An Update on FCMTBC...

While we've been around for awhile, we're just now realizing our true identity. And, since I'm posting updates today, I figured I'd take some time to share this reflection with you.

The most important realization we've come to is that we're not exactly what our name says. While the group was formed around a love for mountain biking, each of us has a more general passion for the outdoors. We're hikers, trail runners, bird watchers, cross-country skiers, and snowshoers (not to mention  We enjoy doing these things with our families, our friends, and anyone else who wants to join in on the fun. We do these things competitively, recreationally, and just to enjoy the sights of nature (read: really, really slowly).

The second thing we recognized is that our voice is extremely limited. (In part, this could be due to people thinking we're strictly, or even mostly, focused on mountain biking. Which, as I addressed above, isn't true.) While we have been working on a couple big projects, we're a small club, and we need more members, and more members being active, to make a bigger difference. It's difficult to run an effective organization with only a few active participants, and it's difficult for small clubs to get the grants and other funding opportunities we need to continue to improve the trails in Franklin County.

With those realizations come the thought of who we need to join the club. If you enjoy being outdoors, taking care of the trails you use, and want to create a more powerful voice for the activities you take part in and the trails you use, you're one of us. We need a diverse group of individuals with different ideas, focuses, and voices to create the most enjoyable trails and experiences for everyone. We want people to run for official positions (president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary) there are a number of roles people can play. Among other roles, we need people to help write grants, reach out to the larger communities, and to attend project meetings. We understand not everyone has the time to take an active role within the club, and we respect that, but, whether you can play an active role or can support us by making the club larger, we need you!

If you have any questions, check out the Contact Us page for contact info. If you want to join the club or renew your membership, check out the Membership page.

Big Improvements in Franklin County!

As we continue to look to improve the riding, hiking, cross country skiing, and overall outdoor recreation experience, we're happy to provide an update on two projects in Franklin County.
The St. Albans Forest trail improvement project is moving along at a steady pace. In November, we shared a trail map proposal created by Sinuosity. Continuing our work with this amazing company, we now have the "St. Albans Forest Comprehensive Trail Plan" to further guide the project.

While the recent focus has been on the St. Albans Forest project, we're still making plans for how to move ahead with the St. Albans Recreation Reserve project (Aldis Hill and Hard'ack). Sinuosity has provided a trail map proposal along with the "St. Albans Recreation Reserve Trail Sustainability and Management Plan". At this point, Hard'ack and Aldis Hill are looking for grants and funding opportunities to begin the work on the bigger changes (work that requires heavy machinery, some trail building, some trail closures, etc.), and for the more manageable changes (some trail building, some trail closures, trail widening, etc), we'll be setting up some dates to get a group of volunteers together.

We'll keep you updated as these projects, and others around Franklin County, continue to develop. And, if you know of any other trail systems that could benefit from some attention, shoot us an email. Let's keep the good things coming in little, ol' Franklin County!