All posts by rfmba

Adam Cornely receives 2018 BLM Colorado Volunteer of the Year Award

Public Announcements

Article courtesy of Kate Miyamoto at BLM.gov

If time is money, volunteers are priceless.

Adam Cornely is a prime example of the value of volunteers. This year, BLM Colorado selected Cornely as the 2018 Colorado Volunteer of the Year. Cornely received the award on February 15, 2019 at the New Castle Trails Winter Conference Movie Night.

Cornely has donated thousands of hours to help transform recreation in his town of New Castle, Colorado – a small town on the Colorado River, a few miles west of Glenwood Springs. As chairman of New Castle Trails, a subcommittee of the Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association, Cornely led the development of more than 16 miles of trails in New Castle, open to mountain biking, horseback riding, and hiking. Twelve of the 16 miles of trails are on BLM lands in the New Castle Extensive Recreation Management Area

Cornely has been hard at work to improve recreation in New Castle since 2016—fundraising, coordinating volunteer work, working closely with the community and BLM, and improving the trail system for users. Cornely successfully worked with the BLM on Colorow Flow Trails, a new trails area that provides a skills-building trails progression for young and beginner riders.

“Adam has shown a firm commitment to improving his community through trail-based recreation and a remarkable energy in overcoming hurdles to make that happen. It is a pleasure to work with such passionate people,” says Miles Gurtler, Recreation Planner in the Colorado River Valley Field Office. 

Volunteers are vital to the BLM and public lands. Every year, thousands of volunteers donate their time, skills, and services to help BLM Colorado sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands. They keep campers safe, find homes for wild horses and burros, care for cultural artifacts, provide environmental education and interpretation, and perform countless other tasks. 

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2018 Year in Review – Time to Focus on 2019!

Public Announcements

We’ve had a truly exceptional year for trails and mountain biking in the Roaring Fork Valley! This wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our volunteers, Annual Members, individual Donors, Business Partners, and granting foundations. As we look towards 2019, we need your help and creativity to continue our efforts to create and sustain the best possible mountain bike trail system and experiences in our region.

The Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association serves the communities from Aspen to Glenwood Springs, New Castle and beyond. Since forming as a non-profit in 2008, our volunteer efforts have been bolstered by support staff to greatly increase our impact and make significant progress on our mission’s work. With your annual support, we’ll continue our work and accomplish even more!

During 2018, our advocacy, design, and coordination efforts + our highly valued public land manager partnerships resulted in many trail projects including: the new South Canyon Trail System (Tramway, Lighting Bug, & Coal Camp),improvements to Prince Creek including an extension of the Father of Ginormous, the Next Jen trail, and the Dinkle Link. Our New Castle Trails committee completed the Colorow Flow Trails (Goose & Maverick), while Aspen area riders welcomed the Upper Hummingbird extension and the revamped Upper Plunge. Volunteer trail work hours continued to increase this year due to our volunteer incentive Bike Giveaway program. Our first year Trail Agent program (trained independent volunteers) logged over 600 hours, while our first year Seasonal Trail Crew tackled over 1,500 hours of maintenance on high use and remote trails. Looking towards next year, we will see more trail improvements throughout our region. Imagine what else we’ll accomplish with your support!

We believe that World Class Trails benefit our local communities. Modern trails lead to healthy and vibrant local residents while offering an economic boost to our tourism dependent region. Our work is a public benefit that effects economic development, encourages healthy lifestyles, and increases the environmental stewardship of public lands. By focusing on trail experiences for both new and younger riders we are increasing the number of people who will benefit from our shared public lands.

As our region’s population and visitation increase, while federal land manager’s budgets simultaneously decrease, the need for volunteer and professional stewardship of our public lands also continues to increase.  Our advocacy outreach and education efforts lead to a greater understanding by land managers of the value provided by modern, high quality, bike-optimized trails. As most of our trails are multi-use, our work benefits all trail users by reducing conflicts and improving experiences on the land.

