News for 6-7-2023
Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day
From MTB Atlanta
Take a Kid MTB Day Saturday, June 10 10 am-Noon, Mt. Tabor Park Mountain Bike Trails Join us for our annual “Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day” at Mount Tabor Park in Paulding County. Join the Paulding County Composite MTB team and SORBA as we teach children ages 3-16 years old proper bike safety and maintenance. Each child must register, bring their own bike or tricycle, helmet, and a water bottle. There will be an obstacle course challenge and short trail ride at the end of the program. This event is FREE!!!!

News for 6-6-2023
Goodbye Pinelog
From The Atlanta Business Chronicle
Trish’s Note: Pinelog has had mountain bike access for many years.
“The future is uncertain for the Pine Log Wildlife Management Area, following the failure of the state to strike an agreement to purchase and conserve the 14,000 acres of forested land in Bartow County.

The landowner is ceasing formal negotiations with Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources after the agency declined to meet the seller’s price expectations, said Jim Ramseur, a broker representing the Neel family, which has owned the land for almost a century and leased it to the state for 46 years.” Read the entire article.

News for 5-31-2023
National Trails Day at Pinhoti 2 (Ellijay, GA area)
From SORBA NGMBA
Saturday, June 3 10 am-2 pm June 3- National Trails Day at Pinhoti 2. Trail Give back to the trails that we love! National Trails Day will be celebrated at the Pinhoti Parking Area on FS Road 90B with some trail maintenance on Pinhoti 2 and a cookout and ride hosted by the North Georgia Mountain Bike Association and MTB Atlanta. Day and Time: Saturday, June 3, 2023. Meeting at 10a for Safety Talk, start work at 10:30a. We will work for a couple of hours, enjoy food and hanging out with your fellow volunteers, and a ride (if anyone has the energy). Where to Meet and Directions: We will meet at the parking area at the end of FS Road 90B. From downtown Ellijay, take Hwy 52 West towards Ft Mountain. Turn right on Gates Chapel Rd and follow it to the end. Stay straight on Wilderness Trail and it turns into FS Road 90. Continue on and keep a sharp lookout for FS Rd 90B on your left. Turn left and it dead ends into the parking area. Location and Description: Pinhoti 2 needs some tread work (cleaning drains) and corridor clearance to improve drainage and site lines. What to Wear and Bring: Please wear appropriate clothing for the weather, including: work gloves, long pants, boots (preferred) or sturdy shoes. No open-toed shoes allowed! Volunteers are also encouraged to wear a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, and carry any personal medical supplies (ie. epi- pen, insulin, inhalers). Volunteers must wear helmets when performing work on USFS property. Bike helmets are acceptable, or helmets can be provided. Water and snacks will be provided along with lunch. Volunteers are encouraged to bring a small backpack to carry personal supplies and a potluck dish if you are so inclined. Tools will be provided. RSVP to sorba.ngmba@sorba.org

Bull Mountain Work Party
From NEGASORBA
National Trails Day is June 3! Let’s have a workparty this Saturday, June 3, 2023. This is a good day to show our land managers that you appreciate having access to the trails your bike, run, hike, ride your horse! Every one is welcome, especially our horse riding friends. Please join us at Bull Mtn in Dahlonega. We will be doing some brush cutting on Jones Ridge trail. We haven’t trimmed the section for the past 2 years. Now it is time! If you have a brush cutter weed eater, please bring it along with fuel or battery. We will have loppers. Helmets are required (bike helmets are ok). Wear long pants, closed toed shoes, (eye protection recommended), gloves, bring trail snacks, water and personal items including Epi pen if you are allergic to bees. We will meet at the Gamecheck parking area on Winding Stair Road (FS77) at 9:30am. Work till 1 then have a hotdog lunch. Bring a chair. We will have a raffle for some prizes too. Please RSVP by 3pm on Thursday for lunch and so we can plan to have enough tools. Gamecheck location Questions? Email us at negasorba@gmail.com

News for 5-24-2023
Rope Mill Fast + Furious
From Mountain Goat Adventures
This new course includes ALL the trails at Rope Mill Park! Make plans to join us on May 27th for our newest event! This Fast+Furious 15 course features all the trails at Rope Mill Park and will begin along the concrete path to allow riders to space out before entering the singletrack portion of the course. Riders will turn right at the bridge and complete Moore’s Pass, Power House, Raceway and Turbine all in a clockwise direction. These trails are farily wide and allow for passing.b Riders will then return across the bridge and complete Explorer Loops 1, 2, and 3 counter-clockwise. The course returns via the singletrack trail that links Explorer to the parking lot, crosses the parking lot, then heads onto the Avalanche Trail where riders will proceed counter-clockwise on Avalance Trail Loops 1, 2, and 3 and then head back to the start/finish to complete the course.

The categories for 2023 are age based and the same as we have used for the Blankets Creek Dirty 15 Mile Race. You can see full details and a list of categories on the ROPE MILL 2023 Race Super soft and comfy tri-blend event shirt for all participants who register before May 5th! (Limited sizes/different style available after May 5th) Mountain Goat Race Gear Tote and FREE race photo downloads courtesy of our swag sponsor, Dalton Automotive! ▪ Medals and sponsor prizes 3 deep in all categories ▪ Podium shirts for all first place finishers. ▪ Staggered starts by category for rider/volunteer safety. ▪ Post race snacks and fluids
HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS WHO RUN? We are also offering a separate 10k or half marathon trail run on a similar course in the morning before the bike race! This event is a major fundraiser for SORBA Woodstock, so please come out and support your local trails!

News for 5-23-2023
Bike Garage in Atlanta
From Urbanize Atlanta
“Out for a morning walk this week, a reader stumbled upon a unique addition of bicycling infrastructure in Midtown, snapped a photo, and wondered if the theft-deterrent system shouldn’t be copied across Atlanta.

The structure can best be described as a bicycle garage, tucked at the base of renovated Promenade Central offices off Atlanta’s signature street, Peachtree.

“This is a form of infrastructure that encourages and facilitates bicycle commuting—[and it’s] also a nifty bit of architecture,” wrote the morning walker in an email. “MARTA should install these at its stations, and other firms should put them at their offices.” Read the whole article.