"Mark Schmidt of IMBA walks the Crothers' Woods trails" Courtesy of The City of Toronto

This past weekend, a group of mountain bikers gathered in Chicopee to discuss how to improve the sport. The occasion drawing everyone together was the first ever provincial summit put on by the Canadian office of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA for short).

Over the three day summit, participants tried their hands at trail building, discussed policy and best practices and got out for a couple rides.

“Mountain biking is the fourth most popular activity in Ontario,” said Mark Schmidt, of IMBA Canada. “That puts it ahead of golf, ahead of hiking, ahead of camping. The big concern is that there is no provincial body to lobby for the sport.”

Mountain bike club members had a chance to hear from and ask questions of land managers of all different kinds, and also find out about the best practices in organising clubs and working to build healthier communities through trails.

“For anyone who wants to grow the sport, you need to become one voice,” said Chris LaForest, Director of the Bruce County Planning and Economic Development Department. For LaForest, land managers want to see an organized body, with a commitment to long term planning and strategy.

Closer to home, Scott Laver from the City of Toronto helps to run the city trails program. For now, the focus has been on the Crothers’ Woods area of the Don Valley.

Just north of Pottery Road, Crothers’ Woods is designated an environmentally significant area. For decades, people have come to Crothers’ Woods to enjoy what the park has to offer, but informal trail creation cause by all trail users threatened the area. Over the last decade, mountain bikers and others have started to work with the city to help build a sustainable trail network in the area that not only protects the area, but makes for a better experience, no matter how you travel the trails.

Each summer, the city works with volunteers on work days to help repair or reroute sections of trail. The work days are open to anyone willing to lend a hand for whatever amount of time they choose.

Trail work is currently underway in Crothers Woods as outlined in the Crothers Woods Trail Management Strategy. The Natural Environment Trails Program is continuing to make improvements to the trail system in Crothers Woods while balancing the need for environmental protection and providing safe and sustainable multi-use trails for park users.

October 17^th is the next build session, taking place from 10:00am – 4:00pm. The event will start at the Loblaws at 11 Redway Road. Please dress for the weather, and be sure to wear long pants and sturdy footwear.

For more information, check out http://www.toronto.ca/parks/trails/trails-volunteering.htm