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Since their Stewardship Campout deep in Washington’s mountains this past July, the Orogenesis Collective has been busy behind the scenes drumming up support for the ambitious project. A group of generous donors—the Mountain Builders Circle—is matching every donation 10 to 1 from now until the end of the month. Donate $100 and they get $1,100. This is a one-time-only deal, so DONATE NOW.
The Old Man Mountain Elkhorn Rack solves a critical problem I’ve always had with my mountain bike. As far back as I can remember, owning a set of wheels translated into carrying stuff. A friend on the handlebars of my Sears BMX bike. A case of beer and groceries on the front rack of my old Vespa. An entire apartment in the back of my pickup truck. However, that functionality never existed for me in mountain biking.
I met Chris Orr when I was fresh out of high school, smoking dope and working as a mechanic at VeloPro in Santa Barbara, California. Working at that shop was a truly memorable time in my life and Chris was one of the shop locals who was friends with all the employees and a regular shredder on our after-work shuttles to the top of Camino Cielo for a ripping sunset run down Tunnel Trail.
It’s worth noting that Blake, Vincent, and Tom mentioned in this interview were also employees of VeloPro at this time. For me it was an unforgettable time in a very magical place. But the years pass, and people fall out of touch. I moved from California to Portland in 2005 and it would take 10 plus years and social media for me and Chris to reconnect.
This past summer, Chris was up in Portland to work on the Adaptive trail system at Gateway Green and I was fortunate enough to have him over to my backyard for a safely distanced dinner. He has been a passionate supporter of people and community throughout his life and has a long and inspiring history of building trail systems and communities. Chris is no-bullshit.
It’s my experience that incredible people like Chris are not anomalies, that their goodwill and good deeds build the places and spaces where we find solace, safety, community, and honest enjoyment. That there are more of them in the world than we are aware and that’s a problem. It’s my belief that awareness is the mechanism for inspiration, growth, creation, community, prosperity, and peace. So please meet Chris Orr.
Out of the Ashes is BACK! You can support @santacruztrails as they raise funds to help repair charred California State Parks trails. For just a $5 contribution, you could win your choice of bike from Caletti (outfitted with components from Fox / Easton Cycling / Race Face) or a hand-crafted walnut coffee table from @joeykochlacs_furnituremaker.
The trails throughout parks like Big Basin, Butano, and Fall Creek State Parks are a constant source of exercise and inspiration for me. It’s been nearly a year since the CZU wildfires, and there’s still a tremendous amount of work needed to restore these areas back to their former glory.
Head over to Santa Cruz Trails to get your entries! This giveaway is only live through August 9.
Do you like what you see here? Well, you could win this fully decked out, dream Hightower build from Santa Cruz Bicycles by partaking in the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship’s $5 a Foot fundraiser:
“Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship’s 5 Bucks a Foot fundraiser is back with a customized, Santa Cruz Hightower up for grabs! Sure, there’s a bike shortage, and yes, it’s nearly impossible just to get some bike parts these days. Yet, we got lucky enough to assemble this bling’ed masterpiece: a one-of-a-kind Hightower (size Large) decked out with parts you can’t even get your hands on these days. And if you want to come pick it up in-person*, you can receive complimentary lodging at The Lure Resort in Downieville, CA for the weekend. Come out and ride the Downieville Downhill on your brand-new bike!
We are building a legacy trail – the 300+ mile Lost Sierra Route – through our Connected Communities Project. The building and maintenance of “A Trail for Everyone” will employ local residents and help our small businesses thrive. For every $5 you donate to 5 Bucks a Foot between Tuesday, June 8 to Friday, July 9, 2021, you can directly contribute to this project and possibly win this sweet ride.”
Hop on over to Sierra Trails to enter to win and help out the Connected Communities initiative.
The Lost Sierra felt like a second home to this site when we were based in California and that’s due to one thing: the draw of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship‘s hard work (Don’t forget the giveaway we posted!) Currently, they are developing a Trails Master Plan for their Connected Communities plan. This extensive planning is aiding in the creation of a vision for a recreation-focused lifestyle. The SBTS are doing this through community investment, shared stewardship, economic opportunity, and important new local jobs, all benefiting economically disadvantaged communities in California’s Plumas, Sierra, Butte, and Lassen Counties…
Fires aren’t going anywhere in California. Soil Searching founder, Fanie Kok, shares this intimate profile of Dillon Osleger, a man building a conservation movement that has us all thinking about how to protect what we have now instead of rebuilding once it’s already gone.
Since 2017 the Oregon Timber Trail‘s ambitious stewardship initiative has been valued at over $80,000 annually and as a result, hundreds of miles of fallow trails have been reopened for access to all. Due to Covid-19, all of their stewardship events have been canceled, leaving hundreds of logs down, blocking the trail. If you’ve ever been riding and have come across downed trees, you know how much of a bummer that can be and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Like a lot of trail organizations, most of the OTT’s humble budget is funded with government grants and many of these grants require a match in the form of volunteer labor. Which means their grant funding is in jeopardy as well.
Furthermore, it’s been a bad year for wildfires. The trail has been torched by at least six(!) separate fires in 2020, which will undoubtedly require extensive rehabilitation work in addition to the 3,000+ hours we’ve already committed to the Watson Fire Rehab project in 2021.
Not only do they have an $80,000 budget shortfall, but they also have a backlog of maintenance compounded by multiple actively-burning wildfires. The Oregon Timber Trail needs your help. The trail needs your help. If you’ve had the pleasure of riding any section of this trail, please consider donating something, anything, if you can and have the means. Consider it a usage fee ;-)
Donate now and ADOPT A TRAIL ➜
Shimano takes a look at trail builders in this new video, the true heroes of the sport.
Friday is payday! Spend $10 of your hard earned money for the chance to win a balleur custom bike from Mosaic Cycles, Stinner Frameworks, Argonaut Cycles, Sklar Bikes, and McGovern Cycles! Today is the last day – the fundraiser ends at Noon PST – so head on over to the Builders for Builders fundraiser for more information and check out these dream builds in our Reportage!
