Flagstaff Biking Organization » FBO News

Father of the Arizona Trail, Dale Shewalter, dead at 59

Anthony Quintile — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:33:47 +0000

We will all miss Dale, founder one of Arizona’s greatest trail projects, the Arizona Trail.

Check out the Arizona Daily Sun for details.

Thank you, Dale!

Help Save Arizona State Parks Funding!

Anthony Quintile — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:43:19 +0000

Because of State budget woes, there is legislation being considered that would take away millions of dollars of funding for the Arizona State Parks department.

Not only would this potentially close many of our State Parks, including Deadhorse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, location of some great nearby winter mountain biking opportunities, it could severely impact monies spent on trails and trails planning within the State.

Although you may not be directly aware, money administered by the Arizona State Parks has helped to build many of our favorite trails, including the Flagstaff Loop Trail, Deer Hill Trail, the Fort Valley Trail System and others. See here for details on what is going on and who to contact to voice your concerns:

http://arizonastateparksfoundation.org/advocacy.html

Please take a minute to help support parks and trails in Arizona!

Call for Bike to Work WeeK Poster Art

Anthony Quintile — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:48:16 +0000

Are you or someone you know an artist? FBO is seeking artwork to represent our signature bike event, BIKE TO WORK WEEK 2010.

The artwork should represent biking and the phrase “Bike to Work Week” and “2010″, and may include work or school images, or May 16th-21st. Any cyclists depicted must be wearing a helmet.

The winning artist will get $200, exposure on the FBO website, T-shirts and BTWW advertising. And fame, of course.

If you, or an artist you know (please forward this announcement to them) would like to compete, please submit artwork to Flagstaff Biking Organization, P.O. Box 23851, Flagstaff, AZ 86002, or email it to info@flagstaffbiking.org.

Entries must be received by March 5th, 2010!

Thanks, and good luck!
Flagstaff Biking Organization

!!CANCELED!!Lower Fort Valley Trails maintenance this weekend

Flagstaff Biking Organization — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:56:28 +0000

NEW UPDATE!!

THIS EVENT IS CANCELED BECAUSE OF A BAD WEATHER OUTLOOK! NOAA IS PREDICTING 80% CHANCE OF SNOW WITH ACCUMULATIONS OF AN INCH…16:45 ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH.

November 14th

Lower Fort Valley Trails maintenance.

Please come out and help to maintain this popular trail!

Meet at 8:15 am at Schultz Pass Road immediately after it turns to dirt. We will shuttle from there.. Lunch at 1:00 pm. Coffee will be served between 8:00 am and 8:30 am, and snacks, beverages, tasty lunch and FUN are all provided.

Sturdy closed-toe shoes, long pants, sunscreen, water, a hat or head protection are required. Hardhats, gloves, tools, and trail work instructions will be provided. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian

Click to view Google map and detailed directions

Loop Trail Day November 7th at SKUNK Canyon!

Psiouxan, Flagstaff Biking Org — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:04:57 +0000

For our final 2009 Loop Trail day this Saturday, we will push to connect our great new trail above Skunk Canyon to the Fisher Pt trail. Saturday’s forecast? “clear- high 63″-–a beautiful fall day. Coffee and sign-in starts at 8am, work begins at 8:30. Work stops around lunchtime.

We’ve made great progress on the Loop Trail in the 2008-2009 season, encompassing 10 trail days–enlisting over 400 volunteers and accomplished nearly 3000 hours of volunteer effort. We broke ground on Observatory Mesa on National Trail Day and sped 1.5 miles across the Mesa toward Cheshire. The balance of the summer saw nearly a mile of trail in and around Skunk Canyon completed. This first year on the Loop Trail has netted us over 2 miles of quality new trail! In the 2010 season we hope to complete connections from Observatory Mesa to Cheshire neighborhood, Campbell Mesa to Arizona Trail D, and Skunk Canyon to Campbell Mesa–We hope you will join us on this legacy trail!

DIRECTIONS: Take Lone Tree Road south to J.W. Powell Blvd and turn left/east. Go to the barricades and turn into Pine Canyon Club’s NORTH entrance: Important! Get a visitor’s pass at the booth. Follow signs: take an immediate left on Clubhouse Circle, drive 1.3 miles and turn left/east on Del Rae, following it 0.6 miles to the end circle. We will stage in front of “Lot 191″. Try this mapquest MAP.

Please come with sturdy shoes, long pants, water, sunscreen, and a hat or bike helmet; and gloves if you have some. Consider bringing raingear, weather is changesome. We will provide hard-hats, tools and equipment, guidance and training. Kids under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

You can help us prepare for the Loop Trail Day by pre-registering now so we can estimate lunch, coffee and equipment quantities. Contact Looptrail@flagstaffbiking.org with questions. THANKS!

Board of Supervisors

Lower Ft. Valley Trail Maintenance

Flagstaff Biking Organization — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:35:15 +0000

This Saturday, October 17th

Meet at Schultz Pass Road, where it turns to dirt, off of Ft. Valley Road. We will be shuttling to the walk-in point from there.

Please come out and help us do some much needed maintenance on the Chimney Springs section of the Ft. Valley Trail System!

All Trail events start at 8:30 am and conclude with lunch at 1:00 pm unless otherwise noted. Coffee will be served between 8:00 am and 8:30 am, and snacks, beverages, tasty lunch and FUN are all provided.

Click to view Google map and detailed directions

Flagstaff Area Trail needs your help!

Jack Welch, Flagstaff Biking Org — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:11:02 +0000

Flagstaff Biking Organization is asking Flagstaff Trail enthusiasts to help out Timberline Trail with a quick email.

