Our locals!
Highlighting our locals who give so much to make this area great for mountain biking.
Demo Day supported by members, local shops, local breweries, and big-name demo fleets!
The 3rd annual Demo Day was a huge success thanks to tons of support from lots of local organizations.
Beer donation
Shops in attendance
The Sacramento Bee recognizes FATRAC in recent article
In the "Weekend Hike" section of the Sacramento Bee last week, the paper touted the beauty of the Foresthill Divide Loop in Auburn State Recreation Area. What's even better? The author gave two thumbs up and a big "thank you" to all the work FATRAC and it's volunteers completed in early 2015 to get the trail freshly brushed and ready for the season. It's a great feeling to hear that every kind of trail user is benefiting from the work that FATRAC does!
Here is the article:
Hey, hikers: You can thank mountain bikers for the lovely 10-mile Foresthill Divide Loop Trail northeast of Auburn.
In 1998, the Folsom-Auburn Trail Riders Action Coalition, a coalition of mountain bike enthusiasts, spearheaded efforts with California State Parks to cut and build the Foresthill Divide Trail. The group had been instrumental in building other multiuse trails, including two popular Salmon Falls routes and the Lake Clementine Connector Trail.
It’s easy to tell that FATRAC built – and routinely performs maintenance on – the Foresthill Divide Loop. The single- and double-track trails are mostly free of invasive weeds (dang you, star thistle) poking out. The fire roads on this loop are smooth and easily navigable. The hills are not gaspingly difficult. Even the few rocky, technical ravines are passable. Sometimes, for a hiker or runner, it’s nice to follow the tire tracks and not to have to forge your own path.
Another FATRAC-inspired feature: great signage. There are many twists and turns to the Foresthill Divide, many side trails and off-shoots to overlooks. But the mountain bike stewards have made it difficult for even the directionally challenged to get lost. Permanent signs, many with arrows and mile markers, show you the way, which is particularly helpful on the second half of course.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/health-fitness/Bike-hike/article17255177.html#/tabPane=tabs-b0710947-1-1#storylink=cpy
Deer Creek Hills MTB Demo Day to be sponsored by top mountain bike brands and local brews!
Mark your calendars for Saturday, Sept. 27th!
Bike Dog Brewery fundraiser was a huge success!
A huge thank you to all of you who came out to support FATRAC, and remember to support our sponsors: City Bicycle Works,
Auburn Bike Works, Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship,
TBF Racing, and the Prairie City Race Series!!
High School Mountain Bike Team Members Give Back to Granite Bay Trails
“Pants. I’d wear pants.”
That’s what members of Cycling Development’s High School mountain bike teams had to say when asked about what they learned during a trail work day in Granite Bay State Park over the weekend.
On a beautiful Saturday, when many park visitors donned swim trunks, running shoes, hiking boots, or mountain bikes, approximately 30 volunteers representing Cycling Development, the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, Folsom-Auburn Trail Riders Action Coalition (FATRAC), Total Body Fitness and several citizen volunteers, showed up to work with California State Parks to give back to the trail system they frequently use.
After a safety talk from Ranger Greg Wells, the order for the day was to decommission a “social” (user-made) short-cut trail that was not entirely safe, and was causing a soil erosion problem.
Armed with a variety of trail work tools, the six student athletes – all dressed in shorts – proceeded to pound away at the ground to break up the soil, which will aide in regenerating the grasses that typically grow in the hills around Folsom Lake. In the process, their exposed shoes were getting filled with dirt kicked up from hitting the ground with picks, hoes and Mcleods. Couple that with the burrs sticking to their socks while hauling deadfall across the hillside to cover up the old trail, and an appreciation for wearing pants next time was part of the overall learning experience for these young volunteers.
When asked what else was learned from this textbook decommissioning project, Senior Dan Folwarkow stated, “A lot of work goes into maintaining trails and not everybody quite realizes how much work it takes … even a short section can take a couple hours [to fix], so it takes a lot of work to keep the trails happy, other people happy, and keep the trails fun.”
Junior Aleck Crofoot, who would love to see more trails built, received a dose of reality in this trail removal project. He reflected, “Not all trails are good and unfortunately, we have take some trails down. But we gotta help out. Do our part.”
Crofoot also gained a new found respect for all that goes into trail work. “When the community comes together, they can get a lot done and the [State Park] rangers are actually really helpful.”
Freshman Cole Davis, shared Crowfoot’s sentiments for volunteering, saying “I just want to give back to the community I play in.”
“Giving back” was a common theme for each of the high school mountain bikers that volunteered, which will translate to a greater level of trail and land stewardship as these young men grow older.
“I came here because I’ve been riding these trails for five years now,” said Folwarkow. “They get used a lot and they get abused and they just need to be worked on every once in a while. It keeps it fun for all of us if at least a handful of people put in some work.”
Sophomore Graham Schafer expressed both an interest in giving back and learning trail work skills. “I just want to give back to the trail system and learn how trail work is done.”
Robert McIntosh, also a sophomore, revealed some inner guilt motivated him to help. “I came today because I felt guilty for riding all the trails around here and not doing anything to help them.”
Perhaps Crofoot summed up everyone’s feelings best. “I wanted to show the trail some love. They get abused.”
