The 2014 Cave Creek Cycling Classic is all wrapped up, and it was a success on many levels. Despite the fact that the trails had gotten crushed weeks prior, the community rallied together, worked extremely hard and put on a helluva event. I can personally attest to the trail being rad – this was classic AZ desert riding with rocks, climbing, sand, and even a splash of water. It kept you honest, in and out of the saddle (and occasionally out of the pedals for a few of us). Check out the re-cap on the trail work.
Desert Foothills Mountain Bike Association (DFMBA) recently completed approximately 600 volunteer hours to rebuild and maintain 10 plus miles of the Maricopa Trail, Spur Cross Trail and Cave Creek Town Trails. This work was needed to repair the battered Cave Creek Cactus Classic (C4) race course in preparation for the annual C4 Race. These trails were left in need of serious repair after the unprecedented Monsoonal season.
The Mountain Bike Association of Arizona (MBAA) provided a grant and loaner tools to help complete the trail work in addition to several volunteers from MBAA. The funds provided by MBAA allowed DFMBA to purchase tools and supplies for the many volunteers who supported the trail repair efforts. DFMBA also utilized the donated resources to conduct four trail education and maintenance days. In addition to MBAA, Okanogan Trail Construction (OTC) donated their time, equipment and expertise. After an impromptu meeting with Matt Woodson, owner of OTC, he volunteered to help repair the trails after DFMBA expressed deep concern for the already scheduled C4 Race that was fast approaching. Matt donated his time, equipment and crews at no charge to DFMBA or the municipalities responsible for maintaining our trails. In fact when DFMBA offered Matt a donation to cover some of his expenses he re-donated it back to DFMBA. You may recognize some of OTC’s other work as he has built and repaired many of the Valleys best trails including The North Phoenix Sonoran Preserve Trail system South of Carefree highway.
The local paper (Sonoran News) was so impressed with DFMBA’s efforts they published an article titled “Mountain Biking at its best”. The success of these trail work days may not have been possible without the support of MBAA, OTC and the many, many volunteers who sacrificed their personal time.
The Mountain Bike Association of Arizona 