The proposed Timberline Trail is an urban-style trail similar to the Flagstaff Urban Trails (FUTS) that will link Flagstaff to the Timberline and Fernwood Estates in the Doney Park area. The proposed non-motorized trail is intended for hiking, bicycling and equestrian access to popular forest trails along Mount Elden and the Peaks. It will connect to the Flagstaff Urban Trails System (FUTS) and the new Flagstaff Loop Trail. Current alignments place the 10 mile trail on public Coconino Forest land 1000 feet away from adjoining neighborhoods. Here’s a map, and more information about the proposed trail. This is a public trail to be built on public land for all to enjoy and it has already been funded.

FBO thanks those in the Flagstaff community who have supported the Timberline Trail in the past through petitions, e-mails or by attending public meetings in support of the Trail. We appreciate your prior efforts, but we fear our voice has not yet been heard by the decision makers– and the future of the Timberline Trail is in jeopardy. A small but vocal minority may destroy the Doney Park’s community’s opportunity to enhance it’s quality of life with a quality community trail– based on fears that have proven completely unfounded on Flagstaff’s urban trails. We know, and statistics abundantly prove, that urban commuting and recreation trails greatly enhance the quality of life and property values of any community.

We fear that the number of folks who support the Timberline Trail has been under-reported and we thus ask your help to secure this trail system.

Please help us by sending an email to Jack Welch (jack@flagstaffbiking.org) using this format:

“I support the Timberline Trail”; (Plus any additional arguments)

Your name,
Your address (optional but strongly encouraged), or at least your neighborhood,
City, State

FBO will present these tangible support statements at the next public meeting concerning the Timberline Trail. Currently we can’t demonstrate that support — that is why we ask you (and your friends as well) to email FBO your voice of support.

Our goal is provide 1000 e-mails in support of the trail. Please send your e-mail to Jack Welch at Jack@flagstaffbiking.org, and ask your friends to do so also. We can win this trail but we have to be able to prove the public support for the trail is far greater than the opposition.

Thanks,

Jack Welch
Flagstaff Biking Organization
Board of Directors

Loop Trail Day October 3rd at SKUNK Canyon!

Psiouxan, Flagstaff Biking Org — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:29:17 +0000

October 3rd’s Loop Trail Day once again returns to Skunk Canyon/Ridge.

We continue to work on the legal issues with the Observatory Mesa easement will delay, so don’t despair… WE WILL RETURN! Meanwhile, we built some great new trail above Skunk Canyon on our last day and we will continue to build this high quality trail toward the Fisher Point trail. Saturday’s long-range forecast? “clear- high 68″-–a perfect fall day.

You can help us prepare for the Loop Trail Day by pre-registering now so we can estimate lunch, coffee and equipment quantities. Contact Looptrail@flagstaffbiking.org with questions. THANKS!

Board of Supervisors

Flagstaff’s Pedestrian Awareness Week: Sept 30-Oct 7th

Psiouxan, Flagstaff Biking Org — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:34:25 +0000

Now it is the Pedestrians Turn! For all the pedestrians that wanted recognition during Bike to Work Week… we present Flagstaff’s annual Pedestrian Awareness Week. Be sure to share this post with your Ped-friends, co-workers and kids! Festivities begin Wednesday, September 30 and run through next Wednesday, October 7. Please join the many organizers for this fun series of events, which are intended to celebrate Flagstaff’s walkable character and to raise awareness of walkability issues in the community.

Listed below is an abbreviated schedule of the week’s events; for further information and details please visit http://www.flagstaff.az.gov/index.aspx?NID=1724

Wed Sep 30 7:30 am -> Breakfast Walk City Hall
Thu Oct 1 9 am-4 pm -> Safe Routes to School Workshop – Kinsey School Church of the Resurrection. CANCELLED, RESCHEDULING POSSIBLE
Fri Oct 2 8:30-11 am -> Sunnyside Fourth Street Walkability Audit: Coconino Co Health Dept
Fri Oct 2 4-7 pm -> Downtown Scavenger Hunt downtown Flagstaff
Fri Oct 2 4-7 pm -> Pedestrian Awareness Booth Heritage Square
Sat Oct 3 9 am-noon -> Community Sidewalk Clean-Up Day Kinsey School parking lot
Sun Oct 4 9 am -> Hike the FUTS/Ride the Bus Sechrist School parking lot
Mon Oct 5 All Day -> Try Transit Day All Mountain Line bus routes
Tue Oct 6 9-11 am -> Southside Accessibility Audit Downtown Transfer Center
Tue Oct 6 noon – 1 pm -> Brown Bag Lunch Presentation on Complete Streets Community Federated Church
Wed Oct 7 7:30 – 9:30 am -> International Walk to School Day Killip, Kinsey, Marshall, Sechrist, and Thomas Elementary Schools

PAW may not have all the great raffle prizes, but all of us self-propelled folks know that every walk and ride is replete with beauty, views, fresh air, great health and inner calm.

See ya on the FUTS!

Loop Trail Day September 19th at SKUNK Canyon!

Psiouxan, Flagstaff Biking Org — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:24:53 +0000

Our Sept 19th Loop Trail Day had to be moved from Observatory Mesa to Skunk Canyon.

Legal issues with the easement will delay, but not prevent, completion of our coveted link to Cheshire, so FEAR NOT! We have some great new trail to work above Skunk Canyon that will be perfect for the waning days of summer, which are forecast to be “partly cloudy- high 76″–perfecto.

We will be picking up where the CREC crew left off this summer… you’ll want to check out the sweet trail we have all built so far! There’s about a mile to go for us to reach the Fisher Point trail.

You can help us prepare for the Loop Trail Day by pre-registering now so we can estimate lunch, coffee and equipment quantities. Contact Susan@flagstaffbiking.org with questions. THANKS!