Hello Trail Users,
Spring is here and it seems fitting that HRATS tells you all the good news.

Good news: The Fall 2019 Fundraising events were a huge success. Thanks to all that helped out and participated. The events have put HRATS in a strong financial position to do future projects.

Good news: Hood River County has hired Andy Wells as the new Recreation Manager. He is in charge of all the trails on the Hood River County Tree Farm. Post Canyon is the main non-motorized trail system he manages. He also manages all the Moto trails as well. He is a great guy and HRATS is excited to work with him to make the system great.

Good news: The Feb. 29th fundraising concert at the Bingen theater with bands Funkship and Family Man was a fun and financial success. Thanks to the bands and those that helped out. Fun crew!

Good news: HRATS will not be pestering you to attend Spring work parties. The trails are in great shape, so everyone can continue Social Distancing.

Good news: Due to the hard work of Greg Schutt, Douglas Johnson, and Volunteers, the reroute of Upper 8 Track is done and riding well. It gets us to BMS and Extended Play without riding the super steep road. It has also created a fantastic easy Eldorado Loop for those that want an easy loop after climbing Eldorado. Check the route out. Link to route here.

Good News: Hood River Parks and Recreation has approved HRATS to build an Mt. Bike Skills Park in the Golden Eagle Park. This will go great with the Pump Track. We are awaiting sign off from the County before construction begins. Steve Vinyard has pushed hard to make this happen. Nice work!

Good News: The White Salmon Bike Park is about to get a major facelift. Scott Hulbert is working hard to get everything signed off to get it done.

Good news: HRATS is working out logistics with Oregon State Parks to put a portable toilet at the 7 Streams Staging area. This will happen once Oregon State Parks Feels comfortable with HRATS’s proposal and it seems safe to add a toilet.

Good News, HRATS supporters like you are perfectly positioned to help out local businesses like your Local Bike Shop in these Virally crazy times. Local Businesses have consistently supported our trails over the years. It is time for us to help your Local Bike Shop and other Local Businesses. If these crazy times do not have you financially freaked out, please do a few of the following.

• Get your bike tuned up. Everyone loves a bike that purs like a kitten. Why not do it now? The wait times will be very short.
• Buy the gear you were wanting this summer now. They will greatly appreciate it!
• Buy a gift certificate from local businesses and your favorite bike shop now. Spend it when you want. In the end, it costs you nothing more.
• Buy Take Out food a couple of times a week. Local restaurants need help!
• Make an extra effort to support businesses when things become more normal

I am sure businesses will communicate with you via email/phone so you can still be a fantastic Social Distancer.

Good news, HRATS has some advice for you if you consider trail use a great way to Social Distance.

• Ride to the trails if you can. Parking areas will be where you have the closest contact with people. If you live too far from the trails to ride, find another parking place. For example, Westside School in Hood River has huge amounts of parking and is the perfect warm-up ride from Post Canyon trails. Here is a picture of the parking area at the bottom of Post Canyon on Saturday, March 21st. We can do better! Link to Not Social Distancing Parking Picture.
• Never drive with those you do not live with.
• Only ride solo or with those you live with. This did not seem to be happening in Post Canyon this weekend. There were many big groups that did not seem like family or roommates..
• Please only use the local trails near you. This is not the time for Mtb road trips.
• Be respectful and quick when interacting with people on the trails.
• Pretend you are on your dream destination ride with no access to medical support. The medical community does not want to see you with Mt Bike related issues. The advice I got from our guide in the Chilcotins was to ride at 70%, but focus 100% because medical help was not available. I suggest you do the same if you ride.
• Ride trails you think are less crowded. Twin Peaks and Charlie’s Loop in Post Canyon are good getaways! Get creative.
• Master the 2020 Mt Bike skill of the year: Doing a full ride without touching your face. Good luck with that one!
• Wash your gloves as much as you should. It is a proven Facebook fact that 97.352% of Mt. Bikers use completely gross gloves.
Keep away from mud that sticks to your tires. It is another Facebook fact that the Corona Virus is created when Mt Bike tires touch mud that sticks to your tires. For society’s sake, please keep your tires away from mud that sticks to tires. It also prevents you from ruining the trails. Cold mornings and heavy rain create Corona Mud. Stay away from Corona Mud!

Good News: HRATS’s website and Paypal link still accepts your donations with absolutely no impact on your Social Distancing! A special thanks to those that have checked the box on the PayPal page to “make this a monthly donation”. We have doubled the number of people that donate a small amount monthly.

Be safe and help businesses out, we will get through this!

Tim Mixon
HRATS President

All of the information in this post is from the Hood River Area Trail Stewards (HRATS) 2020 Spring Good-News-Letter. All of the content in this information are exclusively the views of the HRATS.

Categories: Mountain Bike Racing

Tags: Advocacy, bicycle, bike, Bike Park, Cross Country, Enduro, Hood River, mountain bike, mountainbike, MTB, Northwest, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, pacific nw, Portland, USA