Our efforts to organize the mountain bike community have already resulted in increased stewardship of trails. Our planning work to set the stage and gain approvals for trail system improvements is now ongoing throughout the valley. We are leading the charge to design and implement trail systems that will cater to youth riders, visiting tourists, and long time enthusiasts.

In order to continue our advocacy and education work, and to complement our Annual Membership and Business Partnership Programs, we are seeking generous Direct Donations to support RFMBA’s ongoing and future work. Rise to our biggest challenge by sponsoring an additional 2019 Seasonal Trail Crew member today! Patrons at the highest level support training, equipment, and all costs for a seasonal trail crew member that will positively impact trail conditions throughout our region.

Significant support for programs that increase volunteer stewardship, like our Trail Agent Program, or generous gifts towards specific trail construction projects (please ask us about our RFMBA Trail Fund) will also directly impact our effect on our local communities.

We would love to share the specifics of our many trail planning and program initiatives with you. If you have any questions or ideas about local trails or our mission, please contact us. Thanks for your interest in providing better trails for everyone!

Thanks for your support in 2018!  Now it’s time to focus on 2019!

PS: While this appeal is for your direct support of RFMBA’s general operations, you’re always welcome to Join Us by becoming an RFMBA Annual Member.

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Snowmass MTB Fondo Results

Public Announcements

RFMBA would like to thank all the riders who came out to the Snowmass MTB Fondo to ride the trails and enjoy the fall colors on Saturday.  Also, thanks goes out to all the volunteers who helped mark the course, the Town of Snowmass Village, the Ranger Station and of course title sponsor Columbine Ford in Rifle.

Overall results of the 2018 Snowmass MTB Fondo held Saturday September 29 in Snowmass, Colorado. Continue reading Snowmass MTB Fondo Results →

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2018 WEDU Aspen 50 Results

Public Announcements

Local racers dominated the 2018 WEDU Aspen FIFTY race held Saturday, September 15th.

Aspen’s John Gaston, also known for holding the most Highland Bowl ski laps in a day – 11, won the race in 3 hours, 20 minutes.   Dean Hill scored second place in 3:34.  Greg Strokes third in 3:36.  Mark Johnson, riding a single-speed rigid fork mountain bike, took fourth at 3:42 and RFMBA Trail Agent Race Team member Butch Peterson rounded out the top five by nipping Steamboat’s Zack Dolzani in a sprint finish.

Aspen local Elsa Lapeze won the women’s division in 5:04 ahead of second place Roxanne Hall at 5:21. Tess Strokes was third 5:46;  Carroline Torry fourth at 5:46.

Continue reading 2018 WEDU Aspen 50 Results →

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Please Be Mindful of Muddy Trails & Seasonal Closures

Trail Information

Muddy Trails
As winter in the upper valley fades, and warm spring days have certainly arrived in the lower valley and beyond,  many of us are slowly turning our attention back to bikes and dirt trails.  

Mother Nature, however, may have other plans. Colorado’s weather has been known to be a bit two-faced.  When the weather turns this time of year, trails conditions can get ugly fast. Please do not ride overly muddy trails!  If your tires are leaving ruts and your feet sink into the ground the trail is too muddy.  Please don’t walk around the mud and off the trail – keep the singletrack single!.  Instead, turn around and choose an alternate route or come back when it’s had a day or more to fully dry out.

Seasonal Closures
It’s also a good time of year to be mindful of seasonal closures.  Having full compliance with official closures established by public land mangers, especially by mountain bikers, can make a big difference for wildlife during a sensitive time of year.  Respect for the closures also makes it easier for mountain bikers to retain access to the trails we love & to get approval for new and improved trails in the Roaring Fork Valley.

  • Speaking of Prince Creek, the portion of the Rio Grande Trail between Rock Bottom Ranch and Catherine’s Store Road that makes the Prince Creek Loop possible is closed until May 1st.
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