Category Archives: Club News

February 2020 Meeting Recap

We had 76 lovely people come out in the cold rain for this month’s meeting!

As this meeting grows, please be respectful of the neighbors, use public parking and avoid on-street parking in the neighborhood. Ride your bike when possible!!!

TRAILS REPORT + THE WEATHER

  • It rains. And rains. And rains. Please stick to the usual wet weather riding spots.. and don’t forget Norris!
  • Russ Manning filled in for Dave Stanley to report the weather. We’ve had 11 inches of rain in the month of February. BUT we’ve only averaged 4.5 inches in March for the last three years. Fingers crossed for better riding weather ahead!
  • In #yearroundgetdown news – the best place to park is still at Baker Creek, then ride in on Red Bud Crest. There are three parking spots on Sevierville Pike at the Marie Meyers entrance as well. We are working on fixing the problem spots to make dry access easier.

The City is working on new trail maps (we build trail faster than they can make maps) but club member Vinny has been working hard to get the trails (especially YRGD) uploaded to Trailforks & MTB Project.

INTRODUCING MR. MATTHEW KELLOGG AS THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (and MC for this meeting WITH a new PA)!

WORK PARTY RECAPS

  • February 8th at Meads Quarry – 33 awesome people showed up to work! Cycology Bicycles fixed an excellent meal, kept the fire pits going and gave a gift card to every volunteer! Lipman Brothers kicked in cold beers! We worked on moving LOTS (10 tons) of gravel to Hickory and Flow trails. We’ll be working on new bridges on Hickory in the near future
  • February 22nd at IC King – The City Mayor was there! It was an accident but she gave the crew of 52 (!) volunteers a pep talk before she headed out for her run. We worked on trail at the east entrance. The county has approved more trail in the east side of the park and that should get going in the next 6-8 months. Hi-Wire Brewing + Tennessee Valley Bikes crushed lunch!
  • Hi-Wire Brewing Knoxville is in as our beer sponsor for the rest of the work party season!!! WOOP!

BEER COLLABORATION WITH Elkmont Exchange

You heard that right – we are getting an AMBC beer! It will be an easy drinking pilsner, around 4.6-4.8% ABV, in tallboy cans and kegs, to be distributed around town. Keep your eyes peeled, they start brewing next Tuesday! BIG THANK YOU TO CLUB MEMBER JEREMY WALKER FOR KEEPING US IN BEER!

APPALACHIAN YOUTH CYCLING

Ryan Leach reports that they can always still use volunteers and that they are working on getting information on the website and a better calendar so stay tuned.

FUN THINGS TO PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR

  • March 1st (THIS Sunday) – “Trés Amigos!” the SoKno Taco 3rd Anniversary Celebration to benefit AMBC! Bike scavenger hunt entry is $25 and that get’s you a full day of fun, race t-shirt, one Oscar Blues cold beer + dinner! Registration is behind the restaurant (please park at Baker Creek) from 11-12:45PM and the race is from 1-5PM and the winners will take home some sweet prizes.
  • March 7th – Urban Wilderness Work Party! sponsored by Audi of Knoxvilleand the new all new Audi Q3.
  • March 4-8 – TENNESSEE NATIONAL BIKE FESTIVAL at Windrock Bike Parkincluding Round 1 of the US Pro Gravity Tour (!!!), Continental Enduro World Series, Youth Downhill, and Best Whip! They are looking for volunteers and will trade park passes for your service.
  • March 14th – 15th Banff Film Festival
  • March 22nd – Joy Ride Loyston-Spring Ride & Potluck They’d love to have some volunteers and are planning on an E-bike ride!
  • March 23rd – AMBC Monthly Meeting
  • March 29th – Knoxville Marathon Water Stop (stay tuned for more info on facebook)! Bring your bells! We have won best water stop for the past few years and we don’t plan on giving up our title!
  • March 29th – The Waucheesi Bike Race by Rapid Expeditions
  • BIG FUN TUESDAYS! We are going to #bringtuesdaysback starting in May! Stay tuned for updates about food, music, beer and more!

LIMITED EDITION TRANSFARM T-SHIRTS

Are available at REI (6700 Papermill Drive, Knoxville, TN) WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

AMBC Names First Executive Director

The Appalachian Mountain Bike Club is pleased to announce the selection of former Board President and Club Member Matthew Kellogg as its first Executive Director to serve the organization.

The Appalachian Mountain Bike Club is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable trail access for off-road bicyclists and to maintaining the trails on which mountain bikers ride and other user groups rely on. The Appalachian Mountain Bike Club supports the conservation of open spaces and is committed to educating mountain bicyclists to ride sensitively and responsibly in order to protect the natural environment and the experience of other trail users.

Hiring an Executive Director has been planned for the club for several years and the Board committed funds for the position in late summer of 2019. “AMBC has continued to grow and our board decided now was the time to take the next step and hire an Executive Director.” states Board President Wes Soward. “There were many great applicants and we ultimately decided to hire Matthew. AMBC is excited to see how we mature as an organization with our first staff position.”

As a past club President and former Board member Kellogg has firsthand knowledge and relationships that will help propel the club through the next phases. Kellogg was at the helm in 2015 when community support made Knoxville the winner of Bell Helmets 2015 $100k trail grant. A grant that funded the building of the “Devils Racetrack” an iconic trail at Baker Creek Preserve in Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness. Kellogg holds a Bachelor of Architecture from The University of Tennessee Knoxville and honed his project management and leadership skills restoring and revitalizing some of Knoxville’s historic downtown structures.

Tasked with maintaining over 70 miles of natural surface multiuse trails in the Knoxville area. The most recent project included the reworking of Marie Myers Park located in Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness. The project aimed to reduce trail maintenance while increasing the number of suitable ride days. Trail users from around the country and our community have great reviews of the new trail network dubbed the #yearroundgetdown.

AMBC has been the driving force for natural surface trail construction and maintenance in the Knoxville area. With support from our partnering organizations and numerous volunteers, AMBC works to help provide natural surface trail access across the 70+ miles of trails we’ve helped build or provide maintenance. We engage the community through monthly meetings, organized trail work parties and special events. Although we are a membership-based organization, we welcome all to come and join us.

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