Board Member Elections

Enterprise South Nature Park Visitors Center

Thursday, February 22nd

6:00pm – 8:00pm

It’s that time – come out with us and hear what SORBA Chattanooga accomplished last year and find out what is in store for 2018.  This is an open meeting and we want to hear from all members of our mountain biking community, including those folks who are not active SORBA members.

Food & beverages will be provided.

We will also hold elections for our 2018 Board of Directors.  Elections will consist of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Coordinator, and Advocacy.

Outside of board elections, SORBA Chattanooga is also seeking volunteer individuals to help organize & lead group rides, become a Trail Boss, help with website/IT support, event planning, and  whatever else we and the community can conjure up.

If you would like to nominate yourself or someone for a board or volunteer position and/or would like to know more, drop us a line at bod@sorbachattanooga.org

More information and nominations will be communicated mid – February. 

See you there.

Raccoon Mountain Live Wire I Trail closure

Of course all of our area trails are temporarily closed due to the recent rain but we also want to warn you of the closure of Livewire 1 on Raccoon Mountain.

We are working to replace the bridges on this section as well as correct some drainage issues. Please respect this trail closure & give us some time to repair once the weather breaks. 

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

The temps are tempting, but they’re also taunting our trails. This weekend please ride dirt and not mud. The trails and your bike will thank you for it.

Trail Closure Update - Jan. 15th

To ensure rider safety and protect the sustainability of our trail systems, the following SORBA maintained and supported mountain bike trails are closed:

-Enterprise South Nature Park

-5 Points/Moonshine/Connector Trails

Tenative trail reopening for Enterprise South will be Friday, January 19th.

We will reassess Lookout trails reopening as weekly weather conditions improve.

For those wishing to ride any of the non closed trails this weekend, we ask that you please only ride while the air/ground temperature is below freezing. Today’s temperature changes will evoke serious thawing that can make for muddy conditions. Riding in and around mud creates ruts, ruts hold water and soon grow, tread becomes ruined and trails have to be closed longer for repair. Make sense?

SORBA and it’s volunteers thank you for respecting closures, being cautious of changing trail conditions and your continued support. Please help “spread the word” to ensure safety and sustainability.

Build Local. Ride Local

SORBA Chattanooga