​Greetings BRMBC:

I hope this note finds you all healthy, active and safe. It certainly has been a challenging year in many regards, but out of adversity beginning in the spring we as neighbors, friends, riders and a club have a lot to be thankful for and proud of. The challenges presented by the virus resulted in a tremendous amount of trail work being completed by many different club members. Trail days and Tour de Valley were cancelled or abbreviated but 
the enthusiasm and support of so many club members and riders was stronger than ever. The Landowner Appreciation Day stands out as most memorable for me. We had in excess of 40 people (young and old) help 15 different landowners and the enthusiasm and appreciation from everyone was contagious!  Some of the many achievements we as a club accomplished this past year are:

Monetary Donations from club to support:

Vermont Adaptive Vermont Adaptive
Little Bellas Little Bella’s
Dels Ride (Cure AHC) www.delsride.org
Catamount Center  Catamount Outdoor Family Center - Winter & Summer Outdoor ...catamountoutdoorfamilycenter.org
Vermont Land Conservancy Vermont Land Trust: Protecting the Vermont You Lovevlt.org to support the campaign to conserve trails and land at Darling Hill  (Kingdom Trails)
Valley Dream Farm valleydreamfarm.com

New trail additions and lots of root popping at West Hill with 2 new bridges!!!

Trail extension at Cricket Hill extending Bermie Sanders made possible with a generous grant from Greenworks greenworkstools.com and work performed by club member Greg Fatigate RabbittracksVTrabbittracksvt.com

Billings Trails benefited from well attended trail day and we were able to reclaim trail from Mother Nature.

Macomber saw lots of trail maintenance with a few new bridges and berms.

Lyster zone as always did not disappoint with lots of trail maintenance and a few key re-routes.

Of course there is Schneiders, the zone we all brag about and how fast and flowy it is. Well we had a chance this year to enhance that as well and it rode better then ever!

Added 10 additional parking spaces at Valley Dream Farm

Looking forward to the upcoming season we hope and are planning to:

Continue trail maintenance and trail enhancement in all our zones
Apply for another grant  for additional trail development at Cricket Hill
Connect Macomber Ridge trail to Billings Zone via new single track 
Re-build long bridge at Billings
Continue to support organizations that promote responsible riding, youth participation, conservation and respect for the outdoors.

Thank you all for your support this past year. On behalf of the BRMBC board of directors and myself. May you have a happy and healthy holiday season and all the best in 2021! See you in the spring.

Mike Timbers
Director BRMBC

​What a winter!   I’m  Looking forward to riding as I’m sure you all  are.   

Looking back to last season, we were able to finish the Downhill at Schneiders, punch in an extension on Macomber  Ridge to include the lookout (more to come),  successful spring gravel ride, donated $1000 to Little Bellas  Mentoring on Mountain Bikes https://littlebellas.com/  Fun filled and well attended Farm to Table dinner at  Valley Dream Farm https://valleydreamfarm.com/   Expanded parking at Valley Dream Farm along with a donation to show our appreciation. Purchased groomer for winter Fat Biking in Pleasant Valley. Established new trail at Cricket Hill Trails in Hyde Park, a beginner to intermediate 5 mile trail system with machine made and hand built trails. Check it out!

Looking ahead to this season, the board has decided to build some new trail on Macomber Ridge to extend what we developed out to the Lookout last season. This fits in with our goal of connecting via single track the Macomber Ridge Trails to the Billings Trails (aka Harmeyer) the Billings network is approximately  3 miles of intermediate riding with lots of new bridges and a variety of terrain.  Fun stuff!  Sound good, join us for Trail Days to help out!

The club will also be working with Beckner Bryan, Vt Land  Trust and the Cambridge Trails Committee to extend the riding from Canyon Rd (by the covered bridge) in Jeffersonville to access Midlands Trails on Clif Reynolds Rd. This will include a new kiosk, which was built with grant money from Outdoor Gear Exchange. THANK YOU to OGE!  Along with additional signage  as well.

Cricket Hill trails . The club also is planning on erecting a new kiosk at Cricket Hill trail network in Hyde Park. For those not familiar with Cricket Hill. It is a beginner - intermediate trail network on several hundred acres adjacent to Lamoillle High School.  Currently we have 5 miles of riding but are hoping to increase that as time goes on. Thisarea has lots of potential and is on easily accessible public  land.

Most of these projects rely on your willingness to participate in trail days. Please show your support.

Looking forward to 14th Tour de Valley, each year better then the last :)

Initiating trail maintenance rewards program, come help build new trail, make new friends, learn the trails, get dirty and maybe win some swag!

Please take the time to register for the upcoming season with VMBA  Vermont Mountain
Bike Association https://vmba.org/  and of course designate BRMBC as your chapter. The club has seen considerable growth in members, trail use and interest. This is very encouraging but we do need as much support as we can get to maintain  and develop our trails so please help us when you can.  Check the calendar for Volunteer Days.

Look forward to seeing you on the Trail.

Mike T

​Spring has sprung! (well not quite, but we're getting there...)

Tour de Gravel and Membership Meeting - Saturday, May 5
Wake up those riding muscles and join us for the Spring Membership Meeting at the Cambridge Community Center in Jeffersonville. There is no cost to enter for BRMBC members, and pre-registration will grant you a grinder from Jana's and some tasty beverages for after.

The ride starts at 1pm, and there will be a meeting of the minds at the Community Center at 4pm. Even if you can't make the ride, we'd love for you to pre-register and see you at the meeting for a frothy beverage.

Renew your membership and get event details here: http://www.brmbc.org/tour-de-gravel.html

Spring Cleaning Trail Day - Sunday, April 22
We still have a lot to clean up from that nasty windstorm that swept through the pleasant valley late last year. There's blowdown to move and bridges to fix, normal spring cleaning and picking up sticks. No experience necessary, we can use all the help we can get!

We'll provide the tools. Just bring work gloves and some hydration. 8am at the Valley Dream Farm, with grillables and beverages to follow around noon.

The Great Gravelo - Saturday, April 21
There was a little confusion concerning the other gravel ride going on - "The Great Gravelo" hosted by Bootlegger Bikes is set to take place on April 21st and is not to be confused with the BRMBC kickoff ride. Matt from Bootlegger is the resident gravel expert and will surely make it a burly ride with awesome scenery. Details here: https://www.bikereg.com/the-great-gravelo

 

 
BRMBC Members,
This season has truly been amazing for riding – thank you Mother Nature and everyone who helped keep our trail network top notch! Now that its peak foliage hope you can squeeze in a few more day rides, or throw the lights on the chargers for the after work spin. Notable updates from the BRMBC:


11th Annual Tour de Valley Summary
Another successful TdV in the books! The weather cooperated, great turnout (160 riders this year!), solid ride, and tasty eats and drinks to close the day. Hope everyone who participated left with a smile on their face. Thank you for supporting the club – the raffle raised approximately $1500 which we put directly back into the trails, and as always, thanks to all the landowners who make this event possible.



 
 



 
 

Hunting Season
Deer season started this past weekend (October 1st). Not only does the Valley provide for some awesome riding, it also has a great tradition of hunting. Out of respect for those who are out for the hunt, please try to keep your rides to mid-day or after dark. Thanks.


 
Landowner Appreciation Day Summary
The morning of September 18th, club member volunteers helped some of our landowners with fall chores. We cleared brush, stacked firewood, and repaired part of the barn roof at Valley Dream Farm. Huge thank you to folks who helped out. Solid work and feels good to be a good neighbor to many landowners who make our zone possible. Look for some changes to this event next year and please consider pitching in and earn a little extra trail karma.