Trail building experts are coming to Nanaimo Dec. 8 to talk with interested residents about what is takes to build sustainable single track bike trail.
The Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club and the City of Nanaimo co-host the Trail Care Crew from the Canadian office of the International Mountain Bicycling Association as part of a partnership to develop a single track mountain bike trail in Westwood Lake Park.
The free trail building school teaches proper trail building techniques, offers advice on trail management and then allows participants to spend some quality time digging in the dirt.
The day starts at the Bowen Park clubhouse at 9 a.m. before moving to Westwood Lake Park for the field portion in the afternoon.
The Canada Trail Care Crew program is a partnership with Parks Canada and the Trans Canada Trail.
It includes a full-time, professional team of trail experts who travel across Canada leading trail building schools, meeting with government officials and land managers and working with IMBA-affiliated mountain bike clubs, Parks Canada sites, and Trans Canada Trail local, provincial and territorial organizations to improve trail opportunities Canada-wide.
The crew teaches sustainable trail building – building natural surface trails that last a long time and require minimal maintenance – which helps to reduce trail damage, protects the environment and enhances visitor enjoyment.
The Nanaimo visit is one of more than 20 stops on the 2012 schedule.
The weekend also includes a group mountain bike ride on Dec. 9.
While the event is free, participants must RSVP at www.imbacanada.com/tcc/schedule.
For more information, please e-mail nmbclub@hotmail.com.