Front Page News and Notes

Welcome to the LCMBA webpage! The LCMBA works to promote and enhance mountain biking opportunities in Lane County, Oregon. We are a group of local cyclists who have formed to build and enhance the bike friendly environment that we live in. Upcoming meetings and activities will be posted here, so check in often to see what's happening. Any of us can be contacted for questions regarding our group and activities.

Attention Eugene Area Mountain Bike Riders, 8-24-09

The City of Eugene recently completed work on the new Ribbon Trail that connects Hendricks Park to 30th Avenue – an important connection in the Ridgeline Corridor that stretches from Fern Ridge Reservoir to Buford Park. Long term planning documents (http://www.lcog.org/ridgeline/) call for creating shared-use trails, open to mountain bikes, throughout this corridor. As legitimate trail users with a need for recreational facilities, we must speak up to let the City of Eugene and the local community know that this trail should be open to both foot traffic and mountain bike use.

Your feedback is critical to ensure this trail is designated as shared-use for pedestrians and bicycles.

In addition to providing for local recreation needs, this corridor would also serve an important function as a transportation connection for bicyclists. At the moment, the City of Eugene Parks and Open Space (POS) Planning is seeking feedback from a number of local trail and park user groups to make a decision as to the status of this trail (i.e. open or closed to mountain bikes). Please take a moment to submit your thoughtful comments to POS Planning:

Phillip Richardson: PHILIP.S.RICHARDSON@ci.eugene.or.us

CC: Neil Bjorklund: Neil.H.BJORKLUND@ci.eugene.or.us and louieswing@gmail.com

Also, take this quick survey to let the City of Eugene know what your needs & desires are for the Ridgeline Trail System:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=cd2_2bcNzgUyKoznQKcilasw_3d_3d

Thanks and stay tuned for updates!

Lou Swing, LCMBA

February 28th, 2009, Volunteer Trail Work

First of all, thank you all who made Saturday's trail work party on Brice Creek! The group did awesome work, and an amazing trail in the Umpqua NF is now clear from the west end to the east end. Give yourselves a pat on the back for your hard work!

Brice Creek Trail Work report, 2/28/09

The Disciples of Dirt Mountain Bike club had 18 folks show up to repair trail tread and clear downed logs. We were fortunate to have two certified sawyers, and were able to clear the trail from Lund CG to Cedar Creek CG. Minor bench tread work was accomplished along eroded areas where the trail was narrowing, along with brush clearing, and a few areas were worked on for better water drainage. Also, a few trees uprooted sections of trail, and the Disciples repaired those areas to the best they could.

Volunteer work hours Including drive time to and from Eugene: 108 man hours logged.

Thank You all!

October 2008, LCMBA Grant Application Approved!

Hello,

It is a very real pleasure for me to let you know that your application has
been successful and that you have been awarded technical assistance from
the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program of the
National Park Service (NPS) in federal fiscal year '09!

As formal award letters will not be mailed before next week, I wanted to
let you know as soon as possible that the National Park Service looks
forward to working with you in support of your community-based project.
The NPS/RTCA program helps nearly 300 communities nationwide each year in
realizing their visions to create local recreation opportunities and
conserve natural resources. Each RTCA staffperson is an accomplished
professional who provides assistance, often in developing concept plans, to
a number of different community projects throughout the year, so their time
is limited. Therefore, I encourage you to develop mutual project goals and
expectations, through a formal workplan or otherwise, in your first few
meetings with your assigned RTCA staffer. In cases where a second year of
assistance is necessary, suitable progress towards these expectations will
be the basis to award continuing assistance. The letter that you receive
shortly will further describe the relationship, as partners, that we look
forward to establishing with you.

Congratulations!

August 2008, LCMBA Submits Grant Application for Eugene I-5/Willamette River Bridge Challenge and Skills Park

On Thursday, July 31, LCMBA submitted an application for project planning assistance through the National Parks Service (NPS) Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program. If successful, LCMBA would receive organizational assistance from the NPS to develop plans for an urban mountain bike park in the Eugene-Springfield Area. The Eugene I-5/Willamette River Mountain Bike Park vision calls for creating a new, centrally located urban mountain bike challenge and skills park that is easily accessible to residents of the Eugene-Springfield Metro area. This project would transform a currently underutilized and undeveloped area bordering the Willamette River into an attractive, high-value recreation area connected to Eugene’s 12-mile Ruth Bascom Riverfront shared-use path network.

While LCMBA is still in the early stages of the process, the time to plan is now. With new bridge construction slated for 2010-2012, it is important that plans for a mountain bike park are fleshed out with community and agency stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of a new park. Please stay tuned for more information on the park concept over the coming months. An electronic copy of the submitted grant application is posted for review below.

Download Grant Application PDF

February 2008, Eugene Register Guard Article

Mountain bikers propose park beneath new I-5 bridge.........

Link to complete article

October 2007, Official LCOG Ridgeline Endorsement

Here is a pdf of our official endorsement of the Ridgeline Development plan. Working with the city and other user groups, a long-range plan to enhance and allow access to the Ridgeline area is being developed.

June 4th, 2007, LCOG Ridgeline Development Meeting

Ridgeline Public Workshops Scheduled
LCOG is conducting two "Shape the Vision" workshops for the ridgeline area corridor, June 4 at the Eugene Public Library and June 6 at Spencer Creek Grange. The workshops will solicit input on the draft open space vision for the area, which includes recommendations on recreation, habitat, water resources, and visual quality. Check here for more info.

For the LCMBA official comments and response to the Ridgeline Area Open Space Plan draft, click here to download our Ridgeline Goals-LCMBA Comments PDF.