The Boneyard Trail photo, one of Wide Eyed World’s most popular, was recently published in issue #9 of Bike Monkey Magazine. “We’re thankful to have Bike Monkey as a client and really appreciate the opportunity to publish unique mountain biking photos.” says Leslie.

We couldn’t have asked for a better Saturday; it was bright and sunny with a lot of enthusiastic volunteers. The end result was some sweeeeeeeeeeeet new singletrack. The building wasn’t easy (very steep sideslopes) and the soil didn’t cut like butter (it was more like rubble) but we didn’t hear one single complaint. I think everyone was just trying to contain their excitement at the notion that Illinois Mountain is soon going to be one heck of a trail system.

This year has seen the addition of a third Trail Care Crew – the latest one is the very first for IMBA Canada. Chris and I are lucky enough to be working with Chad and Deanne Lazaruk, in addition to their coordinator (Rachael, pictured above) for the next two weeks in Vermont.

We talk about flow about a third of the way through our Saturday morning session. It’s an abstract idea that we’ve always attached to the physical attributes of a trail. This past weekend our perspective was redefined when a hand shot up during this particular section of the Trailbuilding School. Damon, a local rider, shared “flow relates to something called the scale of challenge. It’s the sweet spot between anxiety and boredom.” If you think about it, the idea of ‘flow’ transcends the trails we ride on; it can also apply to the way we operate in the world of mountain bike advocacy.

New England is awesome! We had a busy week traveling from Massachusetts to Maine. Enjoy the pics and stay tuned for the recap.

Another great part of the Trail Care Weekend was getting to know all of the cool folks associated with NEMBA. As an organization of 17 chapters and 4,700+ members, it was inspiring to work with a group whose passionate mantra is to ‘Ride the Trails, Save the Trails’. It will be our pleasure to share their stories as we continue our journey around the US.

We made the transition from the Southeast through the Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast. After riding some stellar trails in State College, PA we spent the weekend in Western Massachusetts with NEMBA. Stay tuned for the recap on our adventures in the ‘trail laboratory’.

The Crews had the pleasure of riding with Frank Maguire, IMBA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Director at Rothrock State Forest yesterday afternoon. The ride was awesome with a good helping of rocks and spectacular views.

Epic is the best word to describe everything we did on our latest visit to New River Gorge. We worked through torrential rains, rode through the darkness, and discovered some extraordinary terrain for future backcountry routes. Most of all, we helped the National Park Service rally the surrounding community behind a new trail system that everyone will be talking about in the coming years.

The 2010 IMBA World Summit in Augusta, GA was AWESOME! We’re just getting started on the recap so stayed tuned for more details and pictures. In the meantime, enjoy this collection of images from the event.
Big THANKS to everyone that made this event happen!