Happy Holidays!
As the year comes to an end it is a great time to reflect on last year's achievements as well as look forward to what the future holds. We started back in February with a movie night that packed the house at Rimrocks, followed that up in April with a fundraising night of food and drink at Gracies. Five Hills Bikes/ Bike 29 hosted the annual Gravel Grinder (and it was a grind) later that month and then the season started! We had our kick off party at the Matterhorn in May, the annual pond jump party in June, the VT Mountain Bike Festival in July, the Green Mountain Photo Shootout at Trapp Family Lodge in August and finished the season with the Leaf Blower event in October.
Our main focus for 2012 is going to be to support the Stowe Land Trust in securing the Cady Hill property and the restructuring of the club. As we move forward with larger scale projects and expand the scope of the club's responsibilities, there have been concerns about long term sustainability. The SMBC Board has been reevaluating our structure and in response we are reorganizing. With the help of Jesse Goldfine, a local attorney, we are establishing the SMBC as a non profit organization and a stand alone entity. Up until this point we have operated as an arm of VMBA, the state organization. We will still maintain our status as a VMBA chapter, but will set up our own books and establish what we hope to be a long term sustainable organization not dependent on the efforts of one or two of us. That means the creation of by laws, work committes with more formal and business like processes. Hopefully that will mean that we will have even more opportunities to participate, create more trail and involve more members.
In order to do that, we need your help! The Board of Directors is very interested in knowing more about the mountain bike community as well as our supporters. We are asking you to complete a survey to tell us more about you, what you like, what you don't like, what you want to see more of and generally give us some guidance. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey. For doing that you will be rewarded with an SMBC Euro. We hope that you can display it proudly!
I look forward to seeing you on the hill this winter!
Have a Healthy and Happy Holiday Season!
Rick Sokoloff
President, SMBC
SMBC Survey
Have a say in the direction of the Stowe Mountain Bike Club and receive a free Euro sticker. Once you have completed the survey, print out the last page and take it to AJ's, iRide, Nordic Barn, Skier Shop or the Outdoor Center at the Trapp Family Lodge to pick up your sticker! Buy additional stickers for $5 and support the club.
Take the SURVEY
Trail Conditions
Please use common sense when riding. If conditions are questionable check with local bike shops before you ride, and please respect any trail closure signs. Red - Wet, please don't ride Yellow - Proceed with caution, check with local bike shops, walk around wet areas Green - Have fun!
Perry Hill & Waterbury - Five Hills Bikes - (802) 244-7330 CLOSED FOR SEASON
Town Loops & Stowe - iRide - (802) 253-1947 CLOSED FOR SEASON![]()
Adams Camp - iRide - (802) 253-1947 CLOSED FOR SEASON
For current status of trails in Morrisville and beyond please check with Chuck's Bikes - (802) 888-7642
Dues Donations: Please pay your yearly dues and while you are at it, feel free to add a donation. You can pay by PayPal, pay at a local bike shop or send in a check. The forms only need to sent in once (unless information changes).
HELP WANTED: If you want to help the club but can't do trail work, there are opportunities to do that. Please pick from the list below or contact me and we can be creative! Thanks Rick mailto:rick@stowemtnbike.com/or call me 802-793-9246
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Phone a friend - We need folks to contact fellow SMBC members to check in, see how their riding is going, what we can do better and when they would like to come out to volunteer - I need 1 person to manage this and a few to make some calls. It is actually fun! People are very receptive and fun to chat up.
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Trail Advocate - Work with a small team to get landowner approval and help expand the network.