NWTA Newsletter - December 2012
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In This Issue
Universal Cycles Makes Substantial Contribution
Events
Announcements
Quick Links
December Sponsor of the Month
 

NWTA Calendar:

 

Dec 23rd: NWTA Family day at the Lumberyard 

 

Dec 25th:  No NWTA General meeting this month.

 

Jan 29th: General meeting and BOARD ELECTIONS!

 

Look for other upcoming events on the calendar!

   

  

 
 

The Season of Giving

For mountain bikers, winter is a season of planning: What will Trailfest 2013 be like? When is the next trail work party? Who is going to help get it all done? If you have an idea or want to help us get things going for next year, send us an email and let us know at [email protected]. We'd like to hear from you.

 

Winter is also a season of giving. Together, you have given us hundreds of labor-hours of your time building trail, attending meetings and organizing, spreading the word, staffing a table or booth or leading a ride. If you didn't, there is still time to give. Consider Universal Cycles who just donated $15,000 to help us build more trails. Or dozens of dedicated volunteers that made it out earlier this month to help out at Sandy Ridge.

 

Our next membership meeting is on January 29, 2013. Along with voting in the new board of directors, we'll be honoring all of our volunteers, supporters and sponsors that have given to NWTA this year. Be sure to make it out to get the credit you deserve and applaud those who have given back.

 

Jon Pheanis

NWTA President

 

Universal Cycles Donates $15,000 to NWTA 
Donation to Support Trail-building in the Portland Metro Area
In the fall of 2012, NWTA was awarded a $55,248 grant through Oregon's Recreational Trails Program (RTP) for the purchase of equipment to be used for building trail within the Portland Metro area and region. As part of the grant requirements, NWTA has to provide a 20% match to receive the money, a common stipulation for such funding. Universal Cycles generously stepped up and donated the first $15,000 to cover the matching funds needed by the NWTA.  

"This donation will allow NWTA to purchase the proper equipment to build sustainable trails in the area's challenging and environmentally sensitive terrain," said Victor Sandrin retail store manager of Universal Cycles. "This will also help the NWTA maintain a growing inventory of trails in the greater Portland area, including Stub Stewart State park, Cascade Locks Easy Climb trail system and the Sandy Ridge trail system."  The RTP grant and $15,000 donation will be used to buy a Ditch Witch machine to go along with the ST240 trail building machine that the NWTA already has, along with other needed equipment such as shovels, mcleods, winches and other trail building tools.  Through this donation, NWTA will be able to construct sustainable trails including the forthcoming improvements to Fire Lane 5 in Forest Park.  "It takes a community to build trails and we are grateful for such an extremely generous contribution and partner. We work hard to provide places for people to ride and this donation shows that all our hard work is being recognized by everyone from land managers to the bike industry," says Jon Pheanis, NWTA President. 

The full story can be found here.

Board Positions are Opening Soon
January brings election time to the NWTA general meeting. There are a number of board positions opening and if you don't like to dig in the dirt this is a fantastic opportunity to give back to an organization that works tirelessly at improving mountain biking opportunities for all of us. If you can't commit to a board position there are many other ways that YOUR talents can be put to use. Contact anyone at NWTA for more information...  

 

Been to the NWTA website lately?  
Thanks to some NWTA elves the new website is up and running!
    
Please take a look and give it a test drive www.nw-trail.org . If you find any issues with how it works please let us know  [email protected] and we can work to get them corrected immediately. 

Share trail conditions...
add a quick comment to thread at: http://nw-trail.org/forum/trail-info-resources/trail-conditions/3428.

If you are feeling especially adventurous, update trail info wiki Current Conditions for the trail you rode:  
http://nw-trail.org/wiki
Events
The Disciples of Dirt (our Southern peers) will raffle a Rock Shox fork at All Comer's Meet on January 20th. This isn't just any Rock Shox fork... it's any Rock Shox fork YOU want -- Sid, Revelation, Lyric, Totem -- winner's choice. In either 26" or 29" -- again, winner's choice (in models offered by Rock Shox). Need not be present to win.

SRAM is donating the fork to DOD and this is a fundraiser for the club. Details on DOD's homepage, where you can buy raffle a ticket via paypal. Tickets are cheap... buy a bunch, please. It helps DOD build & maintain more miles of singletrack.

Find out more and purchase tickets through this link
Announcements 
* Note* No General Membership Meeting in December!!!
We'll be back at Hopworks Urban Brewing for the January 29th meeting and election night.

Shout Out to SWIMBA in support of fundraising effort to buy an ST240... YOU CAN DO IT!
Two trail build volunteer representatives from SW Idaho Mountain Bike Association attended the NWTA Fall 2012 equipment operator training to learn how to use the ST240 for trail construction.  They are super stoked (just as we are) about the capabilities of this incredible dream machine... "little machines build big dreams"...

http://swimba.org/capital-campaign-little-machines-build-big-dreams/

Video showcasing ST240 and its capabilities put together by SWIMBA (half of the video was from shots taken by Joe Rykowski, manager of NWTA's Trail Development Partnership Program) -- http://youtu.be/gSgd3DAEPR8 

 

Bureau of Land Management Needs YOUR Input 

The BLM is currently planning for the future of recreation in western Oregon. We want you to let us know what you like to do - and where you like to do it!

 

http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/rmpswesternoregon/reccomments.php

 

You can tell us which activities and locations you treasure as well as what new additional activities and locations you'd like the BLM to support.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email us at  [email protected]  

   

What to do with the money saved on cyber Monday or that Grandma sent? Renew your NWTA/IMBA membership, of course! Current members will vote in the Jan. 29th elections AND know that their funds will be spent wisely in the new year. Now if that isn't a win, win...and money well spent we don't know what is! (Don't forget to give before the end of the month to receive tax benefits in 2012).

It's now possible to set up a recurring monthly donation in any amount that would directly support our activities. This donation would not cover annual membership dues. Use the link below to go directly to our donation page to find out more about all of the options available. 

 


Remember to let our sponsors know that you found them on the Northwest Trail Alliance website!
 
       
Sincerely,
 
Northwest Trail Alliance