Led the design and construction of the 2 mile Emma McCrary Trail in Pogonip. Trail construction started on May 18, 2012 and opened to the public on June 1st 2013. We have raised over $32,000 to fund the construction and organized over 300 volunteers who contributed a total of over 3,500 hours to build this trail.
In April 2013 MBoSC worked with Ibis Cycles and raised over $44,000 to help fund a new flow trail in Soquel Demonstration State Forest. Planning and construction for this project will starts in the Summer of 2013.
Organized and hosted the Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival (SCMBF) in Aptos. This free event included a mix of athletic events, an expo and beer garden featuring all 6 county craft brewers. The 2011 event raised over $15,000 towards a permanent bike park in Aptos through fees, beer sales, sponsorships and raffles.
The goals for the 2012 SCMBF was to increase quality and sustainability of the festival and to increase the visibility of local mountain biking and we achieved it. We had over 70 sponsors, 200 athletes, over 200 kids rodeo participants, 150 volunteers and an estimated 6,000 attendees. We had favorable coverage in many international mountain bike forums like Decline Magazine, Bike Magazine, Dirt Rag, Vital MTB, Pinkbike.com and MTBR.
The 2013 SCMBF event increased our environmental sustainability goals and we focused more on fund raising and advocacy. We had an estimated 9,000 attendees (50% increase over 2012), 395 registered participants (220% increase), over 300 kids rodeo participants (50% increase) and 50 vendors and 14 bike demos. We reduced the environmental impact of the festival with the help of 3 solar vendors and 5 solar arrays to power sound and IT and we are proud that we never ran a gas generator. We provided ample refuse bins and separated compost, recycle and waste and achieved a 65% diversion rate of waste from going into a landfill. We didn’t provide car parking and encouraged commuter/road bike transportation to the festival and encouraged attendees to demo a mountain bike. People Power parked over 650 bikes that weekend. We and did not allow bottled water sales from our food vendors but instead we encouraged attendees to bring or buy a reusable water vessel and provided free filtered water. Through our raffles and beer sales we raised over $22,000 for local mountain bike projects and organizations.
In April 2012, MBOSC presented the first Italian style Super Enduro race in California as part of the SCMBF. The Bell Super Enduro in Demo brought together the top riders in the world to compete in the first sanctioned competitive event in Soquel Demonstration State Forest.
Raised and donated $2,500 in September 2011 towards a multi-use trail conversion project at Castle Rock State Park. This Skyline Trail – which opened April 6, 2012 – is a part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail and connects Saratoga Gap with Skyline Sanborn Park.
In April 2011, we raffled off a complete carbon fiber bike donated from Santa Cruz Bicycles and raised $11,000 towards the costs of implementing the Pogonip multi-use trail.
Raised and donated $3,500 towards the design and construction of a new sign the back country entrance at Wilder Ranch State Park.
Raised over $8000 via a few fundraisers (1st bike festival, bike raffle) towards an environmental mitigation project at Soquel Demonstration State Forest
Helped to plan, fund raise and organize several trips to Lake Tahoe over the past several years to help build and maintain trails. Our club was instrumental in pulling together many Northern California mountian bike clubs and have built several thousands of feet of trail on the Tahoe Rim Trail and the Donner Lake Rim trail.
Helped form in 2010, fund raise and lead rides for a Trips for Kids chapter in Santa Cruz. The mission of Trips for Kids Santa Cruz is to provide at-risk youth positive outdoor experiences and to overcome the challenges of learning new skills through mountain biking. We are focusing on empowering youth in Santa Cruz and Watsonville.
Participated in the Turning Wheels for Kids program in San Jose since 2007. MBOSC members have donated thousands of dollars and built dozens of bikes over the years in support of this cause.
MBOSC raised over $30,000 through raffles and donations towards the purchase of Gray Whale Ranch in the mid to late 1990′s. We have held several joint fund raising events with the Santa Cruz County Horseman’s Association to help improve trails in Wilder Ranch State Park and protect riparian habitats and the red legged frog.
MBOSC were invited by CA State Parks to serve on the Gray Whale Advisory Committee (GWAC) to help decide which trails to open in Gray Whale Rance and what precautions were necessary to prevent negative environmental and social impacts.
MBOSC prepared a detailed topographic map surveyed with GPS which shows the existing trails in Wilder Ranch State Park and Gray Whale Ranch. This map was used throughout the GWAC process to allow proper discussion of the trails and any environmentally sensitive areas.
MBOSC partnered with the Santa Cruz County Horseman’s Association (SCCHA) and the Association of Concerned Trailriders (ACT) to advocate and construct the U-Con trail in the city of Santa Cruz’s Pogonip park. The first multi-use trail in Pogonip that connects Henry Cowell State Park through Pogonip Park to UCSC. This trail provides an important connection for all users from the San Lorenzo Valley all the way to the ocean. This trail and collaboration has been written up in Sunset Magazine and others as a model for other user groups in the county.
MBOSC has sponsored monthly trail workdays in Wilder Ranch State Park since 1997 to improve and protect the trails for all users. In 2000, the management of trail work projects was taken over by Trailworkers.com. MBOSC has supported the efforts of Trailworkers.com though volunteers and donations.
MBOSC and SCCHA has held Carrot Fest workshops to help educate bikers how to interact with horses on the trails and to de-sensitize horses to bikes. This involved practicing several scenarios in an controlled setting with bikers feeding carrots to horses and has been extremely successful.
MBOSC has conducted information stations to promote responsible mountain biking at local CA state parks and at the UCSC campus natural reserve.
